Tradition
portrays the evangelist Luke as an artist, a painter. In a way, his gospel can
be viewed as a portrait of Jesus, a verbal portrait that gradually becomes clearer
and more distinct. It is a portrait of Jesus as the true world leader: the
Lord, the Messiah, the Liberator, the true Son of God, the real king of the
world instead of Caesar Augustus. And the colors Luke uses are not limited to
gold leaf and bright hues. He also includes somber tones. The more he fills in
the picture, the more we realize that this really is a different sort of
kingdom that Jesus is initiating. It is truly the kingdom that God had promised
Israel’s prophets and patriarchs. But, not for the last time in his gospel, Luke
is warning us that the kingdom Jesus is inaugurating does not look like what
people had expected. And this is so even at these early stages of his
portrait-story. Mary and Joseph already have a clear sense that God’s presence
is manifested in the most extraordinary, unlikely, unexpected places, such as
dreams, shepherds’ fields and stables.
As
Luke’s picture-story unfolds throughout his gospel, Mary will look on in dismay
as her son is rejected by the very people he had come to rescue. Finally, the
child who Simeon says is “destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel,”
himself passes through death and into resurrection. Throughout his work, Luke
wants to draw people of every age and stage of life into the drama. There’s
something here for everyone.
Brothers
and sisters, no matter who we are or where we are on life’s journey, the story
of Jesus, from the feeding trough in Bethlehem to the empty tomb and beyond is meant
to become our story, our vocation with all the surprising, and even, at times,
unwanted twists and turns that any good story contains.
Icon of Saint Luke painting the Virgin. Reflections by Father Abbot Damian for this morning's Mass for the Feast.
Icon of Saint Luke painting the Virgin. Reflections by Father Abbot Damian for this morning's Mass for the Feast.
