Dearest friends,
There’s a small sentence in the reading for St Luke’s day which is easy to pass over. Paul is writing about people who’ve gone elsewhere, and the difficulties surrounding him. Then he says, “Luke alone is with me.” Five words, and behind them the quiet gift of someone who stayed.
We know Luke as an evangelist, the writer whose Gospel gives us the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. We hear his account of the shepherds at Christmas, and walk with his bewildered disciples on the road to Emmaus. But here, in this little sentence, we meet a friend. Before we think about what Luke wrote, we’re invited to notice where he was. Beside someone who needed him.
That’s a good place to begin as we celebrate his feast in both our churches, and especially as St Luke’s keeps its patronal festival. A church’s patron gives us someone to learn from, someone whose faith can help shape our own.
There’s a great deal of staying alongside people in parish life. A telephone call when someone hasn’t been seen for a while. A lift to Mass. Sitting with someone whose grief hasn’t conveniently disappeared after the funeral. Remembering a name, asking a question, and making time to hear the answer. Much of this will never appear in minutes or reports. It matters enormously.
Luke’s Gospel trains our attention in that direction. Again and again, Jesus notices someone others have overlooked. A woman bent double. A tax collector up a tree. A grieving mother following her son’s coffin. These are people with names, histories, and needs, and Jesus meets them in the midst of their lives. That same Jesus gathers us at the altar.
We bring him our distracted prayers, our tiredness, and the people we’re worried about. He gives himself to us, and sends us out to love the people he loves. The care we offer our neighbours belongs to Jesus’ ministry through us. We don’t have to manufacture it from our own dwindling reserves.
This week, perhaps we might each think of one person who needs someone to stay alongside them. We may not be able to put things right. We can make the call, knock on the door, or sit and listen. We can pray, and keep praying.
My thanks to Fr Robin for celebrating our Masses while I’m away. Please pray for him, for one another, and for everyone our churches are called to serve.
May St Luke’s example help us become people whose faithful presence makes the love of Jesus known.
St Luke, pray for us.
In love,
Fr. Matthew
Sunday 18th October
St Luke the Evangelist
9am – Sung Parish Mass [SJ]
11:15am – Sung Parish Mass [SL]
Year A(II), Psalm week 1, Trinity 20, Proper 24
Upcoming Dates
Oct
17th – Table Top Sale (10am) [WH]
31st – Quiz Night (7pm) [SL]
Nov
4th – St. Luke’s Ladies Group [SL]
8th – Parish Lunch [SL]
20th – ‘Western’ Class 52 Diesel-Hydraulic Locomotives in
Camera, 1975–1977 (7pm) [SL]
21st – Table Top Sale (10am) [WH]
Rosary Group, 10:30am [SL]
25th – Last Night of the Proms Concert (7pm) [SL]
26th – Advent Course on Mary – Week 1 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall
29th – CTNA Advent Service (4pm) [SL]
Advent Carols by Candlelight (6.30pm) [SJ]
Dec
2nd – St. Luke’s Ladies Group [SL]
3rd – Advent Course on Mary – Week 2 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall 6th – Rowcroft Carol Service (3pm) [SL]
9th – Darby and Joan Club Carol Service (2pm) [SJ]
10th – Advent Course on Mary – Week 3 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall
11th – Bingo, 7pm [SL]
12th – Christmas Fair [WH]
13th – Parish Lunch [SL]
17th – Advent Course on Mary – Week 4 – 7pm at St Paul’s Hall
20th – Nine Lessons and Carols (6pm) [SJ & SL]
24th – Small Blessings Crib Service (morning, time TBC) [SL]
Live Nativity (4pm) [SJ]
Candlelit Midnight Mass (11.30pm) [SL]
25th – Christmas Day Mass (10am) [SJ & SL]
[SJ] St. John’s | [SL] St. Luke’s | [WH] Wickham Hall
[SC] St. Catherine’s School