A Sermon on the Feast of St. Luke (October 18,1998) given by The Most Rev. John T. Cahoon, Jr.,
Metropolitan of the Anglican Catholic Church, and Rector of St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Luke the Evangelist. He is called an evangelist because he wrote the third of the four New Testament Gospels. It seems clear that St. Luke also wrote the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, which comes just after the Gospels in the New Testament's table of contents. Taken together, St. Luke's Gospel and Acts form a continuous story of the birth of Christianity from the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist, in about 5 B.C. to St. Paul's imprisonment in Rome, in about 60 A.D.
There are two things which most differentiate St Luke's Gospel from the other three., St. Luke has detailed information about the conceptions and births and childhoods of Jesus and his cousin St. John the Baptist. The familiar and wonderful stories of Gabriel's annunciation to the Virgin Mary, Christ's birth in the stable at Bethlehem, the adoration of the shepherds, and the circumcision of John the Baptist are found only in St. Luke. There has been legitimate speculation from the church's earliest days that St. Luke got his information on these matters from the person who would have known about them best -- the Virgin Mary herself.
St. Luke also stands out from St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. John in regard to the parables. If I asked you to tell me what the two most famous parables are, I suspect most of you would respond "The Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan." Both of those parables appear only in St. Luke -- as do two of my other favorites, the Pharisee and the Publican and the Conniving Steward. I know of no theory which explains why he has all the best of these stories, but it may be because he was able to have long conversations with St. Peter in the last years of Peter's life.
The writing of the Book of Acts makes St. Luke the first historian of the church. He tells us what happened to the new church in Jerusalem in the weeks after Jesus' ascension into heaven -- taking us through the first Christian Pentecost, the establishment of apostolic orders, and the martyrdom of St. Stephen -- and then he focuses most of the rest of his attention on the most important New Testament character after Jesus himself, who is St. Paul the apostle. We don't need to speculate about where St. Luke got his information about St. Paul, because Luke appears in the story of Acts as one of St. Paul's closest associates and missionary partners.
This morning's epistle is the end of a letter St. Paul wrote from prison in Rome to one of his most trusted lieutenants -- St. Timothy, who is the bishop in Ephesus in what is now southwest Turkey. It is impossible to use this excerpt to defend the idea that Christians should never say anything negative about anyone else. St. Paul says some quite unpleasant things about at least two of the people he mentions.
A man named Demas has run out on Paul, who describes him as "having loved this present world" -- not, quite obviously, taking the same long-term view of things that Paul thinks is proper. He also mentions "Alexander the coppersmith (who) did me much evil." He prays that God will pay Alexander back for what he has done, saying "the Lord reward him according to his works." And he cautions Timothy against having any dealings with the disobedient Alexander, saying, "of who be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words." St. Paul was not at all mealy-mouthed.
That makes it all the more remarkable that his friendship with St. Luke was able to withstand arrest and shipwreck and imprisonment. I admire no human being in history more than I admire St. Paul, but I cannot imagine that he was an easy person to be around or to get along with. Yet in this same epistle, he contrasts St. Luke with Demas, Alexander, and all the other difficult characters he knew by the simple and touching sentence "Only Luke is with me."
Remembering that St. Luke was a doctor, today's collect asks God to show Jesus' healing power forth in the church -- the healing of our bodies by the power of his spirit; the healing of our minds and hearts by the power of his love. We are grateful to St. Luke for making this healing known to us through the power of his Word -- but you cannot know what I mean unless you read what he wrote.
All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee
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Services & Events
Sunday, 9:00 AM and 11:15 AM services, for online participation go to
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Nursery during both services
Sunday School, 10:30 AM
Wednesday, Noon, Holy Communion and anointing for healing, for online participation go to https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland or to
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Wednesday, 7:30 PM, Bible study on Jesus and David offered by Fr. Bragg in the undercroft
for online participation go to https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland or to
https://www.youtube.com/@StAndrewandStMargaret/streams
Saturday, Oct 24, 8:30 AM, Men's Group Breakfast and Bible study; breakfast chef Peter Dundas; Fr. Bragg offering the Bible study; good food, good fellowship and great Bible study.
Monday. Oct 26, 7:30 PM, Vestry meeting in the undercroft.
Wednesday, Oct 28, 12 noon St. Simon & St. Jude
Thursday, Oct 29, 7:30 AM, Women's Bible Study at Junction Bakery and Bistro
Monday, Nov 2, 7:00 PM, All Souls Day service
Tuesday, Nov 3, 12 noon, election day prayer service (church will be open from 10 AM to 2 PM for private prayer)
Saturday, Nov 7, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, DMAS Pre-Advent Retreat, at our parish (402 E. Monroe Avenue, Alexandria, VA). This year's retreat, "A Journey to be Experienced," will be led by Fr. Randolph Bragg and Fr. Chris Fish. The day includes Morning Prayer, three teaching sessions, fellowship over lunch, and a concluding Mass with sermon. The $20 registration fee covers a continental breakfast, lunch, and all retreat materials. Check-in and breakfast begin at 8:30 AM.
Click here to register for Pre-Advent Retreat
And then please submit your fee though the link below and on the drop down menu choose Pre-Advent Retreat 11/7/2026
Please Click Here To Pay $20 Registration Fee (Per Person)
MaRiH Crisis Pregnancy Center: Updated Critical
Needs & More
Below are 2 recently updated lists: the critical needs list and the needs list. The all volunteer staff of the MaRiH Center and the families that they help are very thankful for the support that our parish continues to provide.
Critical Needs:
Diapers: sizes 5 and 6
Girls winter clothes: size 3-6 months
Girls winter clothes: size 6 months
Boys and girls winter coats: size 2T
Baby Wipes
Baby Blankets
Baby formula: Similac Advance Formula
Bibs: toddler
Car seat: infant
Other needs:
Diapers: sizes newborn, 1, 2, 3, 4
Spring/Summer Clothing: sizes 3-6 month, 9-12 month, 18-24 month,
Bibs: infant
Maternity clothes: (Spring/Summer). (Fall/Winter)
Wash cloths
Hooded towels
Baby bottles
Baby formula: All other Similac & Enfamil types. Also accept Alimentum & Nutramigen. No other brands are accepted. Please make sure dates have not expired.
Baby shampoo
Diaper rash ointment or cream
Sleep sack: 0-6, 6-12 month
There are two options for helping the Center with these needs:
Option 1
Amazon has all the specific items needed. You can order the specific item(s) and have them delivered directly to the Center.
The MaRiH Center
3230B Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-4521
703-370-4774
Option 2
Go to your local store, purchase the items requested and drop them off at church on Sunday. We will deliver them to the MaRiH Center.
Food Bank
The food bank continues to need our assistance to feed the hungry. .
Please help this month with a food donation if you are able. Those we help feed are very thankful for the food we provide to them each month. Please also buy low sugar cereals (and not the kid's types that have lots of sugar). Also lower sodium products are better and more healthy.
Current needs include the following:
canned meats (chicken, corned beef, spam)
tuna (cans or foil packages)
peanut butter. jelly
canned vegetables (corn, green beans - (regular and low sodium)
individual fruit cups (low sugar)
canned fruit (low sugar)
canola or vegetable oil (48 oz)
boxed cereal (low sugar) and instant or old fashioned oatmeal (18 oz or 42 oz)
pasta (regular and gluten-free):
instant potatoes
single serving fruit juice
macaroni & cheese
soups: Chunky or Progresso, chicken noodle soup; chicken broth, cream of mushroom. tomato
coffee, cooking oil, flour, sugar
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St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland
1607 Dewitt Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301-1625