Shines
Read: John 1:1-5 The light shines in the darkness. (v. 5) We saw earlier how Mark introduced us to “The beginning of the gospel.” Today John takes us back to the ultimate beginning by opening with the identical words from Genesis: “In the beginning.” Although John doesn’t contain any narrative about Jesus’ birth, he gives […]
Consolation
Read: Luke 2:22-40 Simeon . . . was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. (v. 25) This is our eleventh and final day of reflections from Luke. We have spent more time here than in the other three Gospels because Luke has so much more to tell us about the months surrounding […]
Unto You
Read: Luke 2:8-21 For unto you is born this day . . . a Savior. (v. 11) Thirty years ago this month our daughter was born. I was serving as a pastor and because the birth took place in the wee hours of the morning on a Sunday, I called my lead elder to say […]
The Birth
Read: Luke 2:1-7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son. (v. 7) Christmas is nine days off yet, but today we come to Luke’s classic telling of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. For anyone who has been a Christian for a while, all of this sounds so familiar. It is the inspiration behind a million […]
A New Song
Read: Luke 1:67-80 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High. (v. 76) Zechariah used his nine months of silence to deepen his relationship with God. Unable to speak or carry out his normal duties as a priest, Zechariah thought long and hard about what the angel Gabriel had said to […]
Fear and Wondering
Read: Luke 1:57-66 And fear came on all their neighbors. (v. 65) We often miss the Bible’s humor. God himself invented humor, and anyone who has ever watched a one-year-old child giggle uproariously at the silliest things senses that humor is hardwired into us. We should expect, then, to find humor in God’s holy book. […]
Magnifying
Read: Luke 1:46-56 My soul magnifies the Lord. (v. 46) We have been thinking about God’s reversal of normal expectations the last couple of days. Now in Mary’s song we spy this once again. Because what does it mean to magnify something? Well, you make it bigger, easier to see. You use a magnifying glass […]
Filled
Read: Luke 1:39-45 And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. (v. 41) Pentecost gets all the attention in terms of the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit. Certainly that was a momentous day. But God’s Spirit fell upon people all through the Old Testament as well. Also, at the end of John’s Gospel on the […]
Let It Be
Read: Luke 1:26-38 Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you! (v. 28) The writer Frederick Buechner once imagined that as Gabriel waited to hear Mary’s response to the announcement that she was to bear God’s Son, perhaps all the hosts of heaven collectively held their breath. What would she say? Maybe even Gabriel […]