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Easter

April 20, 2025 at St Peter the Apostle and Saint William Churches in Naples, FL

Acts 10: 34, 37-43 + Psalm 118 + Colossians 3: 1-4 + John 20: 1-9

There is a lot of running around in the Gospel verses we proclaim today, and it is proclaimed to world that is still running around all over the place. From one relationship to another, from one job to another, from one home to another, the running goes on and on. Artificial Intelligence tells me that there are 45,000 passenger planes in the air every day with 2.9 million people in them. They will all hit the ground and start running all over the place. Yet, here we are in the sacred space, and at least for the moment, no one is running, but many of you know the signal to start.

Just like Mary, Peter, and John, we have run to this place hopefully seeking the Lord. Like those three, we are sometimes confused, sometimes uncertain, sometimes believing, and most of the time struggling. The world in which we live and from which we sometimes want to run insists that religion has had its day and that the church is finished. The resurrection could not possibly have happened. “Some things never change” so they say, leaving us all frozen in time helpless and hopeless in the face life’s challenges and demands.

As John writes these verses, there are four characters put before us: Mary, Peter, John, and “They.” There is always a “they” in this life and so they have to appear in this story. “They” have taken the Lord. It was the “they” who were at work in the trial and death of Jesus. It was “they” who stirred up the people. “They” were the ones who decreed that the body of Jesus must be removed for whatever reason. They are always nameless, their identity is vague, but they are always pitted against us the helpless.  Whatever it is we don’t like or whatever leaves us helpless, it is almost always, “they.” They closed my street for repairs. They turned off the water to fix the pipes, and we are never quite sure exactly who has done this, but we have a vague sense of some power impinging on my world. 

All of this thinking can eventually make us unwilling to take personal responsibility for our lives. A world dominated by “they” is one in which we are forever at the mercy of powers and authorities beyond us leaving us without any control over our destiny. This is what Mary, Peter, and John were facing the moment they stared into that empty tomb.

Have “they” done something or not? Are “they” going to determine what those three see and believe? That’s the issue here. “They” are casting their influence over Mary and the others. As we see, that spell, that dark power gets broken. It does not happen all at once for everyone, but in the character of these three we see how it is possible to move from the anger, fear, and grief of Mary to Peter’s curious wonder over how or why the wrappings and napkin were all folded up to the belief of John.

My friends, faith in the resurrection of Christ is not a dogma. It is a way of life that flows from the conviction that Christ’s new life is ours as well. It is not some mystery to cling to. It is a practice to develop in new and deeper ways. I can stand here saying these things because I have witnessed the resurrection, and so have you. I have seen survivors of tragedies that “they” have caused rise up with courage starting a new live that in many ways is better than the old. I have seen men and women face the death of their loving companions come out of a tomb called “grief” and find and live a new life marked by hope and joy. I’ve seen people whose homes have been destroyed by fire or storm begin life again with joy because they are still together.

In this life, if we surrender to the power “they” may have over us, we shall live always in fear, plagued by doubts, angry and helpless. The resurrection of Jesus Christ offers us another way. It is the way of hope. It is the way of faith. It is without a doubt, the way of love which conquers all things. We have to go into that tomb. We have to die a little to ourselves if we have any hope of coming out. We have to take off the clothes of death, remove the veil that covers our face and our eyes so that we can see the face of God and live. When we do so, our lives will proclaim the presence of Christ and we can dare to proceed in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This will make all the difference in the world.

St Peter the Apostle in Naples, FL

April 18, 2025 At Saint Peter the Apostle Church in Naples, FL

Isaiah 52: 13-53:12 + Psalm 31 + Hebrews 4: 14-16, 5: 7-9 + John 18: 1-19:42

We have just completed part one of a great and ancient ritual that has known very little change since the year 381 when a pilgrim made her way to Jerusalem to join that early Christian Community gathering to remember what Saint John passed on to us. She writes that the Christians gathered in silence at the place of the crucifixion from Eight in the Morning until Three in the afternoon with the wooden cross exposed. Then they carried that cross to their church where they listened to the Prophet, sang Psalms, and offered prayers for all in the world. Their focus was the Passion and Death of Christ. It was a day of intense fast and constant prayer. The fast even extended to Holy Communion, because there was no Mass celebrated on Friday or Saturday of Holy Week. The cross was what held them and drew them together just as it does today.

In a few moments we shall begin the Solemn Prayers for all the world with the hope that no one might be left out of God’s Mercy and God’s Kingdom. After which, the climactic moment that brings us here today begins as a cross of wood is brought into this place. We can only be stunned to silence by the power of that cross. An instrument of death becomes the source of our hope.

Some have and always will wonder what kind of God could demand the death of his only Son before forgiving us. They have failed to listen to the New Testament that never says God demands the death of His Son. It does say that Christ came among us to do the will of the Father. Jesus is crucified while doing the will of his Father. That does not make his dreadful death what the Father desired or demanded. A child can be killed while doing some chore asked for by a parent. The parent only asked for that chore, not the death.

The one great gift all of us have and have had since the dawn of creation is the gift of a will and freedom. The great adventure of life is about the choices we make with that freedom, and the whole history of human life is one great struggle over making the right choices. Until now, the stories of that history are tragic and violent. Too often we have come close to destroying everything and ourselves.

Then comes Jesus. That moment in history when God resets creation, and God’s Son comes with his mission saying: “I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” (John 6:38) He came to want what the Father has wanted from the very beginning, that we might all be one living in peace in this beautiful garden God made for us.

As we just heard, Jesus gave up his spirit so that his spirit might be poured out into us, and showered upon all creation. This ought to leave us startled and stunned only to be awakened, like Christ on Easter, empowered by the gifts of that Spirit to lift high the cross, to stand firm in the face of evil, to set right what is broken, always thirsting to do the Father’s will. When we do, we will know what Jesus knew at the final moment. It is “Enough.”

Saturday 3:30 p.m. at Saint Peter Parish in Naples, FL

April 13, 2025 at Saint Peter Churches in Naples, FL

Isaiah 50: 4-7 + Psalm 22 + Philippians 1: 6-11 + Luke 22: 14-23:56

Our prayer is long today, and we give to God some extra time to listen to his Word and remember the two gifts we have all been given: life and death. Without that second gift, the first one, life, would not be nearly as precious. In fact, it might actually be tedious, monotonous, and frightening.

While we live we have before us a troubling sign of God’s love with the memory and the image of an innocent man crucified. Over and over again in Luke’s Passion Jesus is found not-guilty, and yet, a victim of jealousy and fear he dies while everyone who knew him, who loved, who followed him everywhere said nothing. We like to think that the Romans killed him and the leaders of the people demanded it. But the truth is, silence killed him. Even Joseph of Aramathea, a member of the Sanhedrin who, Luke tells us, did not consent to their plan seems to have done nothing except bury the body of an innocent man.

We have much to remember and even more to ponder this Holy Week. What must not be forgotten is that silence in the face in any injustice is a terrible thing that leaves us all accountable and responsible for the suffering of innocent people. We gaze at the cross and hear its story over and over again to be reminded of what comes next, because it is not the end of our story of God’s love.

