“Do not be afraid; good news; great joy; all the people.”
The Angel in Luke 2
Dear Friends in Christ,
Have you read Luke lately? Christmas is coming. So if it has been a while since you have read a whole Gospel (which means Good News, as opposed to Daily News), and if you want to enjoy this Christmas (84 shopping days to go…), you can read Luke in one sitting. Or several short ones. Why?
Well, Luke is without Mark’s urgency, and Matthew’s Last Judgment, and John’s Spirit and Truth, but since he may have been a physician, it is a very healing account of Jesus’ life. A very loving account of God’s way. As the Angel says, Luke has an international, global concern (“all the people”) and Luke has the Good Samaritan story, and the Prodigal Son. Luke is filled with wisdom, strength, hope, and of course the whole book ends where the second to the last verse repeats the word “joy.”
Urgency, honest judgment, and truth are all central to Christian faith, and so is a joyful ending. Jesus’ story is gory at times, certainly at crucifixion, but that’s not the end of his story or of ours, we proclaim.
So, maybe we could engage Luke between now and Christmas. The generosity of our children to make sandwiches and stuff backpacks is very Lukan. The harmony of our Community Choir reflects the heavenly chorus singing in Luke 2. Supporting Community Health Workers in Haiti who lost their funding represents a physician’s call. And among my favorite events of the year comes on World Communion Sunday where this year we are scheduled to consecrate our celebration with Lugandan, Swahili, Danish, Russian, Hebrew, Cape Verdean Kriolu, Japanese, Taiwanese, and I’ll be speaking English. We can almost imagine Jesus speaking Aramaic. This seems straight out of Luke. Which is to say, our children, our Confirmation class, our members and friends, our singers, and all of our visitors already reflect the Angel’s invitation: fear not, there is good news, for all the people. And if we have it we can share it. It doesn’t run out.
Almost never do I watch network television. So I’ll miss all the political ads this month. I’ll miss some of the anxiety and honest concern that supplants Bernie and Phyl, and Ernie Boch for a few weeks. Meanwhile our Gospel story and our church story combine to address the anxiety and the honest concern that our faith claims is at the heart of Jesus’ message: love your neighbor. Love your God. Love yourself. Of course there is more, of course is it complex and even mysterious at many times, but I still believe Luke’s angel. We are a people of Good News for all.
Come celebrate World Communion, and the return of our concern for Konbit Santé in Haiti, and come enjoy our Community Connection, as well as our Community Choir. As the Christmas Carol says, “Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ…” with prayers and backpacks and community.
Peace be with you.
