For everyone - another Luke option !

From Helen

We all have people that we automatically trust.  There are people to whom we would turn in times of trouble and distress.  We will trust people in the medical profession, and even people who work in Specsavers.

I, as you can see wear glasses, and I have a great need for them, my eyesight without my glasses is appalling.  About 6 years ago I was in Tesco and I saw that they had an opticians.  My husband and I decided that we would try them out.  So being the good wife that I am I decided that I would wait and see how my husband got on first before I tried them out ...

This was going really well, until I saw the most incredible glasses imaginable – pink ones ! Well, next thing I knew I had ordered them and booked an appointment to see the optician in Tesco.  Once I was there with her, I realised that I was no longer in the safety of Specsavers, and so I felt I needed to work out her credentials based on this. After a number of seemingly innocent questions, I finally found out my Tesco optician had worked in Specsavers.  I suddenly felt very relieved and safe. 

I did buy the pink glasses, but have had other pairs since !  The point is though that I needed to gain some credentials from the optician before I would trust her. 

The credentials of many of our gospel writers would not always have read well for a trustworthy list of credentials.  We have a former tax man, a young man who followed a former fisherman but now a preacher around, a Church leader .... well, it is up to you to decide on  those type of credentials ! and then we have the one whose credentials would have read well at the time and still read well today - a Doctor.

Today is the feast day of St. Luke, gospel writer, writer of the Acts of the Apostles and a Doctor ! Doctor Luke is thought to have travelled with St.Paul, been with various disciples and then written down all that he had heard about Jesus. His is the gospel that you would expect to be the one that we can settle into reading with some comfort. 

Written by a man who had medical knowledge, was intelligent (as seen in the original Greek that he used), who, therefore should not have been easily excitable. His is the gospel that should just make sense.

However, this gospel, like all the others, is anything but comfortable. Each gospel writer wrote their gospel with certain people in mind – for Luke, it seems he was aiming at the widest audience of all.

Luke, being a gentile, wrote a gospel that stresses time and time again that the salvation Jesus offers is for everyone.  Without any type of background in the Jewish faith and scriptures, Luke wrote an account that is almost that of a complete outsider looking in and saying what can this offer me ? and not just me but everybody !

In lots of places we are reminded that Jesus came for us all.  That the salvation he offers is for everyone.

This is because in this gospel Jesus helps people who were not Jews, but he seems to be particularly concerned with those who society wouldn’t have paid much attention – he even seems to make a special place in writing to stand up for .... women !

The gospel of Luke reminds us that Jesus offers this salvation regardless of who we are, or what we do. We sit here today as part of that wonderful offer that Jesus makes to all of us.

Salvation is for everyone, we can offer this, but do we... I often think when I look at Churches that we all look pretty similar! We are comfortable with the people we know who will do things in the way that we expect. 

I would like you to take a trip of imagination with me.  You are sitting in Church and someone who clearly has a mental difficulty comes in, how will you respond? Will you help them? Will you ignore them?  Will you show them that you accept them as they are ? 

It is so easy to make a decision, but I wonder how many times we would want to do the right thing, but would feel a little uncomfortable doing it? Sadly I am not saying that I would always do the right thing, but if we accept that Jesus came to bring salvation to all of us, then we need to find ways of offering that same salvation to all those that we meet, even if they do not fit in well with our comfort zone.

The thing about comfort zones is that God tends to rock them at times. God brings people our way that we would not expect to find and all he asks of us is that we rise to the challenge, face the discomfort and offer love, comfort and an opportunity to get to know God.

In the gospel of Luke we hear of the sending out by Jesus of 72 disciples. He sent them out in twos and gave commands that can help us in our day to day lives of being like Jesus, and offering love to all people, and showing people the salvation that He offers to us all.

Firstly, Jesus told the 72 pray that more people would know Him.

Secondly, Jesus told the 72 to offer peace, but if that peace was not accepted they were told to shake it off and carry on with the work elsewhere.

Thirdly, Jesus told them to offer healing.

Then Jesus said they were to proclaim that God had come near to them.

To offer this salvation to all people, even those who make us feel uncomfortable, our work is mapped out for us.  We can pray for more people to know God.  We can offer peace and happiness to people by being their friend and telling them about God. We can offer healing, by helping people, by being with those who are sick and offering them support and by praying for them. Then by our lives we can show and tell people that God has come near them.

The best way we can show that salvation is for everyone, is to accept that salvation ourselves and then to be prepared to welcome the people who we may not feel completely comfortable with and then to pray, to offer peace, to offer support, and to show by our lives that God has indeed come near.

May we be ready to show our gratitude that the salvation God offers has included us by the way that we receive and pray for others. AMEN