Reading LUKE - January 28 to February 3

Luke 6:12-49

Following two major themes in Luke...This week's reading presents a brief note about one theme and a major example of the other.

1. Describing a world-changing movement, the person at the center, and the power behind it.

It starts out with Jesus gathering his twelve disciples, and Luke mentions that Jesus also called them "apostles". Ever wonder why these folks are called disciples sometimes and at other times called apostles? Turns out Jesus is responsible. Apostle means "sent one", but it won't be until chapter 9 that Jesus actually sends them out in mission to others. The apostles are the main characters (other than the Holy Spirit!) in the book of Acts, and here Luke makes it clear that even at the very beginning, Jesus followers (disciples) were destined to be sent out (apostles) to lead a movement throughout the known world.

Do you consider yourself a disciple of Jesus? What does it mean to you? Do you have a personal favorite of the original 12? What do you appreciate about that disciple?

Have you ever thought of yourself as an apostle? In what ways has Jesus sent you out to bring his love and message to people in need of it?

2. Jesus' mission to the marginalized

Jesus' teaching both uplifts the poor & challenges the rich. 6:20-26
His sermon on the plain (a level place) differs from Matthew's sermon on the mount:
Here Jesus offers blessings and woes...that's right, he did say that! His "woes" challenge a particular group of people...those who are rich, those who have plenty of what they need.

Luke says blessed are you who are poor (he does not say "poor in Spirit" as Matthew does). And just in case we want to write that off or read it to mean spiritually, Jesus says woe to you who are rich!

What do you do with this teaching? Spiritualize it? Ignore it? Set the line between rich and poor safely above your financial status? Allow yourself to be blessed (if poor) or challenged (if rich) by the Lord?

Relate this section to 32-36. Here Jesus issues clear direction about lending to those in need of money...he's talking about the rich. Giving a loan to someone who has the ability to repay you is just business, not an expression of Kingdom mercy. We'll see throughout Luke and Acts that giving money is expected of those who follow Christ as Lord. In Acts we will see believers holding their possessions in common with one another. Some people of means are generous (Lydia) and others decidedly greedy (Ananias and Sapphira). Spoiler alert...there are consequences for being greedy with the resources God has given you.

Relate it also to Luke 6:46. "Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?" The concept of Lordship...obeying the teaching of Jesus...includes aligning our wealth with Gods kingdom purposes and releasing our tight hold on our security blanket of money.

What do you think all of this means for you and your family?

Reading LUKE - January 21-27 - Week 3 of 11

Luke 4:14-6:11
Beginning in Galilee

Tracking the World-changing Jesus Movement and the Power behind it

Pay special attention to THE MISSION OF JESUS

• Luke 4:16-20 The mission Jesus claimed in reading the prophecy from Isaiah
• Luke 4:43 "I must  proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose."

Pay special attention to the sightings of the HOLY SPIRIT

• 4:14 "Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee..."
• 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor..." (quoted from Isaiah)

Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus demonstrates spiritual AUTHORITY

• 4:21 "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing..."
• 4:32 "They were astounded at this teaching, because he spoke with authority..."
• 4:36 "...For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!"
• 5:17 "...and the power of the Lord was with him to heal."
• 5:24 "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..."
• 6:5 "Then he said to them, 'The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath'..."

Tracking Jesus' Mission to the Marginalized
What kind of people does Jesus' mission take him to?

Scene 1: Jesus Reads the Isaiah Scroll in the Synagogue
The poor, captives, blind, the oppressed.  The follow-up teaching in 4:23-30 shows Jesus speaking of times when God favored foreigners instead of the people of privileged position.

Scene 2: Jesus Heals the Demonized and the Diseased
The demon-possessed, those sick with various kinds of diseases, the "unclean", the paralyzed, the deformed (the man with a withered hand).

Scene 3: Jesus Calls the First Disciples
Fishermen...common, hardworking folk - definitely not the elite of society.

Scene 4: The Scandalous Accusation
Tax-collectors and sinners (5:29-32)

Bottom Line:
Spend some time in reflection about these verses from Luke's gospel...

²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Amen.

