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“Home for the Holidays” (Luke 2:1-20)“Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays.” So goes the familiar Christmas song. And it is good to be home, with family, at Christmas time. Renewed relations, good food, smiles on all the faces. There’s a fire in the fireplace, and you’re sitting in the living room, opening presents by the Christmas tree. Perry Como is singing in the background. Como, cocoa, cookies, and kids--a Christmas right out of Norman Rockwell. Very nice. But tonight I want to tell you about something even better than that. What it really means to be home...

“Good News Comes in Strange Packages” (Luke 1:26-38)How’d you like to have a really scary guy come up to you unexpectedly and tell you: “Hey, I’ve got good news for you! You’re about to have a life-changing experience that will cause the person closest to you to think you have betrayed him, an experience that will make you into something of a social outcast and that will rearrange your whole life and plans from anything you expected. Yeah, this is some really good news I have for you!” How would you feel, and what would you say to such a...

How A Charlie Brown Christmas almost didn’t happen Few headlines about network television make me giddy. Fewer still make me hopeful that all is good in the world. But back in August of 2010, I read the following headline from the media pages with great excitement: “Charlie Brown Is Here to Stay: ABC Picks Up ‘Peanuts’ Specials Through 2015.” The first of these to be made, the famous Christmas special, was an instant classic when it was created by Charles Schulz on a shoestring budget back in 1965, and thanks to some smart television executives, it will be around for...

“Unexpected Thanksgiving” (Luke 17:11-19)It was an unexpected thanksgiving. I mean the thanksgiving recorded in today’s reading from Luke 17, the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers. The thanksgiving that we find there was quite unexpected. And that may give us some guidance and inspiration for the rest of our day today, that we too may do some “Unexpected Thanksgiving.” Oh, now you would expect people to give thanks to the person who healed them, when they had just been healed of a dreaded disease like leprosy. It was a kind of a walking death, in a way. It ostracized...

... All that is written in his eloquent but restrained Gospel he acquired from hearsay, from witnesses, from the Mother of Christ, from disciples, and from the Apostles. His first visit to Israel took place almost a year after the Crucifixion. Yet he became one of the greatest of the Apostles. Like Saul of Tarsus, later to be known as Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, he believed that Our Lord came not only to the Jews but to the Gentiles, also. He had much in common with Paul, because Paul too had never seen the Christ. Each had had...

Today we see an age of anomie—lawlessness. The laws of God are being ignored and His commandments jettisoned. Indeed, it is a lawless age in which we live—reminiscent of what Jesus said in parable about what would come when He went off to a far country. The citizens would hate Him, and they would cry out, “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14). The great question before the nations is: Will men and nations submit to having Jesus Christ, the Divine Creator of the world reign over them? God’s purpose in this world is to...

Understanding the Book of Acts--Part 3: More Similarities Between Luke and Acts Be sure to read Part 1 and Part 2. Continuing our walk through the book of Acts, we can note the following similarities between what happened to Jesus in the Gospel of Luke and what happens in the life of the Church in Acts. A centurion. . . A centurion, well-spoken of by the Jews, sends servants to Jesus to ask him to come to his house (Luke 7:1–10). A centurion, well-spoken of by the Jewish people, sends men to Peter, asking him to come to his house...

Those who deal with Orioles designated hitter Luke Scott on a daily basis know the deal: Scott is one of the nicer, happier guys in baseball. He is also one of the most outspoken players about things he believes strongly in. That starts with religion and his Christian beliefs. He is also a huge Second Amendment supporter – and has gone on national TV on multiple occasions about the right to carry guns. And he is a big right-wing conservative. Oftentimes he’ll share his opinions in the clubhouse. He says things matter-of-factly, and those around him have come to accept...

“Christ the King Comes into His Kingdom” (Luke 23:27-43)Today is the Last Sunday of the Church Year, and so it may seem odd that the Holy Gospel for this day is a Good Friday reading. But when I tell you that the Last Sunday of the Church Year is also called “Christ the King Sunday,” perhaps you will be able to see why this Good Friday reading was chosen. For in this crucifixion account, we are told about Christ as the King. There is the inscription above Jesus’ head, “This is the King of the Jews,” and we hear the...

“For Behold, the Day Is Coming” (Malachi 4:1-6; Luke 21:5-36)“For Behold, the Day Is Coming,” says our Old Testament Reading this morning. And in the Holy Gospel, Jesus goes on to tell us more about that day--and the days leading up to it. What day are we talking about? When? What is going to happen when that day arrives? And what about those days leading up to it? What will they be like? And what does all this mean for us in the here and now? That’s where our lessons this morning are taking us. You see, it’s November. We’re...

