Tag: St Luke

Summer Evensong at High Easter

Photo, The East Window in St Mary the Virgin, High Easter, Essex

Summer Evensong in St Mary the Vitgin, High Easter
gazing at the East Window.

We gather to open ourselves to God
in this House of Prayer,
where, alight with early evening sun,
Incarnation beckons through refracted glass.

Here, blessed Mary and humble Joseph
are transfixed in golden beams
streaming towards them from the Christ-child,
deeply alive in cradle strewn with straw.

Ox peeps adoringly over shoulder of Ass
as the shepherd and his boy look on,
crozier, an icon of pastoral love to come,
carried proudly.
Star above all, shining in majestic glory,
a portal through which heaven comes to earth.

I see the telling of this in the left window
as Angel Gabriel, deep in converse with God’s chosen One,
seeks to draw from her a ‘Yes’
that comes from the heart,
And challenges us too.

The triptych of God’s love
is completed in the third window ,
that of Presentation
where The child of God touches the waiting Simeon,
as the old man tenderly takes, holds, and blesses Him
in gentle and awesome thanksgiving,
which releases his own soul into God’s arms,
slipping into a peace his heart longs for.

Three God moments dance in coloured glass
opening our hearts, our souls, our vision,
Calling us to glorify, presenting ourselves
to receive the light of our Salvation
and the grace of God’s Incarnate love.

For this we came.


[Mr G. 23rd July 2026]

I visited High Easter Church on July 19th to take part in Choral Evensong.
I was fascinated by the East Window and above is my reflection.
Choral Evensong was sung beautifully using the Book of Common Prayer
and accompanied by a fine organist. The congregation welcome was kind
and warm, and the after service coffee was splendid!
Should you ever find yourself in that part of Essex, the postcode is CM1 4QW.
It’s a fine church with Saxon roots, roman brick and bits from almost every age.
Unusually it has a window dedicated to St. Valentine!

The Beloved Physician

St Luke, Reredos @ St John the Baptist  Parish Church, Epping
Designed by Cecil Hare, associate of George Frederick Bodley, architect of the Church
photo | GC

Today (October 18th) we keep the feast of St Luke, author of the Gospel which bears his name, and of the Acts of the Apostles which continues on from the Gospel. By tradition he is the patron saint of doctors because he was one. St Paul calls him, three times, the ‘beloved physician’. As a doctor he was filled with compassion for those whose lives had met with adversity and who came to him in their need. Not surprisingly, therefore, his Gospel account is regarded as the most compassionate of all four and his interest is in human beings who find in Jesus wholeness and healing. As the commentator of the Jerome Bible commentary says:

“In his compassionate mission to all and by his selection of the Twelve, Jesus laid the foundation for reconstituted Israel. Jesus’ mission is an inclusive one as he seeks out the lost and sinners and restores them to union with God.”

This compassion and inclusivity is something that is passionate to Luke. The human encounters he records between Jesus and the needy are shot through with a deep concern for their well-being. Not surprisingly therefore, Luke has been an inspiration for many in the caring professions and is associated with the Church’s ministry of healing. Healing is much more than helping people to get better from particular illnesses and ailments. It is about becoming ‘whole’ in body, mind and spirit. The spiritual side of healing must never be neglected because, often, it is the key to other forms of healing. I speak as someone who has had three spells in hospital this year. Spiritual well-being is a major part of my healing journey.

Part of that healing is connected with prayer which is why we set so much store by our intercessions for the sick, and why the Church is so attentive to its Healing Ministry. It is a ministry of all the Christian community but especially through hospital and hospice chaplains; spiritual directors and soul-friends who offer the ministry of laying-on-of hands and anointing to bring God’s strength and love to the sick.
Healing is concerned with the wholeness of the soul. This is the ministry of spiritual guidance, which sometimes involves dealing specifically with our sins—the things that cause guilt within us and restlessness in our hearts. The Church’s ministry of reconciliation and penance (what used to be called ‘Confession’ but which didn’t describe the half of it) is also part of healing.

One immediate area of healing is our present situation.
One of the problems arising out of Covid-19 Pandemic is that isolation can lead to mental and spiritual deprivation and anxiety. The prevalence of news being concentrated on the Virus; the world situation because of it; and the political machinations which are accompanying the responses by Governments and others; create uncertainty, fearfulness and in some, depression.
In the face of this, the healing that is expressed in the Gospel, and the healing nature of St. Luke’s version, present us with Jesus who is, ultimately, the real Healer. What better place to discover this healing than the  Gospel of St Luke, the ‘beloved physician’ of the soul.
In his version of telling the story of God’s love in Jesus, St. Luke opens to us the ‘wholesome medicine of the Gospel’.

Almighty God, who inspired Luke the physician
to proclaim the love and healing power of your Son,
give your Church, by the grace of the Spirit
and the medicine of the gospel,
the same love and power to heal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen