It's November as I start this blog post, and therefore tis the season to be jolly - well almost. As it's nearly advent I thought it would be nice to remind myself of the 'Christmas story' by reading Luke's Gospel which has (along with Matthew) an account of the arrival of Jesus in the world as a baby. Also, Luke will be the primary gospel for the upcoming lectionary year in the CofE, so I'm getting 'ahead of the game'.
1. The angel Gabriel announces the conception of special sons; first to Zechariah (who doubts), and then to Mary (who rejoices fiercely)
2. The special status of Jesus is confirmed by choirs of angels and faithful people, later in childhood he is drawn to the temple in Jerusalem
3. John awakens to his ministry; exhorting and baptising for repentance, and many flock to him for baptism, including Jesus son of Joseph
4. Jesus uses Deuteronomic law to defend himself from temptation, and begins teaching in the synagogues attracting much attention - positive and negative
5. Disciples and people in need of healing flock to Jesus willy nilly, and when observers compare him unfavourably to cousin John he hints at different kind of calling
6. Jesus teaches his followers and gathering crowds the purpose of Jewish law, and the even higher standards for those who want the closest relationship with God 7. Compassion for unsavoury but repentant sufferers brings Jesus into conflict with the self-appointed righteous - even cousin John expresses doubt in Jesus' ministry
8. Along with disciples of both genders, Jesus goes on a preaching tour and on the way fulfills Isaiah's prophecy by setting people free from the things tormenting them (the sign he told cousin John to look out for in chapter 7)
9. Jesus intensifies the training of his disciples; teaching, challenging and testing them them, and they often seem to struggle with what he's trying to tell them and show to them
10. A large group of disciples is sent out by Jesus and he rejoices when they come back triumphant, meanwhile he continues to preach and teach in public places and private homes
11. Jesus encourages his disciples to seek God's aid as they would from a good father or neighbour, but berates the people who appear to be looking for signs from God while not heeding the signs already there
12. Jesus tells his disciples and the crowds about God's love for them, but also warns them to prioritise seeking God above all else
13. Jesus teaches that seeking God's will requires a change of heart, mind and habits, while also suggesting that few really want to discover God's transformative will for their lives
14. Jesus exhorts his followers not to put their own or their family's status foremost if they truly want to serve God
15. In response to those who are uncomfortable with some of the company he keeps, Jesus tells many stories, each of which emphasise a reckless love for the lost
16. Jesus observes that those who highly value their wealth and high status are very good at making the world bend to their will, and are therefore unlikely to hear God calling them to a different way of living
17. Cryptic words from Jesus about belonging, duty and signs, suggesting that Godly things will not happen the way people expect them to
18. Continuing to teach a range of people in parables, Jesus challenges concepts of righteousness, discipleship and leadership
19. As he draws near and then enters Jerusalem, Jesus' behaviour and teaching continue to alienate many respectable citizens, but attract the disreputable
20. Experts try to catch Jesus out on complex matters relating to Jewish law, he evades or confounds the attempts, and warns others against these kinds of tricks
21. Observing people in the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus warns that the signs of God's coming will be alarming, and that to be prepared people should focus on God - like the widow who offered her 'mite', rather than the wealthy who gave what they could easily afford
22. After celebrating the Passover feast with his closest disciples, Jesus is betrayed by one, denied by another and finally led out alone to face judgement for the disruption his activities have caused
23. Those who believed Jesus to be an agitator have their way; he is condemned and crucified, despite a lack of legal evidence, while his faithful followers can only watch him die and then care for his corpse
24. The disciples of Jesus are initially distressed to discover that his body has gone from the tomb, but gradually a sense of joy grows as they encounter him in person, and all that he taught them falls into place
Jesus said, Jesus said, Jesus said... We hear a lot from Jesus in Luke's Gospel. A different ratio of action and speech than Marks gospel, which makes Jesus seem more approachable - you can imagine being able to talk to him and ask questions. It's therefore very striking how little Jesus says in chapter 23, when he is judged and executed - it's so clear that he could have talked his way out of the sentence had he chosen to do so.
