Malachi to Luke

"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty.

"Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."

Malachi 4: 1-5

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Luke 1: 11-17

God in the Dock

C.S. Lewis wrote a famous essay in the 1940's called "God in the Dock." The word "dock" in this case is the British use term for the place for a defendant in a courtroom...we might say "On the stand" in American English. The gist of the essay is that ancient man was, in effect, on trial before God who was the great judge of all things. Today, things have changed and man (humanity) is the judge and as judge, man has decided to put God on trial. No longer does man have to answer to God, God has to "prove" himself to man...and man can decide whether he thinks God has a very good case for himself.

This week a Nebraska lawmaker took that notion to new heights. See the article below:

Lincoln, NE- The defendant in a state senator's lawsuit is accused of causing untold death and horror and threatening to cause more still.
He can be sued in Douglas County, the legislator claims, because He's everywhere.
State Sen. Ernie Chambers sued God last week. Angered by another lawsuit he considers frivolous, Chambers says he's trying to make the point that anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody.
Chambers says in his lawsuit that God has made terrorist threats against the senator and his constituents, inspired fear and caused "widespread death, destruction and terrorization of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants."
The Omaha senator, who skips morning prayers during the legislative session and often criticizes Christians, also says God has caused "fearsome floods ... horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes."
He's seeking a permanent injunction against the Almighty.

Today we look at Luke's evidence so that this "orderly account" might "assure" us of what we have been told about God... a God who put himself in the dock, was found guilty in a sham trial and sentenced for our transgressions.

Mark

The Luke / Acts Story

Most Biblical scholars think that Luke and Acts are the work of one author. If that is the case, then we have a very valuable resource to use as a companion to Acts. Many Christian denominations throughout the ages have been guilty of ignoring or downplaying the book of Acts...a crime that we in the churches of Christ could never be convicted of. We have studied and exalted Acts. Followed its examples, commands and inferences to the letter and generally been heavily influenced by this Lukan volume in ways that most Christians
cannot claim.

Critics might say that we would be well served to spend as much time reading Luke's first book as a lens through which we interpret his second. I guess that is a valid observation, isn't it? Which one of us would start at book two of a modern series such as Harry Potter or others and not take the time to read the first? Or better yet...which one of us would watch episode two of a season’s worth of TV shows and not watch the first? It is in the first where we learn about the characters and their development and begin to see why they behave the way they do in episode two or season two.

Of course, we have not ignored Luke...we have read it just as much as we have the other gospels. But this fall, we want to focus on Luke's writings and look for clues that can help make more sense of this thing we call the church (the entity we see develop so rapidly and amazingly in Acts) and to help us make more sense of this thing we call the Christian life.

Mark

Jesus' Table Etiquette

My poor wife! Up till recently when Rylee came along she has been dealing with a problem that cave woman for centuries have had to deal with. The table etiquette of the cavemen she lives with. She has four of them at her table each evening and has taken on the task of trying to instill (to cavemen that means beat with a club) some sense of etiquette, or table manners in the brains of the men at her table. She is trying to teach them (us) that it’s not okay to grunt and grab and stuff things in their mouths. If she had any hopes that adding dainty little Rylee to the mix might help, those dreams have been dashed by the fact that Rylee has a propensity to throw food and make things even less orderly.

It has often been noted that in the book of Luke we always find Jesus coming to a meal, at a meal or leaving a meal. This fall we will be looking at Jesus in Luke, and often we will be sitting around a table with him. In Luke 14 we see Jesus with a group of Pharisees and religious scholars at a table, and we see him commenting on their manners. He notices they put a great deal of effort into the jostling and positioning of getting the best seat at the table, so he takes the opportunity to tell them a parable about how to choose a seat and whom to invite to their tables.

The meal mentioned in Luke 14, if understood in the context of the culture of the time, would have been not just an occasion to eat, but an occasion to build reputations and connections. The invitation to such an event would have come with an expectation for a similar invitation in return. Jesus gives them a whole new set of table manners. He teaches them and us, that when we come to Christ’s table, everyone is welcome. It does not matter if you can pay him in return, in fact, he invites those who know they cannot repay him. At Christ’s table it does not matter if you are rich or poor, black or white, young or old; you come elbow to elbow with people from all walks of life.

The reason my wife is concerned about table manners is not because she cares about being prim and proper, but because meals are not just occasions to pour fuel into our human machines, they are opportunities to share and reflect and laugh and be a family. Today at the table of the Lord, all are welcome and we are a family. If you show up today knowing that you are poor, lame and blind…then you are minding your manners in a way that would make your father proud.

Mark