Morning Prayer
Saint Luke the Evangelist - HD (Red)
Psalms: Psalm 119, Pts 12, 13
King James Version
89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. 90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. 91 They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants. 92 Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. 93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me. 94 I am thine, save me; for I have sought thy precepts. 95 The wicked have waited for me to destroy me: but I will consider thy testimonies. 96 I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad. 97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. 98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts. 101 I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. 102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. 103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.
First Lesson: Isaiah 61:1-6
King James Version
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. 4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. 5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
Second Lesson: 2 Timothy 3:10-end
King James Version
10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, 11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Reflection
Saint Luke is remembered as an evangelist: one who received the good news of Jesus Christ and faithfully set it down for the Church. His feast therefore directs our attention not chiefly to Luke’s personality, but to the Word which he served—the Word settled in heaven, as the psalm says, and given for the salvation and sanctification of God’s people.
The psalm speaks with remarkable confidence: “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” Around us, much is unsettled. Opinions change; fashions of thought come and go; institutions which once seemed secure may prove fragile. But the Word of God is not carried about by every wind. It stands firm because God himself is faithful: “Thy faithfulness is unto all generations.”
That does not mean that Scripture is a museum piece, preserved behind glass and of no practical use. The psalmist says that God’s law has been his delight, his counsellor, his protection, and the means by which he has been made wise. “Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.” God’s Word is living nourishment for people who must actually endure temptation, sorrow, confusion, and opposition.
Saint Paul says the same to Timothy, though in a more sober setting. Timothy has known Paul’s doctrine and manner of life, his faith, patience, love, and endurance, but also his persecutions and afflictions. The Christian faith is not merely a set of ideas which we approve at a distance. It is a manner of life, visible in the conduct of those who have learned it. Paul does not conceal the cost: “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
That is not a promise of misery for its own sake, nor an invitation to become gloomy. It is a warning not to be surprised when faithfulness brings resistance. If we belong wholly to Christ, we shall sometimes find that Christ’s ways are unwelcome to the world—and perhaps unwelcome even to our own old habits. The answer is not to abandon the truth, but to “continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of”.
Notice the reason given: “knowing of whom thou hast learned them.” Timothy has not received a collection of clever notions. He has received the faith through persons—through the apostles, through the Church, and through the Holy Scriptures. This is one reason the Church matters. Christianity is not invented afresh by each generation. In the Church of England, with thankfulness, we stand within that ancient household of faith: instructed by Holy Scripture, guarded by the creeds, and nourished by the ordered worship of the Church.
Paul then gives us those well-known words: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Scripture does not merely comfort us; it corrects us. It does not merely confirm what we already wish to believe; it teaches us what we must believe and how we must live. Its purpose is that the man of God—or, indeed, every Christian—may be “throughly furnished unto all good works.”
Isaiah shows us what those good works look like when God’s saving purpose takes root. The anointed servant proclaims good tidings to the meek, binds up the brokenhearted, brings liberty to the captive, and comforts those who mourn. The desolations are repaired. Those who have received mercy become, in Isaiah’s words, “Priests of the LORD” and “Ministers of our God”.
In Christ, these promises reach their fulfilment; and in Christ’s Church, those who have been made his people are sent to bear his mercy into the world—not by inventing a new gospel, but by faithfully announcing and embodying the old one. Saint Luke’s work remains a gift because it directs us to the Lord who saves, heals, calls, judges, and restores.
So let us receive the Scriptures with humility and confidence. Let them teach us, rebuke us, mend us, and train us. And, like Saint Luke, let us be servants of the truth—not seeking our own importance, but desiring that through our witness Christ may be known and God glorified.
Evening Prayer
Saint Luke the Evangelist - HD (Red)
Psalms: Psalm 45
King James Version
1 My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. 2 Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. 3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. 4 And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. 5 Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. 6 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. 7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. 9 Kings’ daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. 10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; 11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. 12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. 13 The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. 14 She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. 15 With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace. 16 Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. 17 I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.
