Luke and the Plan of God
Luke is a Gospel of Reassurance. It describes the suffering of discipleship, that Christ is forming us, that we are called to be witnesses of redemption and forgiveness to the world and that we are called to participate, through listening to the Spirit, in the creation of the Kingdom... (more)
Prologue of Assurance
Can Luke teach us how to start again, to have faith in uncertain times? It seems we've spent a lifetime trying, becoming conscious, becoming developmentally appropriate. Could we start again, as Jesus Christ Superstar asks... (more)
Ordinary People
Marilyn highlighted the fact that, contrary to our intuitive sense of what is right and true, God comes to us through unlikely people and circumstances. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is perhaps the supreme example. Young, unmarried, an unknown from a peasant village in a forgotten part of the Empire, Mary is asked to give birth to and mother the very Son of God, and she accepts humbly...(more)
Is Jesus The One?
We began the evening by listening to Luke 3:21 - 4:13, hearing of Jesus' baptism, the temptations and his genealogy. According to Boch, this "...entire unit demonstrates one thing: Jesus is qualified to represent both humanity and the nation of Israel as her Messiah." Eldon led us in a discussion on these sections and also introduced us to some of Luke's methods in crafting the story... (more)
Jesus' Authority
Luke 5 begins at the Lake of Gennesaret where Jesus enters a fishing boat from which to better speak to the crowds and a miracle follows. We began our Wednesday night considering the symbolic nature of the lake — an uncontrollable space where in this story human endeavor is tested to reveal that God is in control... (more)
Jesus' Ethics of Compassion
Luke 7, and its stories of Jesus' healing of the Centurion's servant and raising the widow's son, illustrate the ethic of compassion taught by Jesus in the previous chapter. Luke shows that Jesus doesn't buy into religious sensibilities; he lives by a different ethic, crossing barriers and pushing limits because he's listening to the voice of God... (more)
Listening to Jesus
As his narrative turns from Jesus' healing & teaching ministry in the countryside of Galilee towards his long trek to Jerusalem in which he teaches his disciples about true discipleship, Luke is reminding his listeners that Jesus is no ordinary prophet... (more)