The Feast of St. Luke: Evangelist, Physician, and Companion of Paul
On October 18th, the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist, the physician, faithful companion of St. Paul, and writer traditionally credited with giving the Church both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.
Together, these two books make up more than a quarter of the New Testament. Through them, Luke tells one continuous story: the story of Jesus Christ and then the story of His Church, filled with the Holy Spirit and carrying the Gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
Who Was St. Luke?
We know only a few things about Luke with certainty. St. Paul calls him “the beloved physician” and names him among his fellow workers. Luke traveled with Paul during at least some of his missionary journeys, and near the end of Paul’s life, when many others had gone, Paul wrote with great tenderness, “Luke alone is with me” (2 Timothy 4:11).
Early Church tradition tells us that Luke came from Antioch in Syria and was a Gentile convert. He was not one of the original Twelve Apostles, and he does not claim to have been an eyewitness to every event in the life of Jesus. Instead, he begins his Gospel by explaining that he carefully investigated what had been handed down by eyewitnesses so that he could write an orderly account.
Luke was not simply collecting interesting stories. He was faithfully preserving the testimony of the Church so that his readers could know the certainty of the things they had been taught.
The Gospel According to Luke
Luke’s Gospel contains some of the most beloved passages in all of Scripture. It gives us the Annunciation, the Visitation, the birth of John the Baptist, the journey to Bethlehem, the shepherds in the fields, the presentation of Jesus in the Temple, and the account of twelve-year-old Jesus sitting among the teachers.
It is also in Luke that we receive the songs that have become part of the daily prayer of the Church: Mary’s Magnificat, Zechariah’s Benedictus, and Simeon’s Nunc dimittis. The Benedictus is especially associated with Morning Prayer, while the Magnificat and Nunc dimittis have been prayed for centuries at Evening Prayer.
Luke also preserves several of Jesus’ best-known parables, including the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Persistent Widow, and the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Again and again, his Gospel draws our attention toward the poor, the sick, women, foreigners, sinners, and those who had been pushed to the edges of society.
This does not mean that Luke presents a different Gospel from the other evangelists. Rather, he helps us see with particular clarity the wideness of God’s mercy and Christ’s determination to seek and save the lost.
Luke also pays close attention to prayer, joy, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the meals Jesus shares with others. His Gospel is filled with people praising God, receiving the unexpected grace of God, and discovering that the Kingdom has drawn near to those who thought themselves forgotten.
Much of Luke’s Gospel is shaped around Jesus’ long journey toward Jerusalem. He knows what awaits Him there, yet He continues steadily toward the cross. The compassion we encounter in Luke is never sentimental. It is the costly mercy of Christ, who gives Himself for the life of the world.
Acts of the Apostles
Luke’s account does not end with the Resurrection and Ascension. The story continues in the Acts of the Apostles, where he tells us about the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the life of the earliest Christian community, the witness of the apostles, and the missionary journeys of St. Paul.
The two books belong together. In the Gospel, the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus and leads Him in His ministry. In Acts, that same Spirit is poured out upon the Church and empowers Christ’s followers to carry the Gospel into the world.
Acts begins in Jerusalem and ends with Paul proclaiming Christ in Rome, the center of the empire. The Gospel is moving outward, crossing boundaries of language, geography, ethnicity, and social standing. Luke shows us that the Church does not carry out her mission by human strength alone. She lives and grows through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Was St. Luke the First Iconographer?
A beloved tradition of the Church remembers St. Luke as the first Christian iconographer. He is said to have painted images of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, as well as images of St. Peter and St. Paul.
We cannot historically verify that any surviving icon was painted by Luke himself, but the tradition has had a lasting influence upon Christian art. Medieval painters’ guilds across Europe were often named the Guild of St. Luke, and he continues to be regarded as a patron of artists and iconographers.
The tradition is especially fitting because no other Gospel writer gives us such an intimate account of the events surrounding Christ’s birth or preserves so many of the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Whether Luke painted her image with a brush or not, he certainly gave the Church a beautiful portrait of her in words.
Why Is St. Luke Represented by an Ox?
In Christian art, each of the four evangelists is traditionally associated with one of the four living creatures described in Ezekiel and Revelation. St. Luke is represented by the winged ox.
The ox was an animal of sacrifice, and Luke’s Gospel begins in the Temple with the priest Zechariah. The symbol also points toward one of the great themes of Luke’s Gospel: Christ offering Himself for the salvation of the world.
You may see Luke depicted holding a book or paintbrush with a winged ox beside him. These symbols identify him as an evangelist, the traditional painter of sacred images, and the writer who shows us Christ’s sacrificial mercy.
St. Luke, the Beloved Physician
Because Paul identifies Luke as a physician, he has long been regarded as a patron of doctors, surgeons, nurses, and others who care for the sick.
This makes St. Luke’s Day a fitting time to pray for medical professionals and for those who are ill. It also gives us an opportunity to remember that Christ cares for the whole person. Luke records acts of bodily healing alongside forgiveness, restoration, and welcome into the community. The sick are not interruptions to Christ’s work. Caring for them is part of His work.
Ways to Celebrate the Feast of St. Luke
Read Scripture
One of the simplest ways to celebrate St. Luke’s Day is to read from the two books associated with him. You could also read the opening chapters of his Gospel, choose one of the parables found only in Luke, or begin reading Luke and Acts together. The Bible Project’s videos on Luke and Acts also provide a helpful overview for families.
Because Luke preserved the great biblical canticles of the Incarnation, you might pray the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55), Benedictus (Luke 1:68–79), or Nunc dimittis (Luke 2:29–32). These words have been prayed by the Church for centuries, and St. Luke’s Day is a lovely occasion to notice where they came from and allow them to shape the prayer of your home.
Paint or Create
You could also make art in honor of the tradition that remembers Luke as an iconographer. Children might paint or color an image of Mary and Jesus, illustrate a favorite story from Luke’s Gospel, or look closely at an icon and talk about how sacred art teaches us through color, posture, gesture, and symbol.
Eat Something With Pumpkin
Pumpkins have also become connected to St. Luke’s Day through an old seasonal saying that pumpkins would begin to spoil after October 18th. What a great excuse to make my pumpkin muffins (Recipe below) or drink that pumpkin spice latte!
Serve Beef for Dinner
Because Luke is symbolized by an ox, some families serve beef for dinner. We always make a pot roast, a family favorite and a simple way to connect our table with the symbols of the feast. This is the recipe I use and it is the best pot roast we have ever eaten!
Learn About the Fiera di San Luca
In Impruneta, Italy, St. Luke is honored with the Fiera di San Luca, one of Europe’s oldest livestock fairs. Its origins are traditionally traced back many centuries to the seasonal movement of shepherds and their animals from the mountains toward winter pastures. The fair is still held during the week of St. Luke’s feast and brings together the religious observance of the day with the rhythms of work, harvest, animals, and changing seasons.
Enjoy St. Luke’s Little Summer
According to tradition, St. Luke is said to have gifted us a few final golden days before winter - a short stretch of warm weather in mid-October known as “St. Luke’s Little Summer.” If the day is beautiful, spend some time outside and receive it as one of the last warm gifts of the season before winter draws near.
the recipe -
Pumpkin Muffins for the Feast of St. Luke
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease the muffin pans.
Whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil in a large bowl until well combined.
Add the canned pumpkin puree, eggs, and vanilla extract, and mix until fully incorporated.
In a separate medium bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredient mixture. Mix gently until just combined, avoiding over-mixing. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
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