It was very challenging to make some of these chapters into a single sentences. Chapters 7 and 8 were particularly hard, as I felt that everything about the interaction between John the Baptist and Jesus was significant but there were other interesting things going on too, such as Luke's strong emphasis on the importance of various women to Jesus' ministry.
The CEB translation in chapter 3 led me on an interesting thought process. It reads:
"People supposed that [Jesus] was the son of..." (verse 23, emphasis mine)
This is followed by the genealogy of Joseph's male line all the way back through Adam to God. As I thought about that word 'supposed' I began to feel that it's important to remember that Joseph was Jesus' dad - in every way that mattered during his earthly life. Joseph's story doesn't get much mention in Luke's gospel, especially compared to John's dad Zechariah, but his part in Jesus' life must have been as significant as that other dad was in his son's. I wondered if part of the reason we downplay Joseph's part is because we tend to have a bias towards understanding parenthood in genetic terms. Whatever the reason, I don't think I previously thought of Joseph as Jesus' dad, but more like some kind of back up/spare/dad- prop to provide a front for his real dad - God. I don't think Mary or Jesus could have made it without Joseph, but I don't want to think that he was just some kind of dupe or someone playing a role either. I also don't think Jesus would have ascribed father imagery to God so effectively if his own dad hadn't been pretty special to him.
Unlike Marks gospel, which really felt like a 'bare bones' account, Luke's gospel feels like it has a lot more 'padding'. As the author explains at the beginning, this gospel is the result of investigation (Luke 1:3); and there are instances where you feel that we are getting the same stories repeated from different viewpoints, but set up as different events. I sometimes find this frustrating, as it leads me to wonder which account is the best - the most accurate. I can remember when I first learned that the four gospels were four different versions of the same story (I received no Christian instruction when I was young and knew very little about the contents of the bible until I was in my 30s), then I thought it was a bit of a swizz. Nowadays I'm constantly amazed and thankful for the multifaceted view of the Christian story we have available in the bible, the fact that it exists in this form for most mainstream denominations has to be a testament to God's Spirit in action. In entirely human hands it would surely have been edited into something much less confusing and more palatable - something like this project I'm undertaking perhaps?!
The ending of Luke is joyful and satisfying - it is part one of a sequel, but I don't think I'll move straight on to the Book of Acts just yet.
A word about bible section headings
The Common English Bible translation I'm using contains section headings created and added by the translators. I don't usually pay much attention to these when I'm writing my own summary of the texts, but I thought it might be interesting to see how they compare. Looking at Luke chapter 20, the headings read:
- Controversy over authority (verses 1-19)
- Am attempt to trap Jesus (vv 20-26)
- Question about the resurrection (vv 27-44)
- Jesus condemns the legal experts (vv 45-47)
My interpretation of the whole chapter is:
- Experts try to catch Jesus out on complex matters relating to Jewish law, he evades or confounds the attempts and warns others against these kinds of tricks
Two things strike me; firstly that the CEB headings give more specific detail. I refer to 'complex matters relating to Jewish law' and from the headings we can see that issues of authority and resurrection in particular have been discussed. Secondly, my interpretation includes the way in which Jesus tried to help those who are in danger from the clever arguments of the legalists, whereas the headings seem to emphasise Jesus' clever responses to the clever legal traps laid for him. It's a subtle distinction but I think it demonstrates how all scripture is interpreted - constantly - there is no such thing as a 'pure' reading. We all read the bible through many lenses, some we are aware of (e.g. the translation we choose, the biblical commentators we listen to), others we might be oblivious to (e.g personal bias or prejudice). And of course, all of this also changes over time as our faith grows and matures, and we come into contact with new information or our circumstances change. There will probably be times when it feels like 'getting it right' is the most important thing, and an interpretation like mine would be very unhelpful because it skips too much detail. I hope though (and this is something borne out by my own experiences) that seeing scripture through another person's interpretive 'lenses', can help to develop new insights. Often too it is the people whose interpretation we disagree with which helps our own understanding to grow the most. And so, in the remainder of this project, where I come across section headings that I find irksome or that I disagree with, I will include these in my notes
