The Third Gospel in Finnegans Wake

This paper examines the role of the Gospel of Luke in Finnegans Wake. While the identities of all four evangelists are usually obscured by Joyce's composite figure Mamalujo, here I attempt to show how unique characteristics of Luke also influenced the Wake. Some of those characteristics are Luke's classical style, his skill as a story-teller, and his role as an editor and arranger. Luke's universalizing mission also left its trace on the figure of "Here Comes Everybody." Joyce incorporated Luke's parables concerning redemption of "that which was lost" and Luke's "Jubilee theme," which signaled a canceling of debts. In contrast to the secretive gospel of Mark, Luke is characterized by an intention to disseminate and make known. Finally, Luke's treatment of delay of the Parousia is also connected to a "not yet" theme in the Wake.