Luke 1:1-4 and 24:44-53
Commemoration of Luke the Evangelist
An orderly account of events fulfilled,
Of things about which you’ve been instructed, so that you may know the truth.
A conversation with Jesus, Luke, and scripture.
Jesus had said in Luke: “These are my words that I told you about me from the law, prophets, and psalms
Passages like Hosea 6:2, ‘The Lord has struck down and will bind us up
After two days God will revive us and on the third day raise us up.’”
And I have a question from Luke about Jesus discussing Hosea,
A story within a story within a story… impacting my story, our stories.
I ask Jesus: “How did you know that it was about you: law, prophets, and psalms?
That’s not the clearest interpretive move.”
Jesus the Good Teacher asks me a question back,
“How do you recognize the Holy Spirit?
You learn its signs and styles.
You can read the Holy Spirit in a room, in a moment, in a face.
And you meet the Spirit in the scriptures
as you wrestle with the truth about sin, suffering, grief, and despair…
while still somehow always meeting the promise of God’s love there, too.”
Then Jesus said, “The Spirit and I, the scriptures and I, the Source of All Things and I
Share a communion of love and life that death cannot hold, that sin cannot stop.
“And so,” Jesus said, “To get back to your question:
I look at scripture
And I see self-giving love that persists because it wants to,
because it can do no other, because it alone endures,”
“And,” Jesus said, “I lived that scripture. I died that scripture.
And in that Word of Life I rose again.
And you are a witness of these things.”
“How can I be a witness of these things?” I asked. “It’s been almost two thousand years!
St. Luke himself wasn’t even an eyewitness to these things!
It had been handed over to him by others as he himself wrote at the beginning of his gospel.”
“Yes,” said Jesus, “it was never his gospel. It’s mine, and I gave to him,
So that he might know it in his day, in his flesh, in his heart
Handed on to him by others, just like you know it now.”
Amazed to hear from Jesus that I am on similar holy ground as an Evangelist,
I turn to Luke, wanting to know more about him.
“I’ve heard you were a healer,” I said.
“You’d be amazed what a little learning and a lot of tender loving care can do,” he said.
I pose another question, this time stemming from the Second Letter to Timothy (4:5-11),
“We were you actually a friend of St. Paul?”
“Was anyone, really? He was very intense,” he replied.
“But seriously,” Luke continued, “Paul came before me.
He lived the gospel of Christ in his body, with his words, and in his journeys
In ways that continue to inspire, mystify, and amaze.
There would not be a gospel of Luke
without the gospel of Christ crucified and risen that Paul shared with us.”
“Was he really just in it for the reward?” I ask, “You know, to earn ‘the crown of righteousness’
by fighting the good fight and keeping the faith so perfectly?”
Luke said, “I never begrudge a comfort like that to anyone going through hard times,
Because God is good to God’s people,
Especially those in sorrow and need, as Paul so often was.
“But no,” he continued, “Paul wasn’t in it for that kind of reward.
Following Jesus, living in the Spirit, trusting God for all things, sharing life in community…
Such a life is already full of the greatest treasures.
Paul knew those things,” said Luke,
“Still, you might notice that my words about service (Luke 17:10) are a bit different;
Instead of writing about a crown, I wrote about just about being glad to be where God is:
‘So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say,
We are worthless servants; we have only done what we ought to have done.’
Living with Jesus is already the best reward.
With him is fullness of life.”
“But doesn’t your gospel end with promises about being ‘clothed with power from on high?’
Isn’t that about wanting more?”
“It’s a power to love and serve like Jesus,” Luke said.
“It’s about being loved and forgiven,
and empowered to share that reconciliation from on high wherever you go.”
“But wasn’t Jesus taken away from us into heaven,
As if he would rather enjoy his glory anywhere other than here with us?”
Jesus said to Luke, “Let me talk to him.”
“My curious friend,” Jesus said to me, “yes, I was carried up into heaven.
And where is heaven?”
Remembering a little something from seminary, I said,
“Heaven is where God is.”
“Exactly,” said Jesus, “And when I promise to be with you, I am with you. God is with you. Heaven is with you.
When I promise to be in the bread and wine, I am there.
When I promise to be in your midst as you gather in my name, I am there.
I am with you now, to the very end of the age.”
With this, I felt at home in myself.
I started to feel at home in a world that can feel so unwelcoming, so unlike home.
And I turned to Luke, with just one more question for the Evangelist.
“I’ve wondered,” I said, “at how you wrote the Acts of the Apostles as a sequel to your gospel,
And then Acts itself ends so abruptly. What happened?”
“What happened,” said Luke, “is that you are the sequel. The plot is this:
Go in peace, your sins are forgiven. Share the good news of Christ's love for you and everyone.”
