Healing in Luke, Madagascar, And Elsewhere (Spiritual Healing As Per the Luke Philosophy ‪)‬

Already in the second century the author of the Third Gospel was identified as "Luke, the beloved physician" mentioned by Paul in Colossians 4:14. (1) For centuries afterward readers of the Bible saw abundant proof of the medical expertise that informed the gospel that bears Luke's name. When historical criticism tested long-held assumptions about biblical authorship, one of the notions to fall by the wayside was the conviction that the Third Gospel is a text written by a physician. However, beginning in the late twentieth century, scholarship has again begun to see in the Gospel according to Luke a text that exhibits a focused interest on issues of health and healing. By my count there are more than sixty episodic references to healing and health in Luke; twenty of the Gospel selections in the Cycle C Revised Common Lectionary incorporate this healing material. In this article I review some of the current research being advanced to challenge us to think about biblical healing in new ways. Although I reference and analyze some of the healing stories we will hear in Cycle C, this analysis is by no means exhaustive of Lukan healing references in the lectionary. Rather, I raise broader questions and issues that preachers and worshipers might keep in mind as we make our way through the Year of Luke.