Kathy Getka
Many believe the Gospel of Luke was written by Luke somewhere
in the mid-sixties for Gentiles. This is the first in a sequel, the second
being the Book of Acts. Many of the sources say Luke was likely a Gentile
or a Hellenistic Jew as evidenced by his use of the Greek language. He was
an educated, cultured man from Antioch in Syria or Philippi in Greece. He
was a traveling companion of Paul.
The Gospel of Luke was written during the time of Roman emperors
Nero (54-68 a.d.) and Vespasian (69-70 a.d.). Persecution of Christians was
still on a small scale, and Christianity was rapidly spreading throughout
the Roman empire. The first Jewish war broke out in 66-74 a.d. and both Peter
and Paul were martyred (64-68 a.d.). Major revolts broke out in Judea along
with the destruction of the temple a couple of years later.
Luke is considered a historical account of the life of Jesus.
Luke outlines the journey of God’s plan for humanity. The section of
the Gospel the assigned text comes from tells the account of Jesus’
journey to Jerusalem.
Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath who had been afflicted with
a spinal condition for 18 years. The synagogue rulers and their supporters
put the Law above Jesus and the will of God. They held on to their religious
tradition instead of embracing compassion and mercy. They are confronted with
a woman whom they have failed to notice but Jesus helps.
Hypocrisy twists our priorities until we care only about ourselves,
no matter how “religious” we sound, look, or act. God’s
desire is for His priorities to be the priorities of our lives—we care
for others with love and compassion. The Sabbath laws these rulers followed
so closely do not restrict the will or activity of God. The heart of God can
not be found in these rules or details, but in love.
In response to God’s priorities, we practice what Dietrich
Bonhoeffer calls “costly grace.” We answer the call to leave behind
our old lives, our self-will, and follow Jesus by submitting ourselves to
His will. We die to self so the will of God can reign in our lives. Presenting
our whole lives to God, we become the Body of Christ to the hurting world.
(For the full manuscript
of this sermon go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons.”)
In the world today, we can get caught up in personally living
right with Jesus by regularly attending church, tithing, and daily study of
God’s word. However in the process of living the “perfect”
Christian life we lose sight of the lost, the suffering, the “least
of these.”
In this text and our world, Jesus calls the behavior of putting
the law or living right above and beyond taking care of the needs of others
“hypocrisy.” Jesus wants us to focus on Him, loving Him fully,
and on our neighbors.
I have chosen some illustrations for my sermon to help convey
the message. David, my youngest son, is a rule follower. For him, rules are
black and white. One either follows them or they do not, and if they do not
they are a “rule breaker,” something most second graders avoid.
He does not understand gray or that sometimes it is okay to break the rules.
As a parent, my job is to teach him when it is appropriate to break those
rules.
God’s will needs to come before our need to follow the rules, to follow
what feels safe. Sometimes we have to step out of our comfort zone to be in
God’s will. We have to give the homeless man on the corner a buck when
he is asking for a little help. When the church board does not have any extra
money, we have to be creative in order to feed the children we minister to
all summer. We have to step out of our comfort zone to reach the single mom,
the senior who just lost her husband, or the teen who desperately needs a
mentor.
