Bible Notes Introduction to Year C Lectionary by Rev Barrie Morley

REVISED COMMON LECTIONARY  YEAR C   

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

RESOURCES

'New Proclamation'   Ed. David B. Lott                                                          Seminar Notes from Dr. Neil Richardon

'Christian character in the Gospel of Luke                                                     'Preaching the Gospel of Luke'  D. Macpherson in       

'Gospel according to Luke' Leaney                                                                'The Preacher'.

Luke has been well described as the Gospel to the Least, the Lowest and the Lost.   In the first century this might include women, and women feature prominently in this Gospel.   His target was the often poor and enslaved city dweller of the first century Roman world.   This makes Luke a MISSIONARY GOSPEL, as he is very concerned to apply the Good News to the non Jewish world.   It has been described as a 'Gospel of Reversal' (Richardson).   Luke stands things on their head.      God, Luke reminds us, brings down the mighty from their seats (Magnificat) and speaks blessings on the poor and woes to the rich (Sermon on the Mount).   Blessings for those who weep and woes for  those who are rich.    No wonder REPENTANCE is a major theme of his Gospel.  To enter the Kingdom requires repentance, and that repentance must include a change in values, priorities and probably life style.

   

THE KINGDOM OF GOD is a major theme for Luke, but he writes in such a way as to present Jesus the King as no threat to the Empire of his day.  King Jesus is a servant, not a mighty military man.   Luke believes that one can be a slave, a soldier,  a nobleman, loyal to the Emperor, and yet at the same time a follower of Jesus.  (This raises questions as to just how revolutionary Luke's Gospel  to the least and lowest is or is not).

LIFE IN GOD'S KINGDOM   King Jesus enters his glory through suffering The emblem of this gospel writer is a calf, an animal of sacrifice.

Repentance will bring God's forgiveness.   In turn Christ's followers must love their enemies.  Citizens of the Kingdom of God must be generous and not hord wealth.   There are particularly sharp challenges about wealth in this Gospel.

HELP FOR PREACHERS FROM DR. LUKE.  In our preaching in Groups/Beneifices/Circuits, continuity of theme can be a problem because of the many different preaching voices who 'visit' to lead worship from week to week.  Therefore we need always to ask not just 'What does this Passage say, but, equally importantly  'What does this Gospel or Book say?'   Where in each passage can we find one of the Lucan emphases listed above?  How does one passage fit into Luke's total understanding of the Gospel?

Luke lends itself to a dynamic, narrative preaching style, because it is crammed with personal interest stories, rather than closely argued theological doctrines.  Luke, (like Mark), is a Gospel of action, full of real life stories.  

This Gospel invites us to think about the nature of the Kingdom, and the character of our King.   Two thousand years after it was written, it still invites us to ask 'Who are trying to be King/Ruler/Dictator today?    

How do the values and practices of the world or state echo or deny the values of the Kingdom of God?

Who today  are the Least, Last, Lowest and Lost?    Look for their stories in Luke and apply them from the pulpit.  

Where does this Gospel challenge our world where the richest 1% control 48.2% of Global assets?   

Luke can be exciting  and comforting, offering Good News to all who repent and so enter the Kingdom.   But it remains

 challenging,  for individuals, for churches  for States and economic systems.  

Luke's Gospel offers the Good News of God's Kingdom to the Least, Lost, Lowest and Last, in the 21st Century just as much as in the 1st century

Barrie Morley  November 2015