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New Series: St Luke’s Gospel - 13 November
Father Edmund
20 October 2024
New Series of Talks Begin
As ‘Year C’ fast approaches and we will read the Gospel of Luke from Advent 2024, this series will offer an overview of the Gospel of Luke. Unlike the reading of the whole text we undertook for St John’s Gospel, we shall look at the particular differences of St Luke’s Gospel and how it was written and structured. Remember: Luke Gospel has a sequel, the Acts of the Apostles. It is also the Gospel from which we get the Annunciation and the birth of Jesus in a stable.
Talk 1 An Introduction to St Luke: Wednesday 13 November at 6.30pm
Talk 2 The Annunciation to Zechariah: Wednesday 27 November at 6.30pm
Talk 3 The Annunciation to our Lady: Wednesday 3 December at 6.30pm
Talk 4 The Christmas Narrative: Wednesday 18 December at 6.30pm
Talk 5 The 3 Canticles of St Luke’s Gospel: Wednesday 8 January at 6.30pm
Talk 6 Zacchaeus, Prodigal, Good Samaritan: Wednesday 15 January at 6.30pm
Talk 7 The Good Thief, The Road to Emmaus: Wednesday 29 January at 6.30pm
Talk 8 Epilogue: The Acts of the Apostles: Wednesday 5 February at 6.30pm
Once we are into the New Year, God willing, I will suggest that we take the Women of the Bible as our Lenten focus in the period leading up to Easter, then use the post-Easter period to study the Testaments: Old and New regarding the origins of the Mass, and then as Summer comes ‘round shift our focus to the Church and the topic of The Papacy.
All are welcome to these talks, regardless of age or knowledge level. For the course on St Luke it would be great if you would bring your own Bible with you, if you have one. If not, I can source some copies of the Gospel of St Luke to have available - but try and invest in your own Bible if you can. This will be a real help and a must-have for the forthcoming series on Women of the Bible as we will be diving deep into the Old Testament, navigating some lesser known Scriptural texts and also discovering - perhaps for the first time - stories and moments in the Bible we have never heard of before. Please consider coming along - and bringing a friend or two!
Why St Luke’s Gospel?
The new series of talks for the coming year begin with the overview of the Gospel of St Luke. The Church rotates the Gospels we hear at Sunday Mass over a three year cycle known as Years A, B, and C for the Gospels of St Matthew, St Mark, and St Luke. From Sunday 1 December this year, we will enter
Year C and so it seemed appropriate to focus on St Luke’s Gospel.
Who was St Luke?
St Luke is the only Gentile, that is, non- Jewish author in the whole of the Bible. He was, tradition tells us, a physician. He is sometimes called ‘the secretary of the Blessed Virgin Mary’ because so much of his Gospel recounts what our Lady said, saw, heard, and felt, meaning that St Luke must have known our Lady personally to record such intimate details.
What about the Acts of the Apostles?
The Gospel of Luke has a sequel: the Acts of the Apostles, which narrates the explosion of missionary activity and impetus following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our Lady and the Apostles at Pentecost. It was also written by St Luke.
St Luke’s Symbol: The Winged Ox
Each of the Evangelists have a symbol, taken from the pages of the Old Testament, but also signifying something distinctive about the Gospel they authored. For St Luke, his symbol is the winged Ox. Why an Ox? St Luke begins his Gospel not in the desert like St Mark, nor in eternity like St John, nor in Christ’s lineage like St Matthew, but in the Temple. And so St Luke’s symbol of the Ox is a sign of the pattern of
sacrifice that opens his Gospel and the Angel Gabriel appearing to the priest, Zechariah, in the Holy of Holies within the Sanctuary.
This Series will Open Luke’s Gospel for Us
These talks will - hopefully - offer both an overview of St Luke’s Gospel, but also allow for a deeper and more focused study on those parts of his Gospel which are unique to St Luke: the birth of St John the Baptist, the shepherds at Christmas, the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, the Good Thief, just to name a few.
First Talk Wednesday 13 November at 6.30pm
All welcome! Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish Centre - please be sure to bring your Bible with you! First talk, Wednesday 13 November at 6.30pm-8pm. Refreshments (tea, coffee, biscuits) will be available, too.