Reading LUKE - January 14-20 - Week 2 of 11

Luke 3 - 4:13
"Adam, John, Jesus" (see link to Dr. Mark Abbott's commentary on the right)

As I mentioned in last week's introductory post, I'm going to follow two themes through the text of Luke and Acts.  Here's what I'm highlighting for this week's reading, organized by the two themes:

Lukan Theme A:

An orderly account of a world-changing movement for world citizens…
emphasizing the person at the center (Jesus) and the power behind it all (Holy Spirit)

3:1 “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius…”

Luke is again speaking to the secular world to connect this story of John & Jesus to their experience of the world, naming names of the emperor, governor, and regional leaders.  In your view, how is the message of Jesus connected with world/political events?  How might relating our Christian faith to current events be a part of a witness to Jesus?

3:23 “Jesus was about 30 years old…”

Luke is the gospel writer who provides us with Jesus’ age.  Why do you think this would be an important detail?

3:16 “…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

Holy Spirit sighting! Here’s where it’s helpful to know that Luke and Acts are two connected volumes. Connect this prophecy with the account of its fulfillment in Acts 2:1-4.

3:20 “Herod…shut up John in prison.”

Prison is a major setting for those in the Jesus movement, as you can see from even a cursory reading of the book of Acts. This reality appears at the very beginning of the story with a faithful witness (John) put in prison by an evil authority.  Do you know of anyone who has been imprisoned for their faith?  Google the topic and find someone to pray for.

3:21-22 “…the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.”

Holy Spirit sighting! At Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit is visibly identified with Jesus. In the sight of human beings (witnesses), Jesus was now united with the Holy Spirit. When we see Jesus, Spirit is working; when we see spirit working, there is Jesus. How does this strengthen your understanding of the Trinity?

4:1-2 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit…led by the Spirit in the wilderness.”

Holy Spirit sighting! The Holy Spirit not only fills Jesus, but leads him into a time of testing in the wilderness. Notice that the Spirit doesn’t leave him during the time of trial! What do you think about the Spirit leading Jesus into something so difficult? Have you experienced something like this?

 

Lukan Theme B:

Jesus’ Mission to the Marginalized

 

3:7-9 “…for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees…”

John’s preaching starts to chop away at the pedestal of privilege. Status as Abraham’s ancestor is nothing to hide behind when it comes to repentance. John announces that God is able to replace those of privilege with some of the lowest status material you can think of –the ground beneath your feet!   Keep a look out for the fulfillment of these words throughout Luke & Acts: Who are the “stones” that God raises up to continue Abraham’s family of faith?

 

3:10-14 “What then should we do?”

John continues the tradition of the prophets in proclaiming that God is more interested in actions of justice and compassion than religious observances.

• Do you have coats & food when some don’t have any (the poor)? Share with them!
• Do you collect money from people? Don’t collect more than is owed! Treating people fairly (especially the vulnerable) is a higher priority than profits.
• Are you a soldier (or have violent power at your disposal)? Don’t use your power and threat of violence to get money out of people powerless to resist you.

Why didn’t John tell them to pray and go to the synagogue? What would it mean for you to follow John’s leading?

 

4:1-13 “command…kingdoms…glory…authority…Jerusalem…pinnacle…”

The account of the tempting of Jesus in the wilderness is full of insights for relying on Jesus in meeting and beating temptations in your life. The way Jesus responded with God’s word when tested is a reminder of the importance of reading and knowing scripture. But through the lens of Jesus’ Mission to the Marginalized, we notice how the devil is testing how Jesus will use POWER. When power is used for loving purposes – God’s purposes – it can bless people, lifting up the powerless or at least treating them gently. The big question that is being wrestled with in the wilderness is this: Will Jesus use his power to benefit himself and meet the needs of his ego or for the good of others and to further God’s purposes in the world? Will he free the oppressed or will he - like other charismatic leaders before and since - end up oppressing them? Our Lord passed the test, and offers his faithfulness to us as we face the test of power. 

How do we use our power, our abilities, our education, our earning-power…for ourselves or for God’s kingdom purposes?

