Category: Red Letter Year

Red Letter Year: 6/17

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”

38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

Comments

“Good morning! You are beautiful with God’s beauty, beautiful inside and out! God be with you.” That is how Gabriel greets Mary in Eugene Peterson’s The Message. She has found favor with God, not because of any measure her world would use. She is too young, too female, too poor, too powerless for the world to honor. But she is highly esteemed by God. We will read this week about another angelic birth announcement, about John the Baptist. That one will be given to his father Zechariah, who enjoys more status for his age, gender, position. But the angel does not greet him with such lofty admiration and his doubtful response earns him several months of being mute. By contrast, Mary responds in faith and obedience, confirming the praise the angel has given her.

We can learn from Mary here. The beauty of God potentially exists in each of us. God wants to birth wonderful, amazing, confounding things in each of our lives. All that stands between us and seeing the beauty of God birthed in our lives is our willingness to say with Mary: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” Say that today and mean it and watch the beauty of God unfold in your life.

The New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Red Letter Year: 6/14

Luke 1:1-25

1 Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. 3 Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write a careful account for you, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.

5 When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations.7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.

8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.

11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.

23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”

Comments

Well, if you’ve been with me all year, you have now made it through two gospels. Today we begin the third, the Gospel of Luke. His introduction is really interesting. Luke and John are the only Gospel writers who express literary self-awareness. Luke also seems to be indicating familiarity with the other previous Gospel accounts. As we will see, he uses both Mark and Matthew at times, but he endeavors to order things to accentuate the themes he believes are key to the kingdom coming and advancing. Luke went on to write Acts (also dedicated to his patron Theophilus). The church in early Acts is the ideal Luke is aiming for in his Gospel. The key themes in his Gospel are ones important for becoming communities that approach that ideal. His Gospel challenges us to continually be communities formed by the power of Jesus’ resurrection and the Holy Spirit’s infilling. The infilling power of the Spirit and the power of prayer show up in Luke’s very first story. We will see them again and again. We will also see how the connections of one story to the next accentuates Luke’s Gospel message.

The New Living Translation (NLT)Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale HousePublishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.