Only Luke is with me

One of the most fascinating saints in the Bible for me is St. Luke. He is fascinating precisely because very little is known about him.

Yet his contributions to the Christian Faith are nothing short of phenomenal. He authored The Gospel According to Luke which was addressed to the non-Jewish audience entirely unfamiliar with the concept of monotheism and the life of Jesus. The book of Luke is followed by Acts which details the accounts of the persecuted early Church and her struggles both internal and external. Just in terms of shear volume, he was the second most prolific New Testament writer following the Great Apostle Paul.

Other than his distinction as the only non-Jewish New Testament writer and his occupation as a physician, very little about his life is known despite the enormity of his contributions. He never mentions his own name in any of his writings which only intensifies the mystery. We know that he was Paul's traveling companion, a fact that biblical scholars derive from the use of the first person plural we throughout Acts.

The most telling, albeit brief testament to Luke's character comes in Timothy II which was the last epistle Paul penned while on death row in his last days. In the closing chapter, he poignantly recounts to his young friend Timothy of how almost all of his companions have abandoned him, leaving him to face his final dark hours alone. But amazingly there was one notable exception.

Only Luke is with me.

This speaks volumes about St. Luke's loyalty as a friend and a fellow brother in Christ.

I've come across a few choice servants like Luke throughout my life. It is hard to extract information about their lives because they talk so little, but yet do a lot. They can be found at homeless shelters working with the "least of these." Some are doctors who regularly make trips to poverty striken areas to treat people with no access to medical care. Some are PhD's scattered throughout remote places around the world translating the Bible to obsecure languages.

Just like Luke, they share a strong aversion to the spotlight, which stands in stark contrast with our celebrity obsessive culture. They truly personify what Jesus had to say about gaining one's life in the process of losing it.