December Blogposts

This month I will finish the Gospel of Luke and because he doesn't completely end the story with the last verse, but continues telling his friend Theophilus about the beginning of the Church in the Acts of the Apostles, I will end the month by looking at the first two chapters of that letter.

It seems a bit strange for me to not do something with regards to Christmas or Advent, but rather to focus on the end of Christ's life on earth and the beginning of the church. My timing wasn't necessarily perfect this time around. However, I have learned so much while digging into Luke's gospel and don't want to stop until I'm finished.

Because he was a Gentile and because he didn't grow up with all of the religious trappings that Matthew, Mark and John did, his understanding of festivals and Jewish politics is different than theirs. Luke wanted his readers to see how Jesus' pointed to the beginning of the Church and how he embraced the idea that all men on earth were children of God. The leadership of the Jews at the time of Christ were quite corrupt and rather than leading the people into a closer relationship with God, lined their own pockets and made it quite difficult for those who didn't have quite as much to even live. Jesus spoke out against that corruption and Luke wanted his readers to understand that living in relationship with God was more than superficial trappings and shows of religiosity.

He took that lesson into the book of Acts and because of his close relationship with Paul, you see the same type of teaching showing up in Paul's letters. Our actions must be lived out day after day ... they must be part of our heart and lifestyle. We must live as children of God ... in freedom, in love and in grace.