Saint Luke, physician who chronicled Christ's life, to be celebrated October 18   Denver, Colo., Oct 17, 2010 / 05:07 am (CNA).- On October 18, Catholics and other Christians around the world will celebrate the feast of St. Luke, the physician and companion of St. Paul whose gospel preserved the most extensive biography of Jesus Christ. St. Luke wrote a greater volume of the New Testament than any other single author, including the earliest history of the Church. Ancient traditions also acknowledge Luke as the founder of Christian iconography, making him a patron of artists as well as doctors and...

“Do You Have What It Takes?” (Luke 14:25-35)Have you ever tried out for a team? Whether in high school or college, whether for football, baseball, basketball, or volleyball, if you’ve ever tried out for a team and made it, you know how thrilling that can be. And if you’ve ever tried out for a team and not made it, been cut, you know how crushing that is. But there are conditions you have to meet and maintain, in order to make the team and stay on it. Your performance first has to impress and measure up, and then you have...

“Invited to the Wedding Feast” (Luke 14:1-24)Last week in our Gospel reading from Luke 13, Jesus talked about Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets of Israel--as well as a multitude of people from east and west and north and south--all of them “reclining at table in the kingdom of God.” “Reclining at table”: That’s the image of an ancient Near Eastern feast, which Jesus uses to describe the kingdom of God. Now in today’s Gospel from Luke 14, Jesus extends the idea of the feast and specifically uses the image of a wedding feast to describe the...

“The Exclusive, Inclusive Gospel” (Luke 13:22-30)Which is it? A) Christianity is the most exclusive religion in the world. Or B) Christianity is the most inclusive religion in the world. The answer is, C) both. The gospel of Jesus Christ is entirely exclusive, admitting no other, alternative ways of salvation. And, at the same time, the gospel of Jesus Christ is entirely inclusive, meaning, it’s for everybody. Everyone in the whole wide world is invited in, into God’s house, into the great feast of salvation, but only through the one and only Savior of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. That,...

“The Hall of Faith Adds Mary” (Hebrews 11:1 – 12:3; Luke 1:26-55)The Hall of Fame, in any sport, is the place for honoring and showcasing outstanding individuals from the history of that sport. The person is honored in an induction ceremony, with all the other members of the Hall present. That player’s plaque is added to the wall, and people can read and see what a standout that person was. This year, for instance, the Baseball Hall of Fame added two new members familiar to many of us here: Whitey Herzog, the great manager from the St. Louis Cardinals, and...

“Fear of the Future or Faith in Our Father?” (Luke 12:22-34)You know, last week we heard Jesus tell us the Parable of the Rich Fool from Luke chapter 12. Our Gospel reading for today picks up right where last week’s reading left off. And in this part of Luke 12, Jesus continues with the same theme, about our relation to material possessions and how that can interfere with our relationship with God. Apparently, Jesus thinks this is an important topic for his disciples to learn. And so that is what we do today. The question before us today can be...

“The Closed System of the Rich Fool” (Luke 12:13-21; Colossians 3:1-11)Do you have a closed system? Or are you open to the things that are above? Here’s what I mean: In our Gospel reading for today, we see a rich man who is operating with a “closed system,” as I’ll explain in a minute. By way of contrast, our Epistle reading instructs us to “seek the things that are above.” So which is it? How will we live our lives? “The Closed System of the Rich Fool”? Or the true life that comes to us from above? First, the rich...

“Sitting or Serving?” (Luke 10:38-42)The committee brings before the assembly Resolution 10-01, “To Affirm the One Thing Needful”: WHEREAS, The Gospel of Luke in Bylaw 10.38 – 10.42 describes the activities of Mary and Martha; and WHEREAS, In that section we are told that, of their two activities, one thing is necessary or needful; therefore be it RESOLVED, That the Synod in convention select and affirm the one thing needful. Delegates, the resolution is before you. If you wish to vote for “Sitting at the Lord’s feet,” you will press “1.” If you wish to vote for “Much serving,” press...

“Forgiven Much, Love Much” (Luke 7:36-50)Why is it that there seems to be so little love for God these days? I mean, why aren’t these pews packed full of worshipers? Where are all the people who ought to be here but are not here? So little love for God! Well, I can tell you the answer very simply: Lots of people don’t think they need what God is giving here, which is the forgiveness of sins. You see, if you don’t think you have many sins, if you don’t think you need much forgiveness, then you’re not going to go...

“Jesus Ruins a Perfectly Good Funeral” (Luke 7:11-17)I love a good funeral. Yes, you heard me right. I said, I love a good funeral. And I’m not alone. If you ask most pastors, they’d probably tell you the same thing. I remember being at a pastors’ conference some years ago, and the presenter asked the men which they preferred, doing weddings or funerals. For weddings, a few hands went up. But for funerals, the vast majority of hands went up. Like me, most pastors, at least in our church body, love a good funeral. Why is that? Several reasons, probably....