First Lesson: Sirach 38:1-14
King James Version
1 Honour a physician with the honour due unto him for the uses which ye may have of him: for the Lord hath created him. 2 For of the most High cometh healing, and he shall receive honour of the king. 3 The skill of the physician shall lift up his head: and in the sight of great men he shall be in admiration. 4 The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth; and he that is wise will not abhor them. 5 Was not the water made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known? 6 And he hath given men skill, that he might be honoured in his marvellous works. 7 With such doth he heal men, and taketh away their pains. 8 Of such doth the apothecary make a confection; and of his works there is no end; and from him is peace over all the earth, 9 My son, in thy sickness be not negligent: but pray unto the Lord, and he will make thee whole. 10 Leave off from sin, and order thine hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from all wickedness. 11 Give a sweet savour, and a memorial of fine flour; and make a fat offering, as not being. 12 Then give place to the physician, for the Lord hath created him: let him not go from thee, for thou hast need of him. 13 There is a time when in their hands there is good success. 14 For they shall also pray unto the Lord, that he would prosper that, which they give for ease and remedy to prolong life.
Second Lesson: Colossians 4:7-end
King James Version
7 All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: 8 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; 9 With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here. 10 Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;) 11 And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only are my fellow workers unto the kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. 15 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. 16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it. 18 The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.
Reflection
Saint Luke is remembered in the Church as an evangelist, but Saint Paul gives him another title first: “Luke, the beloved physician.” It is a small phrase, almost an incidental detail in the closing greetings of the letter. Yet it tells us something important about Christian service. Luke did not cease to be a physician when he became a servant of Christ. The skill and compassion of his former calling were gathered into his new vocation, and placed at the service of the gospel.
The reading from Ecclesiasticus speaks with healthy good sense about medicine. “The Lord hath created him,” it says of the physician; the Lord has created medicines out of the earth and has given human beings skill, “that he might be honoured in his marvellous works.” There is no opposition here between prayer and practical care, between trusting God and receiving the help which God provides through ordinary means. We pray unto the Lord, and we give place to the physician. Both belong within a faithful understanding of providence.
The passage also says, “My son, in thy sickness be not negligent.” That is sound counsel for the body, but it may also be heard spiritually. We can be negligent about the sickness of the soul. We may put off repentance, excuse a settled habit, or grow accustomed to a coldness in prayer. Ecclesiasticus calls us to “leave off from sin, and order thine hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from all wickedness.” This is not a denial of the complexity of suffering, nor a claim that every illness is the direct result of some particular sin. It is rather a reminder that the whole person needs the mercy of God: body, mind, conscience, and heart.
Saint Luke’s calling therefore becomes a sign of Christ’s own work. Our Lord is not indifferent to human weakness. He comes as the physician of souls, not offering a vague comfort, but healing through truth, forgiveness, and the renewing work of the Holy Ghost. His grace does not merely make us feel better about ourselves. It restores us to health by turning us from sin and bringing us back into the life of God.
Psalm 45 lifts our eyes from the servant to the King. “Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness.” This is the King whom Luke proclaims. Christ’s reign is not sentimental. He loves righteousness and hates wickedness; yet the very King who judges evil is also the merciful physician who receives sinners. His authority is not exercised to crush the penitent, but to make them whole.
The closing chapter of Colossians shows how that royal work advances: through faithful people, each with a particular ministry. Tychicus is a beloved brother and faithful minister. Onesimus is a faithful and beloved brother. Epaphras labours fervently in prayer. Archippus is charged to fulfil the ministry he has received in the Lord. And Luke, the beloved physician, is among them.
There is no suggestion that only one kind of service matters. Some teach, some travel, some encourage, some pray, some heal, some quietly keep the household of the Church in order. The work is varied, but the Lord is one; and all Christian service is measured by faithfulness. The question is not whether our task appears grand, but whether we fulfil what we have received in the Lord.
That is a word for us today. We need not imitate Saint Luke’s particular calling, but we may imitate his consecration. Whatever knowledge, occupation, patience, or practical skill God has given us can become an instrument of charity. In the Church, no honest gift is wasted when it is offered to Christ. And when our strength fails, we may still serve by prayer, as Epaphras did, labouring before God for the strengthening of his people.
May Saint Luke’s example teach us to honour the gifts of God, to seek healing without neglecting the soul, and to fulfil faithfully the ministry entrusted to us. For Christ the King is also Christ the physician; and under his righteous and merciful rule, he is making his people whole.
Electric See Chapel