Homilies on Luke
Many tried; four Gospels (Luke Hom. 1 on Luke 1:1)§1
1Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things fulfilled among us, Origen opens the Luke homilies: many tried, few finished; the church receives four evangelists chosen by the Lord. Luke writes for Theophilus so he may know the truth of the words in which he was instructed.
Latin · §1
Quoniam quidem multi conati sunt ordinare narrationem rerum, quae in nobis completae sunt, sicut tradiderunt nobis, qui ab initio ipsi viderunt et ministri fuerunt sermonis, visum est et mihi, assecuto a principio omnia, diligenter ex ordine tibi scribere, optime Theophile, ut cognoscas eorum verborum, de quibus eruditus es, veritatem. Multi conati sunt, sed non multi compleverunt. Multi conati sunt ordinare narrationem, sed a Domino electi sunt quattuor evangelistae.
Hom. 2: Zacharias and Elizabeth righteous (Luke 1:6)§2
2On they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments: righteousness is not a show for people but walking blameless before God; the priestly pair models obedience without which the forerunner’s birth is not understood.
Latin · §2
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 1:6. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 3: Angel at the incense hour (Luke 1:8-11)§3
3While Zacharias serves in the order of his course and offers incense, the angel appears. Prayer and temple service meet revelation; fear is fitting when heaven speaks in the holy place.
Latin · §3
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 1:8-11. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 4: John’s name and father’s silence (Luke 1:13-20)§4
4Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. Unbelief seals the tongue; faith will open it. The name and the silence preach that God’s word stands whether we trust it or not.
Latin · §4
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 1:13-20. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 5: Mary’s greeting and leap (Luke 1:39-44)§5
5Mary goes to Elizabeth; the infant leaps in the womb and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. The lesser prophet already greets the greater Lord; joy runs ahead of speech.
Latin · §5
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 1:39-44. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 6: Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)§6
6My soul magnifies the Lord: Mary’s song overturns the proud and lifts the lowly. The Word in her womb already scatters the imagination of hearts that exalt themselves.
Latin · §6
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 1:46-55. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 7: Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79)§7
7Zacharias, tongue loosed, blesses God who has visited and redeemed his people. Prophecy and priesthood meet: the forerunner will give knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of sins.
Latin · §7
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 1:68-79. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 8: Census and Bethlehem birth (Luke 2:1-7)§8
8A decree of Caesar serves the prophecy of Bethlehem. The Lord is wrapped in cloths and laid in a manger; poverty of the flesh veils the wealth of the Word.
Latin · §8
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 2:1-7. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 9: Angels and shepherds (Luke 2:8-14)§9
9Shepherds keep watch; the angel announces good news of great joy and the host praises God. Heaven teaches earth to glorify God and seek the peace he gives.
Latin · §9
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 2:8-14. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 10: Circumcision and presentation (Luke 2:21-24)§10
10The child is circumcised and named Jesus; they offer the poor’s pair of doves. He who gave the law submits to the law to redeem those under the law.
Latin · §10
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 2:21-24. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 11: Simeon’s Nunc dimittis (Luke 2:25-35)§11
11Simeon waits for Israel’s consolation, takes the child, and sings now you dismiss your servant in peace. The child is set for falling and rising; a sword will pierce Mary’s soul.
Latin · §11
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 2:25-35. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 12: Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:36-38)§12
12Anna, long in fasting and prayer, speaks of the child to those awaiting redemption. Persistent worship is not idle; it recognizes the Lord when he comes.
Latin · §12
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 2:36-38. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 13: The boy Jesus in the temple (Luke 2:41-52)§13
13At twelve he sits among the teachers. Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house? Obedience to the Father outruns even holy parental anxiety; yet he goes down and is subject to them.
Latin · §13
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 2:41-52. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 14: John’s preaching (Luke 3:1-6)§14
14In Tiberius’s fifteenth year the word comes to John. Prepare the way of the Lord: valleys filled, mountains lowered — moral geography for repentance before the Word appears in power.
Latin · §14
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 3:1-6. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 15: Fruits worthy of repentance (Luke 3:7-9)§15
15Brood of vipers cannot hide in ancestry. Bear fruits worthy of repentance; the axe lies at the root. Birth from Abraham without works of faith is no refuge.
Latin · §15
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 3:7-9. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 16: Crowds, tax collectors, soldiers (Luke 3:10-14)§16
16Each vocation hears its measure: share coats, collect no more than appointed, extort no one. Repentance enters ordinary callings and cleans their tools.
Latin · §16
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 3:10-14. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 17: One stronger than John (Luke 3:15-17)§17
17John is not the Christ; he baptizes with water, but the stronger one baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire and clears his threshing floor. Distinction of ministers protects the Lord’s unique work.
Latin · §17
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 3:15-17. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 18: Jesus baptized; genealogy begun (Luke 3:21-23)§18
18Jesus is baptized while praying; heaven opens. Luke’s genealogy will run upward to God — the Son numbered with sinners yet without sin.
