There are evenings on the long road when a traveler pauses, not because he is weary, but because a truth rises before him like an old milestone—one he has passed many times, yet never fully seen. I found such a moment while listening to a reflection from Bishop Robert Barron, drawn from a sermon on the historical reality of Jesus Christ.

What struck me was not a new idea, but an ancient one spoken with clarity: the Gospel writer Luke did not set out to craft a myth or a fireside legend. He wrote as a historian. At the very threshold of his Gospel, he tells us plainly that he has “investigated everything carefully,” and now offers an “orderly account.” He names rulers, regions, and the figures who shaped the political landscape of his time—not as decoration, but as anchors. Markers. Coordinates on the map of human history.