Category Archives: Luke

Life

Posted on December 4, 2016 | Leave a comment

Luke 15:21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

There’s the truth of Advent in Luke’s story of the son who came home. It’s a revelation of the heart of God that shows his desire to welcome and celebrate the life of those who bear his image if they will just do that one thing, come home.

That’s God’s promise to a world filled with needy people like us really, convinced we can figure out life if given the chance. God has gone beyond chance to provide for our need. Advent is the celebration of His promise in the flesh. It’s our reminder every year of why He sent a baby in a Christmas cradle, ready and waiting.

After all what else can a baby do but wait? There’s no forced compliance at the cradle, no persuasive words, no clearly laid out “do it this way” doctrine, but a waiting baby…an invitation…to come home to the celebration of an unexpected and undeserved reality of new life that triumphs over circumstances.

Christmas Lullaby by Amy Grant

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Mary Did You Know?  12/24/15 

Posted on December 24, 2015 | Leave a comment

Luke 2: 19 & 20
19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had  been told.

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Glory To God in the Highest 12/23/15

Posted on December 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

Luke 2:14 -18
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

 

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Breath of Heaven 12/22/15

Posted on December 22, 2015 | Leave a comment

Luke 2:1- 7
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

I have traveled many moonless nights
Cold and weary with a babe inside
And I wonder what I’ve done
Holy Father you have come
And chosen me now
To carry your son

I am waiting in a silent prayer
I am frightened by the load I bear
In a world as cold as stone
Must I walk this path alone
Be with me now
Be with me now

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Of All People! 12/21/15

Posted on December 21, 2015 | Leave a comment

Luke 2:8-11 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Each of us were taking our shifts through the night to keep watch over the lambs.
It seemed like an ordinary night but honestly you’ll have to take my word for it, what happened next had us all up and on our feet in an instant.

Shepherds have to be ready for anything. There’s danger from wild animals and from thieves but in the darkness of the wilderness, and when we heard that voice coming out of nowhere, it seemed like our worst fears had become reality.

I don’t know if I actually saw a figure but for sure every one of us heard the voice.   “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”   Sure, we’d heard of a Savior, but this was a very different reality.  Angels just don’t appear to shepherds.  We don’t count for much except for the occasional perfect lamb we manage to provide for the Temple.

This is the awesome part…here we were, ordinary shepherds…Of All People…and God chose us to see first-hand His own perfect Lamb in the temple he’d provided!

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This Manger 12/20/15

Posted on December 20, 2015 | Leave a comment

Luke 2:6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

This Manger cradle was not an accident that happened in an overcrowded village at a busy time.  God provided it.  Was This Cradle the first church?  It could be.   It wasn’t the perfect structure I might have hoped for, but it was there and available.   It wasn’t filled with privileged and perfect people, but those who were curious, who listened and responded with their presence.  The only thing that made it perfect was that God chose to make his Son available there.

Churches are surely different but in this season there are similarities that attract us to This Cradle together: it’s available to anyone who wants to come.  There are still wise men and women who follow their own path to to give the gifts they have.  We still have shepherds who rise and boldly tell the story of what they see.  We can sing the music of praise filled with words we forget to speak at other times.  This Cradle still holds the same surprise and promise – God’s Son is available there..

This year Take a Walk Through Bethlehem and remember “You don’t have to travel anywhere, faith and hope and love will bring you there…

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Part of the Cast 12/17/15

Posted on December 17, 2015 | Leave a comment

Luke 2:13 & 14
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

CastWe’re in the last days of the choir preparation for the church’s Christmas Concert this Saturday night.  It’s a BIG deal in the community and a REALLY big deal in our lives.  Singing the beautiful music of Christmas with the Florida Philharmonic Symphony, Seven Rivers Chorale, soprano Amy Owens, and even an Irish Band is thrilling…and work.

It’s become an up-close-and-personal object lesson for me.  Those angels may well have had the same long hours of practice learning words and music so their song could be the perfect proclamation.  It’s easy to lose the idea of the very real effort involved in all the Holiness of that night.

That night wasn’t just a last minute thing that God pulled off.  There was a great deal of preparation moving all “cast” members to the right place at the right time in order to accomplish the reality of “praising God and saying,  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”   We are privileged to be Part of the Cast of this contemporary Gloria…and a little overwhelmed.

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The Clothes of Reality 12/13/15

Posted on December 13, 2015 | Leave a comment

Luke 2:8-12
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.  12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

As I read this from Luke I couldn’t help but think of what I expect to find at that cradle. There’s a lot of beautiful images that fill my head that are probably more romance than reality.  I can understand the bright light of the Glory of the Lord and Heavenly Hosts would certainly be signs and maybe a baby with a halo but the angel specifically said “And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”  Wasn’t that what every baby was wrapped in?

There’s an old story of a European ruler who would sneak away and walk among his people incognito.  It drove his security people nuts but his response was “I cannot rule my people unless I know how they live.”   This birth was just like that: God revealed to our world as an ordinary baby, wrapped in ordinary swaddling clothes…from ordinary parents in an ordinary stable…incognito.

This is a mystery I’m wondering about this Advent.   How many times have I missed God because the circumstances seemed too ordinary?  Isn’t that the whole reason we walk again to the cradle year after year?  It’s our chance to see a miracle wrapped in The Clothes of Reality.

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Mary’s Part 12/9/15

Posted on December 9, 2015 | Leave a comment

Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

I am a detail person.  Sometimes it’s a real problem.  I want a plan, I want to know every detail ahead of time so I can have a Plan B ready.  But most of all I want to get from A to B with no surprises or complications…please.  This record of Mary’s journey is fraught with them.  It’s enough to cause me stress on her behalf.

A long journey by foot – 80 miles
Preparation for the journey – clothing, food
The taxes themselves AND the cost to get there to pay them
High/Low temps in that season – 58/44º F
A heavily pregnant woman
Bouncing on a donkey
Nightly rest stops

Google says today that journey would take 34 hours by foot.  That’s 2.35 miles per hour.  I just can’t see that happening for that journey.  That journey took days!  There’s a stark reality in that list of hardship that even the angel’s message couldn’t change.  I don’t imagine for a moment that Mary forgot that message. She heard and she believed but that alone wasn’t what made her journey an act of holiness.  Here’s the most important fact about Mary’s Part in that walk to Bethlehem…she went.

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Birth of Faith Too 12/1/15

Posted on December 1, 2015 | Leave a comment

Luke 2:10 The angel said to them, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people; for there is born to you this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Thoughts by Martin Luther from Watch for the Light.bow today a present graphic copy copy
“See to it that you do not treat the Gospel only as history, for that is only transient; neither regard it only as an example, for it is of no value without faith. Rather, see to it that you make this birth your own and that Christ be born in you….The Gospel does not merely teach about the history of Christ. No, it enables all who believe it to receive it as their own, which is the way the Gospel operates.

Luther’s words sound like the essence of what we call being born again, don’t they:  “…see to it that you make this birth your own…”   The angel’s words made this story a current event: ”there is born to you this day…”

Every day of this Advent walk is “this day” for us.   The angel’s words have become more than history: “there is born to you this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”   They have become a current event for us and that’s what makes Advent about our Birth of FaithToo.

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