It is Easter that we really celebrate. It is the hope we have in the face of death that gives us reason to really live. For people like us who can see beyond the cross, hope always defeats despair, joy wins over sorrow, good triumphs over evil, and faith conquers fear.

Lent 5

11:00 a.m. Sunday at St William Church in Naples, FL

April 6, 2025 at Saint William Catholic Church in Naples, FL

Isaiah 43: 16-21 + Psalm 126 + Philippians 3: 8-14  + John 8: 1-12

 A quick look or listen to this Gospel and we could easily think that this is about the sin of adultery. But that doesn’t say much to me and, I hope, to most of you. Adultery is not my problem. Christ is speaking to us today in this place, and he is not speaking about adultery. There is shameful sin involved in the way these scribes and Pharisees treated that woman. There is not a shred of evidence that they recognized a human being. There is no sense that they gave any thought to her feelings. They are using her as bait to trap Jesus.

There is another sin in their attitude toward Jesus. They wanted to shut him up and just do away with him. Murder is in their hardened hearts and a stubborn refusal to listen to him because he threatened their way of life and their values. Those Pharisees thought more of the law than the person. Maybe the greater sin here is their refusal of mercy, and mercy is what this is all about, because that is what we see at this moment in Jesus Christ.

Do not be distracted by that writing on the ground business. No scholar knows what that is all about. Wasting time even thinking about it avoids facing the demands of this story. One of the most basic principles left to us by Jesus is that no human being is to judge another. Distinguishing the difference between the sin and the sinner, Jesus does not condemn. He did not need to realizing that she was already condemned. She did not need that. What she needed was mercy. Those standing around, and even some today might ask why she deserved mercy. Of course, that thinking only comes to those who have forgotten what mercy is, a gift, a pure gift. No one earns it. No one deserves it.

Jesus never approved of the sin. In fact, he urges her to sin no more, and he does so in such a way that his respect for her comes through in the telling of the story. He invites her to conversion which is why we retell this story now near the very end of Lent as we approach Holy Week. It’s not too late, is the message. It is not too late to recognize our own sin. It is not too late to admit that we have and we do use other people sometimes for our selfish pleasure or to protect our comfortable lives. It is not too late to open our hearts and our minds to the truth and the message of Jesus Christ. It is not too late to stop judging other people, to stop humiliating others and treating them without any respect for their human dignity no matter what they have done to themselves. We don’t need to do any more damage to them. It is not too late to hope for mercy either because we all need it badly.

Compassion for fellow human beings is without a doubt one of the most important things in life. If there was more of it, there would be lasting peace, and there would be justice that looks less like punishment or revenge. We would all be better for it and have more hope that standing before Christ in judgement we might receive what we do not deserve, his mercy.

Lent 4

Saturday 2:45pm St William Catholic Church in Naples, FL

March 30, 2025 at Saint William Catholic Church in Naples

Joshua 5: 9-12 + Psalm 23 + 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21 + Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

 The Great Journey to Jerusalem continues with one of the best loved and known parables of Jesus. It speaks to all of us who know jealous rivalry, conflict between children and parents or among the children themselves. It speaks to every community that has some members who just go their merry way taking and never giving, and others who work faithfully for the good of all. Today we get a shocking picture of how the path of reconciliation begins.

The first shock is the son’s request, which at the time of Jesus and in that culture really meant he wished his father was dead. The second shock is that the older son raises no objection to this. The third shock is that father goes along with it. Those who heard this parable from Jesus would have gasped at that father’s behavior. He should have thrown the kid out with nothing and changed the locks. Today we would call that kind of father an “enabler.” Even more shocking is the father’s behavior later in the story as he gives up his manly dignity and runs outside with a kiss, a ring, and a robe. I’ve always wondered where the mother was. I think she nagged him until he surrendered his macho ideas and asked her to set the table for the party.

Familiar as the story is to us, we have to be careful and thoughtful about who of the three in the story gets our attention and is worthy of our imitation. I have sat through more Penance Rites than any of you have ever attended listening to preachers talk about the younger son urging everyone to repentance. Hardly ever does anyone pay attention to the other one who is really much more like us. People who can identify with the younger son are not here. They are still out there somewhere living it up with their “eat, drink, and be merry” life-style. We are the ones who are always here. We are the ones who give, sacrifice, and do what God asks of us, and herein lies the danger.

At that time, his attitude is a mirror image of the Pharisees toward sinners. Remember, this story started because the tax collectors and sinners were coming to Jesus and the Pharisees were plotting against him because he ate with them. An attitude of entitlement and privilege is the greatest problem emerging from this story then and now. It is a strong warning that God’s love is not earned. We are all God’s sons and daughters. We are not slaves. That sick and sinful attitude is dangerous to the whole human family of God.

This parable in an invitation to consider our discipleship and how it may deteriorate into joyless resentment toward those who seem to be benefiting undeservedly from all that God offers. At the same time, we might recognize the free offer of God to us all, a shocking generosity offered by the one is willing to pay the high humiliating cost to gather in all the children, none of whom have earned the right to this inheritance. The father is the humble one here, not that son.

Don’t think that the young one learned humility when he recognized how low he had sunk and decided to go home. His rehearsed speech was a job application. It had nothing to do with the family, with humility, or with repentance.  He was broke and he needed a job.  It’s the father who teaches us something here about God’s costly, humble love for us.  “All that I have is yours” he says to us. The cost of accepting that is to replicate such reconciling love in our own attitudes and actions.

Lent 3

March 23, 2025 at Saint William Catholic Church in Naples, FL

Exodus 3: 1-8 + Psalm 103 + 1 Corinthians 10: 1-6 + Luke 13: 1-9

The two events that Jesus refers to at the beginning of this Gospel passage could easily distract and lead us away from the point of the parable. These events could lead us to start the ongoing and never-ending question of why bad things happen to good people. Jesus never addresses that question. He raises those two situations about innocent people dying to remind us that the end can come for anyone unexpectedly whether you are good or not. Everyone sins and everyone dies. The issue here is what happens before the end comes. It’s about a fruitful life.

On the road to Jerusalem, Jesus is teaching and forming us all as he nears Jerusalem. Today, he challenges the smug assumption of those who enjoy good fortune when they look upon others with that ideology that too quickly says: “They got what they deserved.” No real disciple/follower of Jesus Christ could ever say that.

“Deserve” is a tricky word, and we use it way too often to assume that somehow God owes us or that somehow society owes us something. To this Jesus speaks through a parable here to suggest that our best hope, when it comes to whatever we deserve, is mercy.

The story of the fig tree reminds us that God is more merciful and more patient than we deserve. That fig tree had been there long enough to produce fruit. Yet, all it did was sap the soil of water and nutrients. It took and never gave.

There is an interesting comparison possible between the two men in this parable worth some thought. The owner who seems rather cold and greedy cares nothing for the tree. He is only interested in the product, figs. Chopping the tree down was an easy option. He didn’t have to do anything to help the tree. The gardener, on the other hand, is different. He took care of things and seems to be a lover of fruit trees. He cared about the tree, knew about the tree, and did not give up on it willing to put some of himself into it. He seems to know that things become precious to us not just because of what we get out them, but also because of what we put into them.

