Ancient Anglican

Jesus is not “redeemed” and restored to his parents under the Law, but personally given over completely to God in the Temple and from now on belongs to him completely. – Pope Benedict XVI

Jesus wasn’t born in a barn and angels aren’t cute and cuddley. Luke is not a Hallmark movie.

As we will see throughout Luke, the presence of Jesus will always change the focus of the story away from the powerful toward the ordinary.

Luke is the only Gospel that gives us the background of John the Baptist. In the other gospels, we first meet John beside the Jordan River. Here, Luke begins with his parents, Zechariah, a priest, and his wife Elizabeth.

Next Tuesday, we will begin our walk through Luke’s Gospel starting with the introduction and nativity of John the Baptist in Luke 1 and ending with the Resurrection and Ascension in Luke 24 and Acts 1. All you will need during our journey is a Bible.

Christ’s Kingdom is not simply about where we go when we die, but his Kingdom is about where we go now when we are still very much alive. Christ’s Kingdom is not somewhere out there, but it is right here with us and within us, right now.

Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise in Isaiah to bring all people into his restored holy city of the New Jerusalem.

In Luke, Jesus begins his ministry by reading from Isaiah 61:1-2. Throughout his Gospel, Luke will use the themes of these prophecies found in the last section of Isaiah (Isaiah 56-66) to tell us who Jesus is.

Tonight as we assembling Christmas stockings for children in Western North Carolina. Thank you to everyone who has contributed.

Instead of a formal lesson this evening, I have invited Bradley Hardee, the choir director at Kingston Presbyterian in Conway, to lead us in a hymn-sing after dinner tonight.

Paul’s manner of addressing Philemon gives us a good example of how to speak truth in love and with maturity to each other. Eph. 4:15. Paul addresses Philemon as an equal, with respect, and reminds Philemon who he is in Christ Jesus.

Living Christianity makes people more human, not less. No Christian should grumble at the extra demands of love. They are golden opportunities to draw on the reserve of divine love, and in so doing become more fully oneself in Christ, more completely in the image of God, more authentically human.