Tag: <span>gospel of luke</span>

Some of the Gospel according to Luke’s most prominent passages describe salvation in terms of utterly transformed sociopolitical values and realities. The energy expressed in those texts’ grand and far-reaching assertions can be difficult to see in the rest of Luke unless interpreters pay attention to the ways Jesus dismantles the tools and ethos of dominance in the more intimate settings of his public ministry. For preachers and teachers who lead others through Luke one passage at a time, interpreting the whole Gospel narrative with those big promises in view is essential.

Read the full article, which was published in the October 2018 issue of the online journal Currents in Theology and Mission.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers Journal articles

Summary: When Jesus tells a parable about a widow who engages in a tireless campaign to get the justice she deserves, he offers an illustration of Christian faith. In the parable, the woman continually beseeches an unjust judge who finally grants her requests because he grows tired of her endless appeals. The parable associates Christian faith with an unflagging commitment to see justice become a reality. Christian faith complains about injustice and advocates for those who need justice. Faith does so because it takes God’s promises seriously, believing that God is indeed a God of justice. This depiction of faithful advocacy is especially important to consider during election season. Christians can advocate for candidates who will create just laws and policies, but Christians also equip themselves to persist in advocacy after elections are complete.

Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on Day1 and Patheos.

Bible commentary: general audience ON Scripture--The Bible

Summary: When Jesus heals a woman’s debilitating and oppressive spinal condition on the sabbath, his action draws a rebuke. His sharp retort to his critics implies that his action was totally appropriate, since honoring the sabbath entails reiterating God’s commitment to freedom from oppression. The theological logic that drives this passage and justifies Jesus’ urgent concern for the anonymous woman’s well-being resonates with what Martin Luther King Jr. argues in his famous book Why We Can’t Wait. Well-meaning religious people seem to have a habit of impeding God’s commitment to justice and liberation. Our problem goes beyond ignorance or a lack of compassion. Sometimes our theology, security, and idealism are to blame. We need to rediscover the priorities to which God is committed, such as delivering people from suffering.

Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on Day1 and Patheos.

Bible commentary: general audience ON Scripture--The Bible

Summary: Mary, the mother of Jesus, responds to what she has been told about her son with a bold declaration about God’s habit of overturning the status quo. Mary speaks about God as one who will not let powerless and discarded people remain trapped in those conditions. Her words offer more than wishful hope or religious platitudes; they restlessly and impatiently urge God to spring into action. Listening to Mary respond to her pregnancy has particular poignancy for Christians during Advent: she rouses us into action and expectation. This passage also can help citizens of certain nations think about the long-running war our countries continue to wage, leading us to consider its costs and burdens and to join God in God’s commitment to fostering a different kind of existence.

Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on Day1 and Patheos.

Bible commentary: general audience ON Scripture--The Bible

Summary: The Gospel according to Luke begins unlike any other Gospel. Describing the miraculous conceptions and births of John the Baptizer and Jesus, the opening chapters bring promises and yearnings from the Old Testament into conversation with the new things God is doing. They direct us to read the Gospel in light of how the people of God have come to understand who God is, drawing on old traditions and language. They characterize Jesus’ coming as the advent of God’s promised and hoped-for future.

Read the full article, and listen to an accompanying podcast, in the “Everything You Wanted to Know about the Bible but Were Afraid to Ask” section of EnterTheBible.

Bible commentary: general audience

Summary: When the Gospel according to Luke describes Jesus saying, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs,” what does he mean? To answer this question, we need to know how people in Jesus’ culture regarded children. When we see that Jesus is celebrating and empowering children as some of the most invisible, inconsequential, and vulnerable people of his society, then we should go on to ask: How should we treat and assist vulnerable children in our society? Caring for children — especially endangered and exploited children — is indeed an important part of any church’s work, in any setting.

This article is part of a Bible study exploring the church’s response to youth homelessness and was produced by Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota. The entire five-part Bible study was written by five different professors from Luther Seminary and is available here.

 

Bible commentary: general audience The Bible and Christian practices

Summary: Jesus’ parable about a woman who searches diligently for a lost coin illustrates God’s determined commitment to our welfare. It also invites us to imagine God at work in other situations, sometimes very ordinary-looking situations, when people make themselves present to others. Antoinette Tuff, the elementary-school employee who talked a gunman into laying down his weapon, shows us what God is like.

Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post, Day1, and Patheos.

Bible commentary: general audience ON Scripture--The Bible

Summary: In the wake of inexplicable, frightening tragedies, Jesus calls people to repent. Repentance involves a new way of seeing the world, God’s presence in it, and our place in God’s intentions. The news always reminds us our existence is a fragile one, but we nevertheless play a part in God’s program for grace, mercy, and justice.

Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington PostDay1, and Patheos.

Bible commentary: general audience ON Scripture--The Bible

Summary: When Jesus declares his intentions to bring God’s blessings to others beyond his hometown, the people of Nazareth strenuously oppose him. Why are we often angered or scared by the prospect of empowering outsiders.

Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post, Day1, and Sojourners.

Bible commentary: general audience ON Scripture--The Bible

Summary: Tragedies, like the mass slaughter of schoolchildren in Connecticut, prompt some to offer cringe-worthy declarations about how God might be or not be active in our lives. But the song of Mary, Jesus’ mother, teaches us to speak about God more responsibly.

Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post and Day1.

Bible commentary: general audience ON Scripture--The Bible