Too often we are like the owner in this story. His way seems sensible, but it is the way of the head over the heart. It is the way of power rather than love. Power is only interested in results, wanting them instantly. Power has little patience with the slow and no empathy with the weak. The gardener’s way is the way of love, patient and kind. Love does not give up easily, never forces, just coaxes, encourages, and waits.

We learn something about being a disciple of Jesus today, and we have choices to make over the head or the heart, force or coax, take or give. We may be reminded that all we can hope for in the end is mercy. There is a message here that God is patient with sinners. Yet the parable also makes it clear that there is such a thing as a last chance. For people who refuse chance after chance the day will come when they are shut out not because God shut them out, but because by their own choices they shut themselves out.

Lent 2

March 16, 2025 I am at Saint Gregory Abbey in Shawnee, OK

Genesis 15: 5-12 + Psalm 27 + Philippians 3: 17-4:1 + Luke 9: 28-36

We are so like Peter, James, and John in this ninth chapter of Luke’s Gospel. They want nothing to do with suffering, but they sure like the glory. Immediately before this mysterious event, Jesus has shared with his closest companions his sense of what lies ahead for him if he continues his mission fulfilling his Father’s will. He had to have been filled with a sense of dread and surely some fear. I suspect that he shared this with his companions hoping for a pledge of their support when he his finally attacked by the leaders of the people. As Luke tells it however, they say nothing as Jesus speaks about how following him would mean taking up a cross.

Perhaps to prepare them for what they would see on another hill outside Jerusalem, Jesus takes these three to another hill where he prays and they sleep. This is the same three who do the same thing in a garden after their Passover dinner. On this first hill they want to hold on to this great glory and declare that it is good to be there. Then on that other hill, they are nowhere to be found.

They are so like us. We want nothing to do with suffering, or for that matter others who are suffering. We don’t want to see it. So, we close our eyes as if sleeping would make it all go away, and we are quiet too often saying nothing about the injustices that cause so many to suffer. Yet when the glory time comes, most of us would be found at the head of the line like Peter who wants to share in that glory by building tents. Yet he wants nothing to do with anything or anyone when it comes to suffering.

For the second time in Luke’s Gospel there is a voice from heaven. At his Baptism Jesus heard a voice that said: “You are my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” No one else heard that voice there are the Jordan. It was spoken only to Jesus. Now the voice speaks for a second time, and now it speaks to those three disciples with an added directive: “Listen to him.”

Two powerful statements leap off the page of this weekend’s Gospel: “Listen to him” and “It is good for us to be here.” They had a hard time listening when he did not say things they wanted to hear. Yet, the command will not go away. Then for Peter to say that “It is good to be here” when Christ is revealed in his glory is troubling because when it would have been good to be on another hill, he was absent. We can leave this church today with those two statements ringing in our minds. We have come to listen, as he tells us to take up the cross and follow him. While it is good to be here today, it would be better if we were with the suffering, the lonely, the homeless, the sick, or the imprisoned. It will very good when we can say that and mean it as we accept and take up the crosses that do and will always come our way.

Lent 1

March 9, 2025 I am at Saint Gregory Abbey in Shawnee, OK

Deuteronomy 26: 4-10 + Psalm 91 + Romans 10: 8-13 + Luke 4: 1-13

The temptations of Jesus are the temptations of Christians in all ages, and the victory of Jesus over Satan was no once-and-for-all victory. He won the battle but not the war. There would be other times when he would confront evil, and it is the same with all of us. Some people think that they should reach a certain stage when they will be beyond temptation. Jesus never got there and neither did any of the saints. We would do well to get over that thinking. The spiritually mature know this, and they learn to manage temptation knowing that it will come again and again. And so, now and then a little time in the wilderness is a good thing.

A great problem for all of us is a failure to know ourselves, to recognize evil and deal with it within ourselves. We are born with conflicting impulses, so that doing good is always possible but never easy. In fact, the easy way is usually the wrong way. It’s always easier to lie than tell the truth when telling the truth brings consequences that may demand a change. It’s always easier to join a conversation that hurts someone than speak up in their defense and look different.

There is something really wrong with dismissing bad behavior by saying, “It’s just human nature.” We do believe that humanity, as created by God, is good. Sin does not belong to humanity. In fact, sin is really a failure to be human – to be as God made us – to be good.

Pay attention to the way Satan speaks to Jesus in these verses. Each time he says: “If you are the Son of God.” The real temptation is to get Jesus to doubt who he is as the Son of God so that in doubting he will try to prove his identity because he doubts it. Doubt is the temptation, and it is a temptation we all face. We doubt that we are really good, called by God, chosen, filled with the Spirit and children of God.

Once that doubt takes hold, we begin to live for material things like a full belly, a big home, a fancy car, and clothing that impresses others with our taste and our style. When that doubt takes hold, we seek our own glory rather than God’s glory, longing for recognition, affirmation, seeking love in the wrong places all because we have doubted how much God loves us just the way we are.

Just as with the three temptations Luke describes, doubting our place in the heart of God can lead us to abandon the worship of God for the worship of power as humility gives way to self-serving pursuits that lead us away from church, from prayer, and from the very relationships that should remind us of who we are as brothers and sisters, children of God.

We have begun this week our wilderness time. Forty days to meet our demons, our addictions, our lust, anger, and need for approval. This is a time to rediscover or reaffirm our humanity and its goodness. It seems to me that what Jesus faced was a temptation to dodge his humanity and be everything but human. After all, he could turn stone to bread. He could, by his command, grab all the empires of the world, and like Captain Marvel he could jump, fly, and run all over the place. But he didn’t because he knew who he was and that he was sent to restore humanity to its beauty and goodness and teach us who we are as children of God.

January of 2025 – Ordinary Time

Part 2 of 4: The Journey Narrative

We believe that all four Gospels have two major sources.

1)       An Oral Tradition, which is the stories passed on by memory from one place to the next and from one generation to the next. This tradition came first.

2)       Then, a collection of the Miracle Stories seems to have been passed around from one community to the next.

From these two sources, Mark assembles a Gospel which may have depended upon Peter as one of his sources. It would have been oral. The writers of both Matthew and Luke both seem to have had all three of these sources at their disposal, and blended them together depending upon their focus, the audience, and the circumstances for which they presented the Gospel. 

By the latter half of the 2nd century this book we all know as the Gospel of Luke was being attributed to a Luke who was a companion of Paul. Three references speak of him as a fellow worker and beloved physician who was faithful to Paul in a final imprisonment. Many scholars believe that when Paul speaks of “we” implying that he was not travelling alone, it was Luke who was to be included in that “we.” At the same time, there are things in Luke’s Gospel that do not match with things in Paul’s writings which would suggest that Luke and Paul were not together all the time. In the fourth chapter of Colossians, Paul mentions Luke in a list of those who are with him, and Paul divides the group into those “who have come over from the Circumcision” from others implying that Luke is not a Jew. Tradition says he was a physician because he pays great attention to the medical matters that occur in the Gospel. The Good Samaritan story is an example of this as well as the comment about many physicians unable to cure the woman with a hemorrhage. As a sometime companion of Paul, a disciple who had not witnessed the ministry of Jesus, he wrote his Gospel for Gentile converts after the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, and began his work with Chapter Three later adding the Infancy Narrative as I said in the previous talk.

