Loading...The Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Luke is beautiful.
Each gospel —Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John— all tell part of the story of Jesus, the incarnate God and
the man who grew up in Nazareth, became a rabbi,
gathered disciples, healed many, taught so many more,
and gave life again to all the world.
Each of the gospel has what I call a “theological axe to grind”.
In other words, they each focus in on a different aspect of Jesus’ ministry and life.
Mark is driven by the urgency of Jesus’ mission.
Matthew is challenging us to transform our understanding of God’s work in the world in Jesus, plus he seemed to be especially reaching out to Jewish believers.
John tells us about Jesus as the Lamb of God for the sake of the world.
And, in Luke, Jesus over and over again talks about the “great reversal”: the last shall be first and the first shall be last.
Luke’s gospel also includes beautiful canticles
such as Mary’s song and Zechariah’s song,
the well known Christmas story,
the story of the road to Emmaus, and parables such as
the Good Samaritan, the Forgiving Father (aka Prodigal Son).
Luke is also known to be the writer of the Acts of the Apostles —
indeed, the Gospel and Acts work so well together
and open up an incredible story when you read them
one after the other.
Legend has it that Luke is a physician.
You can see that in part by how he writes and what is included.
That also explains why our first reading for this St. Luke’s Day from Sirach is about the physician.
And the 1st Timothy reading lets us know that Luke learned from Paul who had the direct connection with the post-resurrection Jesus. Which is right up there in terms of authority to be one of the Gospel writers.
Yet, I suspect that Luke would be the first to say,
It’s not about me. It’s about Jesus.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus reads these verses from the prophet Isaiah.
He didn’t come up with them originally (they weren’t written for or about him),
but he CLAIMED them as his.
He claimed them as his work of ministry, his vision for mission,
his calling in life.
That might sound pretty lofty — that’s right, Jesus! Preach!
And, indeed he does:
“Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
But, those words can also be read by, heard by, claimed by, and lived by you.
The Spirit of the Lord IS upon you.
The Spirit of the Lord wants you to bring good news to those who hurt
The Spirit of the Lord compels you to tell those who are imprisoned in some way that they are free from the grip of whatever keeps them captive:
addictions
mental illness
unrelenting grief
feelings of worthlessness
racism
misogyny
poverty
trauma
violence
The Spirit of the Lord gives you the words to speak and the power of love deep in your hearts and minds to proclaim
the love of God for all people
the reconciliation of Jesus for all the beloved
the courage and vitality of the Spirit for each one of us.
Caveat: those things which imprison us won’t magically go away.
God does not have a magic wand to make them be gone.
But, God is present with us in the midst of the pain and suffering.
THIS is the good news of great joy.
This is what we see now that we are no longer blind.
We see that we Are. Not. Alone in our troubles.
We do NOT have to figure out how to slog our way out.
We do not have to be rugged individualists doing it ourselves.
We have community.
We have the Spirit of life.
We have Jesus, the Incarnate One about whom Luke and the other Gospel writers tell us.
We each have a call, and invitation, a poke or prod
to DO something with this saving knowledge,
with this hope that dwells within us.
Maybe, like Luke, we write or travel to tell others.
Maybe we help out our neighbors.
Maybe we advocate for change to unjust systems and institutions.
Maybe we make others feel uncomfortable because we speak truth
when others would rather just “be nice”.
Maybe we observe, listen, learn, and synthesize information,
processing and discerning to help communities.
Maybe we nurture and teach.
Maybe we mow grass, care for grandchildren, make it so that others can hear and understand.
Maybe we build, or protect, or visit.
We definitely vote, if we can!
This day is about St. Luke because we remember the way he was an Evangelist — a title that means both “Gospel writer” and “one who shares the good news about God in Jesus and love for all.”
This day is also about you and I because we are prompted to consider how we might be evangelists also.
(that’s right! I said the “E” word!)
We are sent to share the good news about God’s love for all
the love that Jesus teaches, shows, and manifests.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon YOU
because the Spirit has anointed you to bring good news to the poor.
And has sent you to proclaim release to the captives,
recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
And to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
You’ve been called and sent! Amen