 

Reading LUKE - Week 1 - Birth Announcements

The Gospel of Luke, Chapters 1-2

This is my first weekly post for the reading of the Gospel of Luke, and I am so excited!  Excited to start reading Luke again, excited that we'll transition right into Acts in the Spring, excited that we're on this journey together.

 

If you haven't done so, even if it's not your usual custom, be sure to go online and listen to the podcast of the biblical commentary written by Dr. Mark Abbott - there's no substitute for hearing the voice of the writer.  What I write in this blog always assumes that people are reading/listening to the commentary as well as the scripture text. [see links to the right...]

This week starts with chapters 1-2.  Familiar to most of us from years of Christmas celebrations, perhaps they are too familiar.  Take a close look at the words/story without the lights, tinsel, and egg nog...see if you notice anything for the first time.  Of course, for those of us who missed the spiritual significance of the season that has just passed, consider this a gracious do-over!

 

I want to emphasize two themes that will carry through the entire reading of Luke AND Acts.  Dr. Abbott mentions both of them in his introductory commentary.  I'll introduce them here, and also comment on where you'll start seeing them even in the first two chapters of Luke.

 

1. An Orderly Account of a World-Changing Movement

 

Luke has one of the most unique profiles/personalities of all the books of the Bible, and it reads differently when you understand that it's a 2-volume current-events historical account of the emergence of a new spiritual movement in the world.

It is written as an orderly account based on careful research, offered to a person named Theophilus ("lover of God").  It connects God's story to the world's story -- see this in Luke 2:2 in the mention that the census of the ROMAN WORLD ordered by CAESAR AUGUSTUS took place when QUIRINIUS was governer of SYRIA.  For Luke, it's important to help the reader understand how this story of Jesus and the church relates to the "secular" world that people live in.

It is the first of two volumes, followed up by the book of Acts.  This reminds us that sometimes the best way to understand scripture is NOT to read them in biblical order!  There's nothing wrong with reading John between Luke and Acts, but it does interrupt some powerful themes.  The most powerful of the themes is the Holy Spirit, which is introduced right from the start in the announcement to Mary that the Holy Spirit will cause her to conceive...that's right, the Holy Spirit is right there at the beginning of the story before Jesus is born!  The story of Simeon simmers with the Spirit as well.
 
2. The Messiah's Mission to the Marginalized

When we speak of marginalized people, we're talking about those in a low position of importance, influence, and power.  In the historical context of Luke's gospel, we're talking about women, the poor, the childless, the widow, the outcast.  All of these groups figure prominently in Luke/Acts. 

 

As you start reading, you'll notice the emphasis on two female characters, Elizabeth and Mary.  For Luke, Mary is not only the mother of Jesus, but also a devout disciple whose personal witness is meant to inspire devotion to Christ.  After Jesus is born, two prophets enter the scene - and one of them is a woman! (I've known a few experienced Christians for whom this is a shocking revelation)

 

The poor and outcast...well, you run into them, too.  They figure prominently as those God blesses in the songs of Mary and Zechariah.  The shepherds - poor, manual-laboring, low in status, considered unclean - were the ones who first received the announcement from the angels and visited the infant Jesus.  Anna, in addition to being a prophetess, was also an elderly widow.

 

When reading Luke, remember to LOOK for the LOWLY.  Listen to how it might speak to your personal experience of marginalization.  Read it through the eyes of the poor and outcast of today's society.  Beyond considering what the text means for you, ask these questions:

• What does this mean for people who are materially poor?
• What does this mean for people without status - those who do not have a stake in good neighborhoods, schools, health benefits, opportunities?
• What does this mean for immigrants or refugees?
• What does this mean for people who are sick?
• What does this mean for people who are alone and without family?

_______________________

One last note for your reading of the first two chapters: NOTICE THE MUSIC!  It's like a playlist of songs, one after another, with the characters in the story always singing to God!  It's like

"Luke: The Musical"

• Mary's Song - 1:46-55
• Zechariah's Song - 1:67-79
• The Angel and the Heavenly Host's Praise Song - 2:13-14
• Simeon's Song - 2:28-32

 
Enjoy the show!