With Chapter Three we read what scholars believe to be the original beginning of Luke’s Gospel. Read aloud, the first six verses have the character of an Imperial Edict. The chapter establishes the identity of Jesus with his unique emphasis on the Holy Spirit. Of all the Gospels, this is the one that brings the Holy Spirit into the tradition and faith of the Christian Community. The Spirit is there at the moment of Baptism when the voice says: “This is My Beloved Son.” Then right after his revelation of divinity of Jesus as God’s Son, Luke inserts a genealogy and lists the ancestors of Jesus to affirm his humanity. Luke traces his genealogy back to Adam and God. Matthew traces his genealogy back to David and Abraham.

There is no going forward without this distinct affirmation of the Incarnation. And the divine/human nature of Jesus. Then, as the fourth chapter opens, Luke tells us that Jesus was led by the Spirit to the wilderness where he is tempted by the devil. The temptations themselves are each worth a lot of prayerful reflection, but that’s not for today. Luke moves on as Jesus begins his ministry in Galilee. He goes home. Now remember what Luke said at the very beginning: this is an orderly account of events. That does not mean it is historical. This is theological, and so the “order” has to do with theological order or perhaps theological priorities. THIS IS NOT HISTORY!

Jesus would not remain alone in the Gospel Mission, and his mission does not cease with his death and resurrection. Having presented the identity of Jesus, the message, and the mission of Jesus, Luke focuses on the disciples and shows how their own life, work, and mission is rooted in a special call. This part opens (again Luke’s dramatic style) by the lake of Gennesaret where Jesus calls Simon Peter and his companions to missionary discipleship. Then, the scene shifts from the lake to a city where Jesus demonstrates his healing power, a power exercised with due respect for the law and religious legal authority (5:15 “Go show yourself to the priests). This event reveals the basis for the developing conflict between Jesus and the Scribes and Pharisees.

Through this whole section, the focus is on the identity of Jesus (Who is this?). Yet this provides the bases for the identity of disciples. Once you know who Jesus is, you know who you are. Once you know what Jesus does, you know what you must do. The work of reconciliation is our work. It is the work of the Church. As the identity is focused, the whole issue of a new way of life begins to surface. 

From Chapter 3 till Chapter 6, incident by incident, Luke develops the hostility of the scribes and Pharisees. Conflict develops in that home cure, in the meal, and finally over the sabbath observance. They are watching, and gradually, they begin to pick up a pattern they don’t like. Fasting is called into question. The Sabbath is not observed the way they like. Meals are shared with tax Collectors, and Jesus is in the company of sinful women and even a Roman Centurion The last straw comes for them when he begins to speak of and proclaim the forgiveness of sins. Furious at being completely undone and unwilling to change, the scribes and the Pharisees have no alternative. They must find a way to rid themselves of Jesus. Then, in the 11th verse of Chapter 6, Luke says: “They were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.”  Now, for the first time in just six chapters, Luke uses one of his dramatic techniques to change the scene. He has Jesus withdraw “to the mountain to pray.”

Now, Jesus begins to establish the new Israel whose leaders would later be formed and actually sent on the mission. This new Israel will have twelve tribes just like the old Israel. Peter has already been on the scene, but now it’s time for the others. It is Luke’s way of emphasizing the primacy of place held by Peter. Instead of tribes there will be Apostles, and he calls them from among the disciples. Then comes a description of life in the New Israel. The Lukan Beatitudes, an instruction on love, a warning against judging others, the need to bear good fruit, and the importance of a solid foundation. Then Jesus responds to the plea of a Roman Centurion and raises the son of a woman form Nain, making it clear that the new Israel will be very inclusive. A resolution of the relationship with John the Baptist ends this section with more examples of this inclusiveness as several incident with women are included.

From the very beginning the status of Peter is affirmed. With that by way of introduction, Jesus calls the twelve (Chapter 9) and gives them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sends them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. When they return with the glowing report, Luke, almost as an aside or maybe a warning, inserts the news that Herod was perplexed and asks the question; “Who is this?” Meanwhile, Jesus has taken the apostles aside for some talk, and a huge crowd found them. At the end of the day, the crowd is hungry. The disciples recognize this, and Jesus tells them to feed the crowd. When the don’t know what to do, Luke resolves the matter with what can only be described as a preview of the Last Supper and the Holy Eucharist quoting Jesus, he took, blessed, broke, and gave. Then, the scene closes as Jesus goes off to pray alone. Here is another example of Luke’s technique.

This time the disciples are near. Jesus asks about his identity. If Luke were writing stage directions as well as a dialogue, there would be a drum roll as Peter proclaims Jesus to be the Messiah of God! Trumpets would sound, lights would flash. Then, Jesus tells them what lies ahead: suffering and death. Lest they be discouraged, he takes them up a high mountain and the Transfiguration occurs. Again, a voice from heaven speaks to the witnesses: “This is my Son, my chosen one; listen to him.” They come down and again he warns of his betrayal. With verse 51 now in Chapter 9, it says: “He set his face to go to Jerusalem.” With that the Journey narrative takes off.

It begins in Galilee and it moves toward Jerusalem. That movement is constant in Luke’s Gospel, and it is easy to call the middle of Luke’s Gospel between the Infancy Narrative and the Passion, “The Journey Narrative.” Jesus is now on the move, and as he begins, he picks up those we call, “Apostles.” Everywhere he goes, he stops at the Synagogue. Luke is always anxious to give us a Jesus who is faithful in prayer and observant of his traditions. Think how many incidents occur in that context from the Presentation of the infant in the temple by Mary and Joseph to the final observance of the Passover. Jesus prays there, and a lot of things happen there. 

It is clear early in the journey that he is gaining favor and a reputation that brings great crowds not only following him, but looking for him. One by one, the miracles or cures that he works get listed: an unclean spirit is cast out, and in the episode, even the unclean spirit proclaims who Jesus is, “I know who you are, the Holy One of God” says the demon. While the unclean spirits seem to know, the people just wonder. At Simon’s house, sick are brought to him and they are cured. In another town a leper is cleansed. Then a paralytic. As Luke presents each of these individual cures, the signs that prophets said would point to the Messiah are checked off While we know what’s happening and who Jesus is, the people in the Gospel drama still are wondering.

Through this first section with the focus on the crowd, three major groups of people seem to emerge: the crowd, the disciples, and the apostles. What now becomes clear is that Luke is sensitive to the distinct historical phases of the life of the Church. There is the crowd of the curious and the needy, there is the Church (Disciples) and among them are apostles. Luke is already, even before Pentecost and Acts of the Apostles shaping the Church.

