Luke's Story of Jesus

Tomorrow, Advent begins, the season of the church year in which we look forward to celebrating Christ’s coming at Christmas, and with it the new year of lectionary readings begins. These are the readings to be used in worship and this is the start of Year C. It focuses on many parts of Luke’s Gospel, and I thought this would be a good year to read and study the whole Gospel while I also preach on the assigned passages. The first section, Luke 1.1-4, is called the prologue, and in it the author, traditionally called Luke, sets out his reason for writing:

1 Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, 3 I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. (New Revised Standard Version)

There are some things worth noting about the passage, but first of all of them is that Luke writes to add his story of Jesus to the other ones. It is a carefully researched and accurate story, but this reminds us that we each have our own story of Jesus to tell others. It is the account of what Jesus has done in our lives. The church, you might say, is the community of those whose lives have been touched by Christ. Some people’s stories will talk about Christ as healer, others of his love, still others of the forgiveness found in Christ. Mine begins with how Jesus led me from knowing about the Christian faith to having my own faith in him. What is your story of Jesus?
We gather each week in worship to share these stories of Jesus. We will also gather on Christmas Eve, at 5:00 p.m. in Lewiston and 7:30 p.m. at the Chatfield church, where we will retell the story in words and song of how God loved the world so much that God sent the Son into it to show us who God is and bring us back to God. You are invited to share in this special time. Until then, we prepare our hearts in Advent.

Wishing you all a blessed and joyous Christmas,
Pastor Tim

Last Saturday we held the Fall Festival in Lewiston. The weather for it was gorgeous and it was good to see familiar faces as well as some new ones. It was a time of good food and fellowship. This Sunday (Nov. 15) in Utica will be the Utica Area Cancer Research Fundraising Group’s chili and soup supper, 3-7 p.m. at the Utica School. A freewill offering will be taken to support cancer research.

In my reading of James, I have been looking at the word “light”, since it says that God is the Father of lights (James 1.17). The New Testament uses “light” in a number of different ways. One of those, according to the Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, is “light” used for the proclamation of salvation, centered on Christ’s person, words, and works. So the nations will look for that light (Isaiah 42.6; 49.6; Luke 2.32) and find their hope fulfilled in Jesus. We disciples are to be that light (Matthew 5.14) so that others can see the gospel and turn from their present lives to a new life in Christ (1 Peter 2.9). It is good to remember as our time of daylight is getting shorter that Christ is the light of our lives and the gospel is the message of that light.
The verse, as I mentioned last time, also points to the gifts of God. That is something to keep in mind as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday. We have much to be thankful for and perhaps this would be a good time to name them.

In reading I have come across this verse: “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1.17) It is a reminder of how we live our lives as recipients of God’s blessing. That is a whole different attitude from the one in which prevails in our world, in which we expect to be rewarded generously for what we do (even if it is very little). The first finds or discovers God’s goodness, the second attitude demands it. The first is based on who God is, the second on what we want. True gratitude is based on God; greed is based on us. The verse from James reminds us that the good things in our lives come from God. That is something we can rediscover as we think about those things that God has given us.