For those of us who identify as progressive, inclusive, feminist, and with a social justice concern for those on the margins of society the gospel of Luke is a wonderful gospel to preach on. After all, Luke describes Jesus beginning his public ministry with the words from Isaiah: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” 4:18-19
The gospel of Luke pays attention to those who are often on the margins of society – women, children, the sick and poor, tax collectors and prostitutes, and Gentiles. Mary’s Magnificat, the first of four canticles in the first two chapters, emphasises that this child is to be good news to the poor and his coming will upend current powers and ways of seeing the world. “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; He has filled the hungry with food things, and sent the rich away empty.” (We who are weary and on the verge of despair at the way of the world feel a surge of hope as we hear again this promise.) And this canticle ends with the promise made to Abraham and his descendants forever, reminding the hearers of this gospel that the promises fulfilled in Jesus were for the descendants of Abraham - Israel - and through them for all humanity.
Women feature more prominently in Luke’s gospel than any other gospel and arguably any other text in the Bible. Beginning with the birth narrative with the stories of Elizabeth and Mary there is a focus on their roles in the bringing to birth of Jesus (and John the Baptist). There is the story of the unnamed woman, who is described as a sinner, who anoints the feet of Jesus. Women are described as travelling with Jesus. One group is described as related to some of the men who were following Jesus while others are described, and a few even named including Mary Magdalene, as those who had been healed and were providing for the others out of their means. We hear the story of the sisters Mary and Martha. And it is the women who remain at the foot of the cross and are present at the empty tomb. In eighteen different places Luke has women in the story where Mark only had men. (Taussig)
There is also a strong focus on wealth and poverty. Only Luke has the parable of the rich man who ignored the needs of Lazarus the poor man in life and so their fortunes are reversed in eternity. And in the second piece written by “Luke” – the Acts of the Apostles – there is the repeated refrain that the followers of the risen Jesus owned all things in common. Indeed, some of those who with-held their wealth found themselves dead! While not all wealthy were required to give up everything there does seem to be a clear preference for the poor and an imperative for the wealthy to act with justice and generosity!
Luke shares an eschatological concern with signs and end of the age but this is tempered with a sense of the reign of God already being among you and less imminent. The second part, “Acts”, emphasises that there is work to do – the proclaiming of the good news to all the world – rather than huddling and expecting the end of days now!
However, if we are to be respectful of the text and speak good news into our own times with integrity and conviction then there is still a significant task of exegesis. I am a fan of Terence Fretheim’s Three Worlds Approach to preaching. The notion that in the preaching three worlds, or tasks, collide. The context, or what is happening behind the text; the text itself being considered as sacred literature and studied as such; and considering the needs of the contemporary audience, or those in front of the text.
Luke is not without its issues and is still a late first century/early second century text with the limitations and concerns of that time. For example, while women are featured more prominently in Luke’s gospel than in other canonical gospels there is still a tendency to have them role modelling quiet servitude rather than leadership. This is particularly evident when one compares with the fragments of the gospel of Mary (which some church historians like Karen King think was written around 120 CE at a very similar time to Luke) where Mary is portrayed as a close confidant of Jesus and a comforter and leader of the disciples after his death, resurrection and ascension. That is, she is described as a leader and one with authority. Although the ending has her voice being diminished which may well reflect the direction that history took.
One of the greatest and most troubling issues with the gospel of Luke is the characterisation of Jewish people which has too often contributed to Christianity’s villainization of Jews with terrible consequences. As preachers we need to be careful about how we work with the text. I use the Jewish Annotated New Testament edited by Amy-Jill Levine to both background the Jewish traditions in the text to better understand context and to try and counter the too easy tendency to treat Jewish characters as two-dimensional villains and hypocrites.
For all the complexities of working with the gospel of Luke, as with any ancient text, it is with excitement and the rising of hope, that I turn to the gospel of Luke for Year C. Please join me in our sacred task of proclaiming the good news.
Blessings,
Reverend Sue
Amy-Jill Levine & Marc Zvi Brettler editors; Introduction to Luke by Amy-Jill Levine, “The Jewish Annotated New Testament”, Oxford University Press, New York, 2011
Carol A Newsom & Sharon H Ring editors; Jane Schaberg, Introduction to Luke in “Women’s Bible Commentary”, Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, 1998
Hal Taussig editor, “A New New Testament: A Bible for the 21st Century Combining Traditional and Newly Discovered Texts”, Mariner Books, Boston, 2013
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