By the sixth chapter the disciples are all accounted for, and the mission begins. Luke affirms again and again that the Gospel is for everyone. So, once the Twelve have been sent out on a successful mission, and once the identity of Jesus is confirmed by Peter, the example of the twelve motivates the sending of the Seventy lest the “Disciples” think that evangelization or the work of Jesus is only the work of the twelve. So, what’s up with the number? Two pieces of history probably shaped this detail. Moses chose seventy elders to be his helpers (Numbers 11: 16-15). Scholars suggest that more likely a stronger influence is the report of seventy nations in Genesis 10. With this Luke, anticipates the mission to all the nations beginning at Pentecost. Luke is anxious for us to see how the Church originated in the life and work of Jesus.

Now comes the great journey to Jerusalem, a journey that would lead Jesus out of history into the heavens. This is also the journey of the church which accompanies Jesus on his way to God. The idea, the whole concept of Journey recalls the Exodus during which time the disorganized, tribal people led by Moses gradually by trial and error finally become God’s people and reach the promise. This kind of journey story is nothing new. It is a theme used in ancient myths, and finally it is one made holy by the Word of God. The Journey has four stages:

  1. Villages of Galilee from which the group of apostles is drawn and expanded.
  2. From Galilee the setting shifts to Jerusalem
  3. In the Temple of Jerusalem where Jesus teaches various groups that either rejected or struggle with his challenge
  4. From Jerusalem to the Father – the Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

At this point, it is that first and second stage that we are focused on.

Again, this is not history. You cannot trace the journey on a map. There is no sense of organization for the route because it is not geographical. The destination is the Ascension, not really the city of Jerusalem. In fact, as you may notice, the narrative never says that Jesus got to Jerusalem. It simply says he entered the Temple. It never says anything about Jerusalem. The point is the Ascension not some place. 

In the summer of 2001 I was at the Cathedral of Our Lady in Oklahoma City. I had been through the Gospel of Luke five times during that assignment of fifteen years. I was not looking forward to the summer preaching once again for the sixth time with the Gospel of Luke. One of the great benefits of staying in one parish for a while and of being the only priest there is the opportunity to really teach consistently and progressively with the Word of God. I miss that in retirement, and sometimes I am frustrated that I never get to be in the same place and the same time with the same people two Sundays in a row. It is my opinion that for the congregation, that’s a loss because there is no way to develop and really explore consistently the Word of God. In other words, now in retirement, I can never say: “As I said last week…” Or “As we heard in the Gospel last week…” 

At any rate it was 2001 and I was dreading the summer months simply because I had been through those summertime gospels five times and was feeling out of ideas. One evening, I speaking with Father Stephen Happel, a life-long friend and priest companion. We were comparing notes about the summer preaching when he called my attention to the obvious fact that these chapters from nine to nineteen of Luke’s Gospel are actually a unit that ought to be treated as a whole. With that, the Holy Spirit which is so prominent in Luke’s Gospel turned on the lights. Some might think of tongues of fire, but fire always brings some light. Someday I hope an artist will paint a new image of Pentecost. Instead of tongues of fire over the heads of the Apostles, I want to see light bulbs. I think that’s the way the Holy Spirit works: inspiration, new ideas.

Beginning with verse 51 in the 9th Chapter, it begins. What we have here is a course in discipleship. What the Lukan Jesus is doing as he wanders around taking a long time to get where he is going is teaching and proposing a set of virtues that are essential for discipleship and must be at the heart of the Church Luke is forming.

The first is Poverty. Those who would follow Jesus and the Church (people) that continue his mission must be poor. The poverty Jesus commends to his followers is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved. It is not some ill to be solved, cured, and wiped out by an economic system. That kind of poverty is an issue of justice. One kind of poverty comes from injustice. This virtue of poverty comes from a life style with a new way of relating to things. It has to do with what can be shared. If something you have cannot be shared, you are in Gospel trouble. If your computer is too delicate or your car too expensive, you are not poor. God is poor. God shares the sun and the rain on the good and the bad. God even shares God’s only Son. 

Then moving into Chapter 10, Jesus teaches his disciples about joy. We shall have joy as disciples because we are free of anxious concerns and worries that have nothing to do with us. In the Gospel, Jesus sent out the disciples instructing them to take nothing – to be poor. Then with nothing to worry about, nothing to lose, nothing to pack, carry, or slow them down, they are free. That quality of freedom from worry and possessive concerns that seems to weigh down the rich whose stuff is too good to loan or share is called Joy. 

Next, in the same chapter Jesus reveals that Mercy is a virtue of discipleship with the story of the Good Samaritan. This is a quality of generosity and compassion not just at exceptional moments or a response to disasters, but a quality that is consistent and present all the time. 

As the chapter continues, so does the formation, and hospitality becomes the next virtue. The story of Martha and Mary develops this virtue, and there is a way of looking at those two as really one person, the disciple whose life is in balance between being and doing. It is a call to keep work and prayer in balance, and being hospitable is characteristic of God reminding us to be good guests and gracious hosts in the spirit of Abraham and Jesus.

Chapter 11 begins in a different place where Jesus teaches disciples about Perseverance which is the real secret to effective prayer because it preserves the relationship no matter how things are going. After teaching them about prayer, Jesus teaches disciples about worthy priorities as a challenge to greed. It is way of relating to things that is independent and free. This makes disciples rich in wisdom, purpose, and usefulness.

In the 12th chapter, there is a lesson on fear, with the assurance that we are never alone. The fear of abandonment is probably the greatest of all fears; and with it, the fear that there is not going to be enough of everything leads to thinking that we had better take care of ourselves because no one else will. Having the gift of freedom also means being free from fear which allows the disciple to look ahead not for something bad to happen, but for the master’s return and treat us like friends not as servants. Later in that same chapter, zeal is proposed by Jesus as a quality of discipleship. Those who have zeal in their lives are people who have a clear purpose, who know who they are, where they are going, and what they have to work with. This gives them a vibrant quality that is eager, and expectant, vigilant and ready for the Lord’s coming. 

Chapter 13 raises a question to which Jesus does not respond. He never answers the question about how many or who will be saved. He simply launches into that talk about entering through the narrow door which we immediately decide means admission to heaven. The whole question comes from a world which saw reality as limited. For most people of the first century there was only so much to go around including salvation. Competition was endemic to the religious as well as the economic sphere. In the end, Jesus instructs that disciples are saved, and saved disciples live at home in the present because they have been given bread. They know the comfort of forgiveness because they have forgiven each other.

In the 14th chapter, the protocol for the Banquet of Heaven is being set, and the way Jesus sees it, there is to be a radical departure from the system used in the ancient world not entirely out of use in our own. It’s about Humility, a virtue rooted in truth. This virtue does not mean being a doormat. It means know one’s rightful place in the reign of God, and it means knowing that it is a gift. The humble find their sense of self and their identity in God, not in comparison with others. As the chapter moves on, the Lukan Jesus speaks of prudence for disciples. This a quality of life rather than behavior. Remember, first discipleship is about being something, then, from that comes the doing of something. The disciple always asks what kind of person shall I be, not what shall I do. Some think that Prudence means being cautious, timid, frightened or mediocre. These are not the qualities of Prudence. In fact, they are just the opposite. Prudence seeks the best way to do the right thing. The point is the Doing. It is a virtue of action not of passive caution.

