Magic Statistics

In an interview earlier this month, Archbishop Robin Eames of Ireland leveled serious charges against unnamed Anglican leaders in developing countries:

[Eames] said he was "quite certain" that many church leaders in the developing world had been offered financial inducements to distance themselves from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.

"I think it is happening, I just don't think it is moral," Eames said. "Is it the might of finance that will influence a theological outlook, and then that outlook come to dominate he [sic] Communion?"

"It raises a serious question for me: what is the real nature of their faith and their Anglicanism? It is certainly different from mine."

Sounds like a very grave accusation. Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria understandably wanted evidence. From his open letter to Abp Eames:

It is reported that you, without citing specifics, are ‘quite certain’ that some of us have been bought. I have always had great respect for you and considered you a friend and a great leader of our Communion but such irresponsible accusations are outrageous, uncharitable and untrue. If you have any evidence of such financial inducements I challenge you, in the name of God, to reveal them or make a public apology to your brother Primates in the Global South for this damaging and irresponsible smear. I have always made it clear that there is no price-tag on my head – I am not a slave to anyone – I have been set free by the blood of the One who died for us all.

What evidence does Abp Eames provide? Well, none. Rather, his words didn't mean what they unambiguously meant.

Archbishop Eames’ press officer, Janet Maxwell, explained the Archbishop Eames meant that "too much emphasis has been placed on the role of funding relative to theological perspective," and he "in no way questioned the sincerity of theological conviction of the leaders of the Global South nor was he suggesting votes were purchased."

That reminds me of Alice's dialogue with Humpty Dumpty:

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less."

"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

The collect for today, the Feast of St Luke the Evangelist, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, who calledst Luke the Physician, whose praise is in the Gospel, to be an Evangelist, and Physician of the soul; May it please thee, that, by the wholesome medicines of the doctrine delivered by him, all the diseases of our souls may be healed; through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Virtually all that we know of St Luke comes from the New Testament. He was a physician, a disciple of St Paul, and his companion on some of his missionary journeys, and the author of both the third gospel and Acts.

It is believed that St Luke was born a Greek and a Gentile. According to the early Church historian Eusebius, Luke was born at Antioch in Syria. In Colossians 4:10-14, St Paul speaks of those friends who are with him. He first mentions all those "of the circumcision"–in other words, Jews–and he does not include Luke in this group. Luke's gospel shows special sensitivity to evangelizing Gentiles. It is only in his gospel that we hear the parable of the Good Samaritan, that we hear Jesus praising the faith of Gentiles such as the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian, and that we hear the story of the one grateful leper who is a Samaritan.

St Luke first appears in Acts, chapter 16, at Troas, where he meets St. Paul around the year 51, and, after the vision, crossed over with him to Europe as an Evangelist, landing at Neapolis and going on to Philippi, "concluding that God had called us to preach the Gospel to them" (note especially the transition into first person plural at verse 10). Thus, he was apparently already an Evangelist. He was present at the conversion of Lydia and her companions, and lodged in her house. He, together with St. Paul and his companions, was recognized by the divining spirit: "She followed Paul and us, crying out, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation’".

Luke saw Paul and Silas arrested, dragged before the Roman magistrates, charged with disturbing the city, "being Jews", beaten with rods and thrown into prison. Luke and Timothy escaped, perhaps because they did not look like Jews (Timothy's father was a gentile). When Paul departed from Philippi, Luke was left behind, in all probability to carry on the work of Evangelist. At Thessalonica St Paul received highly appreciated financial aid from Philippi, doubtless through the good offices of St Luke. It is not unlikely that the latter remained at Philippi all the time that St Paul was preaching at Athens and Corinth, and while he was travelling to Jerusalem and back to Ephesus, and during the three years that Paul was engaged at Ephesus.

Seven years passed before St Paul returned to the area on his third missionary journey. In Acts 20:5, the change to "we" tells us that Luke has left Philippi to rejoin Paul in Troas in 58 where they had first met up. They traveled together through Miletus, Tyre, Caesarea, to Jerusalem. St Luke is the loyal comrade who stays with St Paul when he is imprisoned in Rome about the year 61. And after everyone else deserts Paul in his final imprisonment and sufferings, it is Luke who remains with Paul to the end.

Luke's unique perspective on Jesus can be seen in the six miracles and eighteen parables not found in the other gospels. He is the one who tells the story of Lazarus and the rich man who ignored him. Only in Luke's gospel do we hear Mary's Magnificat where she proclaims that God "has brought down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away" (Luke 1:52-53). St Luke also has a special connection with the women in Jesus' life, especially Mary. It is only in Luke's gospel that we hear the story of the Annunciation, Mary's visit to Elizabeth including the Magnificat, the Presentation, and the story of Jesus' disappearance in Jerusalem.

Forgiveness and God's mercy to sinners are also of first importance to St Luke. Only in Luke do we read the story of the Prodigal Son welcomed back by the overjoyed father. Only in Luke do we read the story of the forgiven woman disrupting the feast by washing Jesus' feet with her tears. Only in Luke do we read the words of Christ in the Passion to the women of Jerusalem and the Good Thief. All of these elements underline the compassion of Christ. Throughout Luke's gospel, Jesus takes the side of the sinner who wants to return to God for mercy.

The reports of Luke's life after Paul's death are conflicting. Some early writers claim he was martyred, others say he lived a long life. Some say he preached in Greece, others in Gaul. The earliest tradition we have says that he died at 84 in Boeotia after settling in Greece.