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Drawn to the Gospels. Jay Sidebotham
Читать онлайн.Название Drawn to the Gospels
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isbn 9781640650831
Автор произведения Jay Sidebotham
Жанр Религия: прочее
Серия Drawn to the Gospels
Издательство Ingram
The Fourth Sunday in Advent
Luke 1:26–38
Notes on This Reading
This week, in this year of the lectionary, we shift gospels once again, to read from the Gospel of Luke. Luke is the only gospel writer who tells us the story of the annunciation of the birth of Jesus, news shared by the angel Gabriel. This story provides insight into the character of this courageous young woman who would be called “theotokos,” which means God-bearer. This is a beautiful story about call, and while Mary legitimately asks how this can be, she also responds with powerful words: “Here am I.” The story is full of angels. The word “angel” really means messenger. We’re grateful to Luke for sharing this message.
Questions
1 Have you ever encountered an angel? Have you ever had a spiritual messenger come to you?
2 Why might Mary have been afraid when the angel showed up? That often happens when angels appear, or when God’s message is delivered. Why is that?
3 When have you asked God: “How can this be?”
4 Have you ever had occasion to say: “Here am I” and “Let it be”?
Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Christmas Eve and Dayas well as Proper II
Luke 2:1–20
Notes on This Reading
We leave the Gospel of Mark for this great celebration in the life of the church: The Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord (also known as Christmas). We shift to Luke’s gospel, which gives us the fullest account of the birth of Jesus. It’s worth noting that two of the four gospels (Mark and John) don’t tell us anything about Jesus’s birth. But Luke shares the story of shepherds greeted by angels with hymns of praise. He lets us know that there was an innkeeper who hung out his “No Vacancy” sign. Luke tells about the gathering for worship around the manger. It’s a story of joy to the world.
Questions
1 This may well be the most familiar story in the New Testament. Try to read it as if you never heard it before. What strikes you? What puzzles you?
2 Why do you think the shepherds were the first to get the news of Jesus’s arrival?
3 What do you think Joseph was thinking in all of this, as he gets the news that there is no room in the inn, as his wife gives birth in a stable, as shepherds show up? Did he get more than he bargained for? Does he provide any model for you in your journey of faith?
Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Proper III and First Sundayafter Christmas
John 1:1–14 (15–18)
Notes on This Reading
Christmas is more than a day. It’s a season of twelve days, so we get another Sunday to celebrate the nativity of our Lord. The church gives us a totally different way to tell the story of Jesus’s arrival, by directing our attention to the Gospel of John, which begins with a poetic prologue, much like an overture to a symphony. It will strike many of the themes of John’s gospel, themes of the story of Jesus, describing the word made flesh dwelling among us, bringing light and life, grace and truth, facing rejection. Note how the prologue begins with the words, “In the beginning.” Where else have you seen those words? It sounds like the author of this gospel wants to say that the story of Jesus is as significant as the story of Genesis. A new creation is happening.
Questions
1 What does it mean to you that Jesus is the word made flesh? In what sense is he the word?
2 How does he bring light? Have you ever experienced that enlightenment in your life?
3 What does it mean to be filled both with grace and truth? Do we need both those things?
4 What significance do you attach to the fact that this gospel begins with the words, “In the beginning”?
Holy Name
Luke 2:15–21
Notes on This Reading
Our culture celebrates the New Year on January 1. On that same date, the church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Name, remembering the story in Luke’s gospel of how Joseph and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the temple for presentation, in keeping with the Jewish tradition. In that liturgy, he receives his name, a holy name. The name “Jesus,” a variant of the name “Joshua,” really means “God saves.” It’s a great name for this baby. One of the strong themes of the gospels (all four of them) is the way in which Jesus comes to fulfill the tradition into which he was born and not to do away with it. And in the fulfilling of that tradition, he brings God’s saving power to a world that really needs it.
Questions
1 What is so important about a naming ceremony? How did you get your name?
2 Reflect on the traditions that were observed when you came into the world. What do you know about them? How have they affected the rest of your life?
3 What is important about the name Jesus? In what ways does the story of Jesus live into his name? Can you identify any way in which you have been saved? Any way in which you are being saved now?
Second Sunday after Christmas
Matthew 2:13–15
or Luke 2:41–52 or Matthew 2:1–12
Notes on These Readings
It’s rare that there is a second Sunday in the season of Christmas, but thanks be to God, whenever that happens, the lectionary is prepared with a choice of three readings. There’s the story of Joseph receiving another message from an angel (that’s a little redundant since the word “angel” really means messenger). The angel tells Joseph to take his family to Egypt. There’s the story from Luke about Jesus going to the temple with his parents as a twelve year old and lecturing the religious scholars of the day. And then there’s the story of Epiphany and the magi coming from the east to worship the Christ child. These are various takes on Jesus’s early years. They set the stage for the beginning of his public ministry, described week after week in the upcoming season of Epiphany.
Questions
1 We read a lot about refugees in modern-day news. What does it mean to you that the holy family were also refugees escaping a cruel and capricious tyrant?
2 What does it mean to you that Luke tells us Jesus grew in wisdom and stature? How could he be God among us and at the same time grow and change?
3 What insights do you get from the story in Luke about Jesus as a young teenager, teaching those much older than he is?
4 When we read the story of wise men coming from the east, do you wonder what they