The journey and the lessons continue on with Chapter 15 when Jesus insists that a disciple is watchful. It’s those three stories about a woman sweeping the house looking for something, about a shepherd leaving 99 behind to look for just one sheep, and ridiculous father who does not go back to “business as usual” when his son takes off, never giving up hope, never living with that final and self-justifying attitude about a another that says: “They’ll just always be that way.”

The next chapter finds Jesus insisting that his disciples will be wise, that they will have a quality of Wisdom seen in faithful attention to frequent and familiar tasks of each day not matter how small and insignificant they may seem. What Luke suggests is that life consists of a series of what seem to be small opportunities like a cup of water. “Whoever is faithful in little things is faithful in bigger ones” is the way he puts it. Wise disciples will know what is of lasting value and what is fleeting. They will also know that they can only serve one master. Further into the chapter there is a story we could all tell without the book. It is the story of the rich man and the poor man who has a name, Lazarus. What Jesus reveals is that awareness must be a quality of his disciples. It is about an awareness of others. Never listening to the prophets, that rich man found himself in unending misery. Never listening to Jesus, we can run the same risk. Disciples of Jesus hear the master’s words. Aware of His presence and his Gospel, they become aware of injustice.

In Chapter 17 an interesting parable raises another virtue, Duty, and the parable tells the story of someone giving what is due, which is the meaning of the word, “duty.” The parable is a somewhat “back-door” way to remind disciples that they are servants. Fidelity to the duties of discipleship provides no grounds for feeling superior, and it should not bring ideas of honor or appreciation. In discipleship there is no “look what I have done” attitude. In fact, there is no time for that because there is always more to do. When the apostles cry: “Increase our faith” which begins this section, they are aware of the great task that lies ahead and what Jesus asks of them. What we learn in this section is that it is not the quantity or extent of a person’s faith that is at issue. It is not a matter of more faith, but a life consistent with the faith we already have.

As an example of how Luke’s work is not factual history, in this chapter, he has Jesus headed to Jerusalem through the region between Samaria and Galilee. That would be like going to Miami through Tallahassee. None the less, along the way, Jesus gets to another profoundly important virtue for disciples: Gratitude. In Luke’s thought the grateful recognition of God’s initiative that brings healing and salvation is the surest sign of faith. Gratefulness confirms one’s faith. Disciples recognize what God has done for them. It’s the story of the 10 lepers that unfolds this virtue. Disciples return again and again to the feet of the master speaking his praises. This is not a passing emotion, but a way of life. It is not private either. It is public, and real gratitude is contagious. 

In the 18th Chapter Luke pulls a switch with another parable about a nagging woman who comes before a judge. Probably when Jesus used this parable, it was, like all his parables, about God his Father. In which case, the focus of the story was the judge, and the listener would be drawn into a reflection upon the surprising figure who is moved by this persistent widow to provide the justice for which she pleads. When Luke tells the story, it is not so clearly about the judge. The widow emerges as the story’s focus. She is the focus not because she is a widow, not because she is alone, not because she is an uneducated outcast without a name, wealth, land, or power. She emerges because, unlike others of her kind, she is persistent, constant, steady, and unbending in the face of any obstacle. Her strength of persistent prayer is the virtue that must be found in a disciple. 

In this chapter another parable is told that we know very well about two men who go to the Temple to pray. With that parable disciples are brought to recognize that they are justified. However, this is not because of what they say or what they do, who they know or where they are, but that they are justified by God. In the parable, there is nothing wrong with the prayer of either man. They are both reciting psalms: the Pharisee is using Psalm 15 and the Tax Collector is using Psalm 34. The problem is not the prayer, the problems is the focus. All the Pharisee can do is recite what he has done. His prayer is all about him. What the tax Collector does is make God the center of his prayer. One has no room for God because he so filled with his own accomplishments. The other acknowledges God as the source and ground of his life and hope. He is justified, not the other one. Disciples of Jesus are justified, not because God owes them something but because they stood in truth before God and acknowledged their need and how useless their own deeds are to save them.

The new order Jesus came to inaugurate is an era of salvation and justification experienced as a gift, not as a right. In such disciples then, righteousness is never about self, but always about the God who saves with mercy, forgiveness and love.

Chapter 19 begins with these words: “He entered Jericho and was passing through it.” He is now near Jerusalem, and before the chapter ends, he enters the city and with that his Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension are about to take place. Armed with the virtues he has presented along the way, disciples, his church, will be ready to move forward without him because of him by the power of the Holy Spirit as the second part of Luke’s work, Acts of the Apostles will reveal.

November & December 2024 In Avent

Part 1 of 4: The Infancy Narrative

Let’s get into what we know and admit what we don’t know adding the truth that sometimes when we don’t know something, we make up stuff to cover that lack of knowledge. There is a set of questions that ought to guide us whenever we begin to explore something: Who, When, What, Where, and How.

So, who wrote this Gospel? Except for John, the other three Gospels remain anonymous. This is quite different from the writing of Paul whose name appears throughout his writing. However, Luke is the name used consistently from the second century. He was a companion of Paul, and not an eyewitness. So, he is depending upon the testimony of others. He is a second-generation Christian, not a Palestinian but a native of Antioch in Syria. His knowledge of the geography and customs is faulty suggesting he did not live there. He was a some-time companion of Paul. That information comes from the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians and the Epistle to Timothy. He simply suddenly appears at Paul’s side during Paul’s second Mission. We can say that, because in Luke’s second part which we call “Acts of the Apostles” chapter 16, he suddenly switches to the first-person plural. He says, “We.”

When: The years 80 to 85 are generally accepted as the time. However, from the fact that Luke’s writing stops while Paul is still in custody around the year 63 and the fall of Jerusalem in about 70 could push it a little earlier. Here is an example of contrary data that leaves us to simply say: “We don’t really know exactly.”

It is fairly certain that Luke had at hand a copy of Mark’s account. Sixty-percent of Mark is incorporated into Luke. Probably another collection of quotations from Jesus was probably available and these would have been written in Aramaic. There were certainly some oral sources available from John, the deacon Philip, and possibly from Mary herself.

Luke’s Gospel, when it comes to literature is a masterpiece. He is very observant of mannerisms, psychological reactions, and hidden motivations. He favors minorities, segregated groups, and the underprivileged. Watch how often Samaritan, lepers, publicans, soldiers, public sinners, ignorant shepherds and poor show up. All of these people get special encouragement from this Gospel. Some may disagree with me on this, but Trump and his tribe would have a problem with this kind of “Diversity.” He is writing for Gentiles. We know that because of the way he omits Semitic words and finds substitutes for them. For instance, he explains in his Gospel the meaning of “Abba”, “Rabbi”, “Ephphata”. Luke omits all the controversies over the Law about what is clean and unclean. He seldom quotes the Old Testament. This Gospel was written in Greek, and it was good Greek, not easy street language. Luke is educated, and he writes to people who speak good Greek.

