The Gospel According to St. Luke: A Book Report Last time, we discussed the scholarly background of Luke, and why I personally find the academic consensus significantly less convincing than the traditional view. Yet I’m sure that the whole time you were waiting anxiously, wanting to interrupt me (save that modesty forbids) to insist, “Yes, but never mind all that! What are Luke’s THEMES?” Don’t worry, I got you. To begin with, Luke is the third and last of the... Read more

Or: A Belated Introduction to Luke I’ve at last gotten a bit of breathing room, and can return to a long-postponed duty: introducing what Luke’s deal even is! Here goes. The Tradition of Saint Luke A portrait of St. Luke in the St. Augustine Gospels, a 6th-c. evangeliary now housed in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University —one of the oldest extant European books. (Note: Here, as in a few other places, I’m using “tradition” in the small-t sense: ideas that... Read more

ARE WE? No. Here’s why the question comes up. Although we’re in Year C, which is devoted to Luke, the Gospel this past Sunday came from John 8 St. Luke the Evangelist as depicted in the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493). … except, not really. The passage we know as John 7:53-8:11, or “the adulteress pericope,” appears thus in Byzantine manuscripts; in the oldest manuscripts of John’s Gospel, these verses are absent. The Greek New Testatment text supported by the Society of... Read more

Go here for Part 1, which has textual notes a and b in it, and here for Part 2, which has notes c through n. I’ve posted the Scripture here a third time to save anybody any tabbing back and forth, but again in small type, and this time with only the verses actually used in the Mass reading. The Prodigal’s Father As we resume, I’d like to make a few remarks about this parable. It’s something of a commonplace... Read more

Go here for Part 1, which has textual notes a and b in it—they proved a lot heftier than I had expected! This post has notes c through n; o to z will hopefully all fit in Part 3. (Update: they did!) I’ve posted the Scripture here again, but in small type and without illustrations, to save a little space. Portrait of St. Luke the Evangelist from the Gospel of Charlemagne (ca. 800). Luke 15:1-3, 4-10, 11-32, RSV-CE Note: To... Read more

An Introduction Deferred Russian ikon of St. Luke writing the first ikon of the Mother of God. I’d hoped by now to be sufficiently on top of things to circle back around to introducing Luke, but actually what’s happened is that (big first for the blog) I have gotten through the whole alphabet with textual notes. So we’re postponing that intro once again for time! We have three parables here, the second and third of which are unique to Luke.... Read more

This is Part IV of a series. Go to these links for the first three parts: Kingdom Come, A Knot of Bread, and The Price of Pardon. Le “Pater Noster” [The “Oure Fadir”]1 (1896), by James Tissot. We’ve now covered six of the eight clauses of the Lord’s Prayer: the opening address and first three petitions in Part I, the fourth petition in Part II, and the fifth in Part III. Time to knock out the sixth and seventh. These... Read more