Luke in the Garden
While Galileans slept, in the garden He laboured,
Bearing the sins of all, alone.
Pleading with His Father for the cup to pass,
But nevertheless conceding, ‘Thy will be done’.
Except there was one, who in the shadows,
In confounded silence witnessed,
One who as yet did not understand
How the fate of all, He now addressed.
A Greek from Antioch who hoped for a Kingdom,
Who since the miracle performed at Nain,
Walked, learned, followed and loved,
Who now feared his hope was in vain.
Luke knew sweat, mingled with blood,
Was not caused by torment or fear,
He knew as a physician it was excruciating pain,
That no ordinary mortal could bear.
Hesitant to intercede in His private battle
He felt constrained to offer succour,
But then a glorious figure appeared
That cradled Him through His final hour.
What followed that day left Luke confused,
Bereft, his heart was distraught,
But then while walking the road to Emmaus,
Light finally dawned as his Lord and Saviour him taught.
We owe so much to St Luke for what only he witnessed first hand and recorded in both his gospel and Acts of the Apostles. Perhaps what is not so widely known is his later life. I quote from orthodoxwiki.org '
After St. Paul's martyrdom, St. Luke preached the Gospel throughout Italy, Dalmatia, Macedonia, and other regions. He painted icons of the Most-holy Theotokos—not just one, but three—as well as icons of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. For this reason, St. Luke is considered the founder of Christian iconography. In his old age, he visited Libya and Upper Egypt; from Egypt he returned to Greece, where he continued to preach and convert many with great zeal despite his age.
Luke was 84 years old when the wicked idolaters tortured him for the sake of Christ and hanged him from an olive tree in the town of Thebes, in Beothia of Greece.
Pictures taken during my visit to this beautiful, sacred place, March 2023