Finally, you must keep in mind all the way through. This is not History. It is theology. So, it is a distraction and silly to wonder or ask if something really happened. The question to ask is: “What does this mean?” and “What are we going to do or become because of it?” Luke makes no claim to have been an eyewitness. He tells us that he is giving us a well-ordered narrative so that we may know the truth. He says he is writing to Theophilus. He calls him “excellent”. That adjective/title was reserved for Roman Procurators. It was also a very common name, so there is no point in making a lot out of it.

At the time of Luke, there were two problems or “crises” that may have prompted his writing. The first was the Gentiles, and their concepts or ideas about God.  The whole Mediterranean world was very parochial, and there were as many ideas about God as there were communities, and with that, there were different cults. That’s hard for us to understand, but it was a great challenge at the time. Rome made it even more difficult with Emperor Worship. As Rome spread across the region, this parochialism was overcome. With this came an overwhelming sense loyalty and security that drove people to side with the powerful. If you understand that world, then you can see why the message of humility and the ideas expressed in Mary’s Magnificat are seen as a revolutionary threat. Themes of Greek plays at the time would have thought humility to be silly. The grand nobility of persons was the theme of their plays captivating theatergoers. They would have scoffed at the idea of humility proposed by these followers of Jesus Christ. Meanwhile, the Christian community expected the world to believe the story of a man who died the death of a rebellious slave. Rediculous!

The second crisis was over the Jews. The descendants of Abraham even earned the respect of Rome as Rome recognized that in the history of these chosen people no power could shake their fidelity to the law of their fathers. This people, reared with a profound respect for the law, their traditions, the experts would find shocking the stories of Jesus who flaunted the accepted ways and seemed so arrogant toward his religious superiors. Jesus seemed to be encouraging social, economic, and religious sedition.

Originally, the Gospel began with Chapter 3. The Infancy Narrative was added after Acts of the Apostles was finished. The presence of the genealogy in the third chapter is a clue that suggests this. Listen how Chapter 3 begins and see if you don’t think is the beginning. “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea and Herod was ruler of Galilee and Philip his brother ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

With the way it opens now, Luke has a formal prologue, a literary convention common among historians and other writers of his time. He is the only New Testament evangelist to do so. Matthew begins with a genealogy that stakes a claim for Jesus as the royal Davidic Messiah. Mark begins with a one-line heading that launches a tale told with thunder, John. Luke mentions his predecessors, alludes to his sources, touts his credentials as a longtime observer of events, acknowledges his patron, Theophilus and states his basic purpose in writing. We are in the hands of a confident author who invites us, gently, into his narrative world. 

In his address to Theophilus, he reveals that what has transpired – what he will narrate is the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel. He understands the events he will narrate in a biblical mode – in other words, what is to come is a biblical narrative held together by a progression of prophecies and fulfillments. He revers Jewish scriptures, makes use of quotations from it, and often writes in the style of the Septuagint. 

With the birth and infancy narratives we enter an enchanted world. It is replete with angels, heavenly signs, startling prophecies, unlikely pregnancies, improbable births, temple rituals, religious functionaries, pious laypeople, isolated shepherds, a child prodigy, and with it all an abundance of echoes from Israel’s Scriptures. It’s almost like Harry Potter when you start to think about it. This is the religious imagination at its best, an outpouring of legend and imagery fitting for a turning point in human history. It the momentous coming of a Savior who is Christ the Lord. 

Think for a minute how Luke organizes Chapters 1 & 2. There are seven episodes or scenes if you want to think in drama terms, and it is dramatic.

  1. Annunciation of John the Baptist
  2. Annunciation of Jesus
  3. Visitation
  4. Birth and Circumcision of John
  5. Birth and Circumcision of Jesus
  6. Presentation in the Temple
  7. Finding in the Temple

There are obviously two parallels 1 & 2 and 4 & 5. Three hymns fill in the narration: The Canticle of Zechariah, The Magnificat, and The Gloria. Scholars believe that these were added later.  Episode 7 serves as a transition or story/passage.

I cannot emphasize this enough. 

The Infancy Narrative is a Dramatization of Theology. It is NOT history!

It all begins with the story of the conception of John the Baptist by Divine plan.

Now we get down to business with Zechariah. Luke tells us he is a good man married to a good woman. Yet, in spite of that they have no children, and in that time and culture, something is not quite right. God is about to intervene to make right what that culture believe is not right. So, Zechariah enters the Temple to perform the privileged and familiar duty of lighting an incense offering to God. An angel scares him with good news. What we see here is God confronting the highest of temple officialdom. Zechariah does not believe this good news, and Gabriel strikes him mute. There is no room or time for doubt. There is no blessing outside the Temple that day either. A world of religious devotion has been disrupted. There is also an important detail. Zechariah does not name his son, God has done that, and the same thing occurs with the second Annunciation story.

There is a struggle in Luke to fit John the Baptist into the schema of salvation and persuade unconverted disciples of John. You can sense that as the Gospel unfolds. With the birth of John, it is likely that Luke is trying to establish a connection with the Old Testament rather than writing intimate family history, because there is a parallel between the parents of Samuel as told in the Book of Samuel, and the parents of John. They are old. The career of John the Baptist caused problems for the early church. He was a prophet in his own right, founder of a Palestinian reform movement that would eventually find adherents as far away as modern Turkey. An inconvenient truth is that for a time Jesus of Nazareth was part of it. He was baptized by John. Luke will work hard through his gospel to make it clear that John was not superior to Jesus. Scholars believe that the legends of John’s birth originated in the circles of believers John attracted to himself. Luke incorporates this into his narrative. In this first story, Luke stirs imaginations. He paints a picture of a world of religious devotion about to be disrupted and enriched in ways no one could have foreseen He invites us to make it our own.

Right after the birth of John comes the second annunciation. Having entered this enchanted world through John the Baptist and his parents. Few scenes in all the Gospels rival the annunciation to Mary for its capacity to fire up the imagination. I think that is why so many artists have been and still do try to capture this moment on canvas. They are countless. The Louvre alone has 2,000 of them!

The second annunciation story is linked to the first in two ways: it is dated to the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, and it is constructed out of similar components, the appearance of the angel Gabriel, the perplexity he causes and the assurance not to fear, the announcement of an unlikely pregnancy, the divine naming of the child and the reference to a legitimating sign.

Gabriel shows up. The only other time in the Bible that we hear of Gabriel is in the eighth chapter of the Book of Daniel. There, Gabriel is sent to explain a vision Daniel has, and Gabriel scares him so much that he fell to the ground. The Book or Prophecy of Daniel proclaims the coming of everlasting justice – the final time.

In the Annunciations scene there are five steps:

  1. The appearance
  2. The fear
  3. The message
  4. The objection
  5. The giving of a sign

The central figure is a young girl in a man’s world. Perhaps younger than 15, she is an impoverished girl with nothing of importance to say. Her question to the angel is much like the question of Zechariah. The main burden of this text is to establish Jesus as a Davidic Messiah and Son of God. The whole concept of a Virgin Birth is unheard of in the Old Testament. So, when it springs up in the Gospel two times, it is an entirely new idea that brings with it the sense of a “New Creation”. The language and the images are rich in symbolism. Being “overshadowed” reminds is all of the cloud in the desert that hid God but yet was a sign of God’s presence and action. This is the introduction of the message and identity of Jesus as God’s Son.