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Martin Lohrmann, Wartburg Theological Seminary
October 18, 2023
Commemoration of Luke the Evangelist
An orderly account of events fulfilled,
Of things about which you’ve been instructed, so that you may know the truth.
A conversation with Jesus, Luke, and scripture.
Jesus had said in Luke: “These are my words that I told you about me from the law, prophets, and psalms
Passages like Hosea 6:2, ‘The Lord has struck down and will bind us up
After two days God will revive us and on the third day raise us up.’”
And I have a question from Luke about Jesus discussing Hosea,
A story within a story within a story… impacting my story, our stories.
I ask Jesus: “How did you know that it was about you: law, prophets, and psalms?
That’s not the clearest interpretive move.”
Jesus the Good Teacher asks me a question back,
“How do you recognize the Holy Spirit?
You learn its signs and styles.
You can read the Holy Spirit in a room, in a moment, in a face.
And you meet the Spirit in the scriptures
as you wrestle with the truth about sin, suffering, grief, and despair…
while still somehow always meeting the promise of God’s love there, too.”
Then Jesus said, “The Spirit and I, the scriptures and I, the Source of All Things and I
Share a communion of love and life that death cannot hold, that sin cannot stop.
“And so,” Jesus said, “To get back to your question:
I look at scripture
And I see self-giving love that persists because it wants to,
because it can do no other, because it alone endures,”
“And,” Jesus said, “I lived that scripture. I died that scripture.
And in that Word of Life I rose again.
And you are a witness of these things.”
“How can I be a witness of these things?” I asked. “It’s been almost two thousand years!
St. Luke himself wasn’t even an eyewitness to these things!
It had been handed over to him by others as he himself wrote at the beginning of his gospel.”
“Yes,” said Jesus, “it was never his gospel. It’s mine, and I gave to him,
So that he might know it in his day, in his flesh, in his heart
Handed on to him by others, just like you know it now.”
Amazed to hear from Jesus that I am on similar holy ground as an Evangelist,
I turn to Luke, wanting to know more about him.
“I’ve heard you were a healer,” I said.
“You’d be amazed what a little learning and a lot of tender loving care can do,” he said.
I pose another question, this time stemming from the Second Letter to Timothy (4:5-11),
“We were you actually a friend of St. Paul?”
“Was anyone, really? He was very intense,” he replied.
“But seriously,” Luke continued, “Paul came before me.
He lived the gospel of Christ in his body, with his words, and in his journeys
In ways that continue to inspire, mystify, and amaze.
There would not be a gospel of Luke
without the gospel of Christ crucified and risen that Paul shared with us.”
“Was he really just in it for the reward?” I ask, “You know, to earn ‘the crown of righteousness’
by fighting the good fight and keeping the faith so perfectly?”
Luke said, “I never begrudge a comfort like that to anyone going through hard times,
Because God is good to God’s people,
Especially those in sorrow and need, as Paul so often was.
“But no,” he continued, “Paul wasn’t in it for that kind of reward.
Following Jesus, living in the Spirit, trusting God for all things, sharing life in community…
Such a life is already full of the greatest treasures.
Paul knew those things,” said Luke,
“Still, you might notice that my words about service (Luke 17:10) are a bit different;
Instead of writing about a crown, I wrote about just about being glad to be where God is:
‘So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say,
We are worthless servants; we have only done what we ought to have done.’
Living with Jesus is already the best reward.
With him is fullness of life.”
“But doesn’t your gospel end with promises about being ‘clothed with power from on high?’
Isn’t that about wanting more?”
“It’s a power to love and serve like Jesus,” Luke said.
“It’s about being loved and forgiven,
and empowered to share that reconciliation from on high wherever you go.”
“But wasn’t Jesus taken away from us into heaven,
As if he would rather enjoy his glory anywhere other than here with us?”
Jesus said to Luke, “Let me talk to him.”
“My curious friend,” Jesus said to me, “yes, I was carried up into heaven.
And where is heaven?”
Remembering a little something from seminary, I said,
“Heaven is where God is.”
“Exactly,” said Jesus, “And when I promise to be with you, I am with you. God is with you. Heaven is with you.
When I promise to be in the bread and wine, I am there.
When I promise to be in your midst as you gather in my name, I am there.
I am with you now, to the very end of the age.”
With this, I felt at home in myself.
I started to feel at home in a world that can feel so unwelcoming, so unlike home.
And I turned to Luke, with just one more question for the Evangelist.
“I’ve wondered,” I said, “at how you wrote the Acts of the Apostles as a sequel to your gospel,
And then Acts itself ends so abruptly. What happened?”
“What happened,” said Luke, “is that you are the sequel. The plot is this:
Go in peace, your sins are forgiven. Share the good news of Christ's love for you and everyone.”
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Martin Lohrmann, Wartburg Theological Seminary
October 18, 2023