Latin · §18
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 3:21-23. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 19: Genealogy to God (Luke 3:23-38)§19
19From Jesus back through David and Abraham to Adam, the son of God: Luke ties the Savior to the whole human race, not Israel only.
Latin · §19
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 3:23-38. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 20: Temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13)§20
20Led by the Spirit, Jesus fasts and answers the devil from Scripture. Man shall not live by bread alone; worship and trust are not for sale. The Word defeats the liar with the written word.
Latin · §20
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 4:1-13. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 21: Nazareth sermon (Luke 4:16-21)§21
21In the synagogue he reads Isaiah: Spirit upon me to proclaim good news to the poor. Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing — the jubilee stands in him.
Latin · §21
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 4:16-21. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 22: Rejected at Nazareth (Luke 4:22-30)§22
22Familiarity breeds contempt; Elijah and Elisha helped outsiders. Truth is not bound to hometown pride; they drive him out, but his hour is not theirs to set.
Latin · §22
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 4:22-30. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 23: Capernaum authority; demons (Luke 4:31-37)§23
23He teaches with authority and rebukes unclean spirits. The Word’s command is not like the scribes’; creation’s rebels know his voice.
Latin · §23
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 4:31-37. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 24: Simon’s mother-in-law; healings (Luke 4:38-41)§24
24Fever leaves at his rebuke; many are healed. Demons confess him and are silenced — faith needs his word, not their testimony.
Latin · §24
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 4:38-41. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 25: Preaching the kingdom (Luke 4:42-44)§25
25Crowds hold him; he must preach the kingdom to other towns also. The physician does not stay where he is praised while other sick wait.
Latin · §25
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 4:42-44. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 26: Catch of fish; fishers of people (Luke 5:1-11)§26
26At his word the nets fill. Peter confesses sin and is called to catch people. Obedience after a barren night becomes abundance for mission.
Latin · §26
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 5:1-11. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 27: Leper cleansed (Luke 5:12-14)§27
27Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. He wills and cleanses, then sends the man to the priest — mercy and law’s witness held together.
Latin · §27
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 5:12-14. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 28: Paralytic forgiven (Luke 5:17-26)§28
28Friends lower the paralytic; Jesus first forgives sins, then heals. Who can forgive sins but God alone? — the Son of Man shows the answer in power.
Latin · §28
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 5:17-26. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 29: Levi called; eating with sinners (Luke 5:27-32)§29
29A tax collector rises and follows. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The physician sits at the sick man’s table.
Latin · §29
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 5:27-32. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 30: Fasting and new wine (Luke 5:33-39)§30
30The bridegroom’s friends do not fast while he is with them. New wine needs new skins — the gospel’s joy is not patched onto old self-righteousness.
Latin · §30
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 5:33-39. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 31: Lord of the Sabbath (Luke 6:1-5)§31
31Disciples pluck grain; the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath. David’s example and the Lord’s title free mercy from misread rest.
Latin · §31
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 6:1-5. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 32: Withered hand healed (Luke 6:6-11)§32
32On the Sabbath he restores the hand. Doing good is lawful rest; watching to accuse is not worship.
Latin · §32
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 6:6-11. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 33: Beatitudes and woes (Luke 6:20-26)§33
33Blessed are the poor, the hungry, the weeping, the hated for the Son of Man; woe to the full and laughed-with now. Luke’s sermon measures hope by the age to come.
Latin · §33
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 6:20-26. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 34: Love of enemies (Luke 6:27-36)§34
34Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Lending without despair of return images the Father’s kindness to the ungrateful.
Latin · §34
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 6:27-36. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 35: Judge not; tree and fruit (Luke 6:37-45)§35
35Measure for measure; the speck and the beam. A good tree bears good fruit — the mouth speaks from the heart’s store.
Latin · §35
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 6:37-45. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 36: House on the rock (Luke 6:46-49)§36
36Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I say? Hearing without doing builds on sand; doing his words digs deep to rock.
Latin · §36
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 6:46-49. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 37: Centurion’s faith (Luke 7:1-10)§37
37A Gentile commander trusts the word at a distance. I have not found such faith in Israel — authority recognized without spectacle.
Latin · §37
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 7:1-10. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 38: Widow’s son at Nain (Luke 7:11-17)§38
38He meets a funeral and says Young man, I say to you, arise. Compassion stops the bier; God visits his people.
Latin · §38
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 7:11-17. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)
Hom. 39: John’s question; SERIES CLOSEOUT (Luke 7:18-28)§39
39John’s disciples ask if Jesus is the coming one; the works of Isaiah answer. Among those born of women none is greater than John, yet the least in the kingdom is greater — the turn of the ages. HOMILIES CLOSEOUT. SERIES CLOSEOUT.
Latin · §39
(Jerome Latin working note; lemma Luke 7:18-28. Full Rauer GCS 35 text to be locked locally.)