Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:14-21)
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way. In short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
The opening words of the literary classic, A Tale of Two Cities, provide us with Charles Dickens’ intentions and outlook regarding everything to be found on the pages ahead. The opening often is a setup. It is a roadmap. It gives those who come much later insight into the spirit of the time.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...”
“Once upon a time...”
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...”
We celebrate St. Luke the Evangelist. Luke knew that the beginning was a very important time. Luke opens their gospel with, “Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.”
Church tradition teaches that Luke may have been a traveling physician, artist, healer, or historian. Scholarship credits Luke with writing the Gospel and for writing the Book of Acts, the sequel to the Gospel. Both are addressed to Theophilus, a Greek name meaning “God-lover.”
Some believe that Luke may have been a traveling companion of Paul.
Citizens of the world are blessed to meet a wide variety of people. Many of the people we meet in Luke’s Gospel are unique to this telling. Through Luke’s narrative, we learn to see the people as God sees the people. We are to learn to love as God loves.
Only in Luke, will we hear Mary sing, discover a good Samaritan, learn that prodigal sons are forgiven, and that Emmanuel, “God with us,” is good news for the poor and oppressed. Jesus prays more in Luke than in any other Gospel. He also eats a lot! And the hymns scattered throughout Luke give us a glimpse into the interior life of the people we meet.
Whenever I encounter a hymn in Luke, I think of Van Morrison’s song Did Ye Get Healed?
“I want to know did you get the feeling? Did you get it down in your soul? Sometimes, when the spirit moves me I can do many wondrous things. I want to know when the spirit moves you did ye get healed? I begin to realize it manifests in my life in so many ways. Every day I want to talk about it. And walk about it. Every day I want to be closer.” Did you get healed?”
The first four chapters of Luke tell us everything we need to know about the God who loves us and God’s expectations of us. We are called to be God-lovers. There are angels working among us. Those who feel as if they are on the outside—living on the margins—matter to God. And with every temptation comes choice.
Luke’s Gospel begins with an angel appearing to a priest. Zachariah believes he must be stuck in a dream when the angel tells him that his wife, Elizabeth, is pregnant.
Meanwhile, across town, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary, sharing that God has chosen her to bring a child into the world, and she is to name this child Jesus. Mary responds to God, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word.”
Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth. They celebrate their pregnancies together. Mary sings this beautiful hymn, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now all generations will call me blessed.”
Months later, Elizabeth about to give birth to John the Baptist, while her husband Zachariah prophesizes, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.”
When Jesus is born, shepherds on the outskirts of town, are the first to be invited to celebrate the miracle of birth. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
Days later, Jesus is presented in the temple. Somewhere out there in the crowd, is an older man named Simeon. Simeon claims that God has promised him that he will not die until he sees the savior of the people. Simeon, seeing Jesus, sweeps up the child in his arms and praises God. He is grateful that he will die in peace because in the eyes of Mary’s child, he has seen the light of God and the hopeful future for his people. Simeon shares that their child will bring trouble to some and peace and love to the forgotten. “Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised; For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see: A Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”
Then suddenly, Simeon disappears in the crowd, but a prophet appears. Her name is Anna. Anna is the only female prophet found in the Christian scriptures. Luke points out that she is up in years. She is from the tribe of Asher. Her father’s name was Phanuel. And that she was widowed at a young age. She spends her days and nights in the temple, praying and teaching and praising God. She assists the people during their Temple journey. And people gathered around the prophet hearing her remind them about what God was expecting from them. She is overjoyed to meet the baby Jesus and tells the people how love will be known through him.
Years later, Jesus is left behind in the temple! Eventually, he is baptized by John, goes to the desert where he is tempted by Satan, and then we catch up Jesus returning to Nazareth to begin his ministry.
In our Gospel, in the temple, Jesus’ family, friends, and neighbors gather around. It is a worship service. Perhaps they started by reciting the Shema – “Listen, Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and all time. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.”
Afterward, they may have sung a Psalm 137. “We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, and those who plundered us requested mirth, saying, 'Sing us one of the songs of Zion!'”
Then, the Gospel tells us that Jesus is handed the holy scrolls of the prophet Isaiah. He reads, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, a year with good news for the poor, a year when captives are released, a year when sight is restored to the blind, a year when the oppressed go free.”
For Luke the Evangelist, the beginning was a very important time. For those gathering around Jesus then, and for those of us drawing near to Christ in our own day, may we learn how to live, teach, heal, feed, forgive, and to love fully through the power of the Spirit. Because, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”