A departure is a literary technique or gimmick Luke uses to indicate a change of scene. Notice how often he has some one departs or go away as the scene changes. So, the Angel departs, and a new scene begins that is an otherwise unremarkable meeting of relatives that takes a dramatic turn when the child in Elizabeth’s womb leaps at the sound of Mary’ voice. It is not the first time for such gymnastics to be recorded in the Bible. Twice in Genesis, Jacob and Esau do the same thing. It is a jump for Joy and it all happens because of the Holy Spirit. More than fifty times in Luke’s Gospel the action and consequences of the Holy Spirit will be recorded. So, with the Visitation story, the scene of the Annunciation is complete. The Visitation itself is a bridge passage that now brings together two characters of this drama: John and Jesus.

We get two birth stories. One is of lesser importance than the other obviously by the details. John’s birth only takes two verses. In Chapter 3 Luke describes the entire career of John including his imprisonment by Herod before he narrates how John Baptized Jesus. You might see something odd here. The Baptism of Jesus had to have happened before John was imprisoned. Again, there is no history here, so do not expect things to “add up”. This is Luke’s way of shifting all the focus onto Jesus.  Another example is that Luke describes the growth of John into manhood before he describes the birth of Jesus which, if this was history, should have taken place only a few month later. Again, a shift of attention.

Now, the census is Luke’s way of explaining the presence of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem. Since it all began in Nazareth, he had to get them Bethlehem. There is no historical evidence of a census. It is a literary device that provides a solemn beginning. I find great irony is the way Luke uses the mightiest figure in the world, the Roman Emperor, to serve God’s plan by issuing this edict for a census. Caesar Augustus is the peaceful ruler, the one who pacified the world. Greek cities of Asia Minor (perhaps not far from where Luke was writing) adopted September 23, the birthday of Augustus as the first day of a new year, calling him a “savior.” Luke’s description of the birth of Jesus is a direct challenge to this imperial propaganda. 

As I said earlier, Luke is interested in details. Swaddling and manger are more important any anything else if you just look at the information. That manger has nothing to do with poverty. It is simply an odd location caused by circumstances. There is a reversal going on here. In the first chapter of Isaiah it says: “The ox knows its owner, and the donkey knows the manger of its lord; but Israel has not known me.” Luke is saying that this is now repealed. The shepherds have been sent to the manger to find the Lord who is the source of joy for all people of Israel.

Like the manger, the swaddling is no sign of poverty. It is a sign that Israel’s Messiah is not an outcast among his people but is properly cared for. In Luke, Jesus is not born like an alien in an Inn, but in a manger where God sustains and feeds his people. This is Theology. The details lead us deep into the mystery of what God is doing.

When it comes the Annunciation to the Shepherds, there is nothing sentimental intended nor is there any effort on Luke’s part to identify with the common man as sometimes badly conceived homilies might want to suggest. This episode is tied to the Jewish idea that is much more deeply involved. It is draws heavily from images in the Prophet Micah which anticipates and for-sees the triumph of Jerusalem by a ruler from David’s place of origin. Remember what David was? This detail ties in with a King descended from a shepherd image: David the King.

This Annunciation to Shepherds is written in the style of an Imperial Proclamation. I like to think that this is Luke’s counter-propaganda that Jesus, not Augustus was the Savior and source of peace whose birthday marked the beginning of new time. Probably however, Isaiah 9: 5 seems to be the source: “For the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. For a child has been born for us, a son given us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Then Luke gives us the final hymn: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those whom he favors”. Like the other hymns, added later, it was probably composed by a community of Jewish Christians using the same kind of poetry. It is used to hail Jesus as the Messiah at the end of his ministry, something the angles knew at the beginning of his life. Luke is telling us that the angels of heaven recognized at the beginning of life for Jesus what the disciples came to know only at the end; namely, the presence of the Messiah King comes in the name of the Lord. 

After the Shepherd’s visit, Luke says: “The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them.” With that, they depart. There is Luke’s signal: End of scene.

Through all of this we see Luke the pastor writing to comfort, encourage, and renew a community that was stumbling, disconnected from its roots and facing new challenges. His purpose was not so much to speak new things, but to present old things in a new way, old things which the readers knew from the very sources and traditions Luke used in his work. He chose a familiar form, “narrative.” This form is to literature what story telling is to the spoken word. It communicates in such a way that the readers enter the story and discover that it is their own. Gifted with knowledge, the readers little by little learn how the characters in the story arrive at the knowledge which they already have and what that truth really means.

The whole thing is an invitation to keep these things in our hearts, to wonder at them as their meaning is gradually unfolding in the story. Remember, Luke is writing to people who have differing ideas about God in the midst of a Roman occupation as Rome has its own idea about God with a divine Emperor. Luke is going to straighten that out.

What do we learn so far?

Jesus is a human, born of a woman.

Jesus is Divine, born of God. 

Jesus would return to God, and Christians must accept the end of his life and his absence from history as an individual figure or person.

The Narrative is like a painting with two panels. In the first panel is set in Jerusalem with Zachariah and Elizabeth. Like them, we believe yet we doubt, and what does God do? God does not need our perfect belief to fulfill the promise of biblical history which reveals again and again that the barren past can become fruitful. In the second panel the scene shifts from Jerusalem to Nazareth. Luke is concerned to show that the origins of Jesus are much more significant than those of John the Baptist. Nazareth is a no-place. Jerusalem is power. There is a message here.

The role of Zachariah and Mary are parallel, but it is Mary the mother, not Joseph the father who gives a name, who receives a message and brings things to pass. John’s birth is about overcoming the inability to conceive. The birth of Jesus introduces a whole new order, and we are pulled into the realm of creation by the working of the Spirit which is a powerful theme in Luke’s Gospel as we will see chapter by chapter.

The visitation story invites us to see the New Testament, Mary reaching out and transforming the Old Testament, Elizabeth.

Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth of Galilee. This is clearly held by Christian tradition without contest. At the same time, a clear theological tradition held that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Matthew handled it one way, by beginning at Bethlehem. Luke another way by beginning in Nazareth. Luke had a problem of getting them to Bethlehem, so he has a census. He uses this event for another reason too.  He wants to show that Jesus was being just, obedient, and legitimate when it comes to Roman Law. This is a concern all through Luke.

It’s all a journey, a long pilgrimage to Jerusalem in Luke’s Gospel just as it is for us. As we conclude this reflection on the Infancy Narrative, remember the story of Jesus being lost for three days only to be found again. It’s all part of Luke’s plan. The loss of Jesus creates confusion and consternation and Jesus explains the divine necessity which called for his absence; the Father’s business. He must be with the Father. This is his ultimate destiny, and we, the church through him, and with him, and in him are on the same journey to the New Jerusalem.