Presentation Transcript

1. Teaching in the year of luke

   2: Transformation in the Gospel of Luke Sean Winter
2. The Shape of God’s Visitation Chapters 1–3: Jesus and John beginning in Jerusalem; connections back into Israel’s story; parallels between Jesus and John; John’s message of judgement and preparation; baptism and conflict Chapters 4.1-9.50: Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee Proclamation of the good news; call of disciples; narratives of healing; conflict with demonic powers and religious authorities; instruction about the kingdom
3. The Shape of God’s Visitation Chapter 9.51–19.27: Luke’s Travel Narrative Returning to Jerusalem; discipleship ‘on the way’; place for Luke’s special material; responding to God’s visitation (positively and negatively) Chapter 19.28–24.43: Passion, Resurrection, Ascension The centrality of Jerusalem; teaching about the future; Jesus as innocent sufferer; resurrection appearances; the presence and absence of Jesus
4. Transformation: Theology for the Real World Geo-political Markers: Luke 1.5   In the days of King Herod of Judea… Luke 2.1   In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus…. Luke 3.1   In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene Not merely descriptions, but evocations of a whole set of social, political, and cultural realities
5. Transformation: Theology for the Turmoil of the Roman World A centurion in Capernaum: Luke 7:1–10 (Pentecost 2) Pilate’s execution of Galileans: Luke 13:1–2 (Lent 3) The destruction of Jerusalem: Luke 21:20–24 A Roman execution: Luke 23:2–5
6. Transformation: Theology for the Social Order
7. Transformation Questions What happens to people when their identity is shaped by the good news of God’s visitation rather than by their social location, exercise of power, or ethnic and cultural background? What does a community that holds the good news of God’s visitation at the centre of their common life look like? What happens in the world when these people, and this community come into contact with the centres of power, influence and significance?
8. Transformational Preaching Luke and Social Transformation Social Reversal Inclusion of Marginalized Rich and Poor Year of Jubilee Engagement with Empire Luke and Ecclesial Transformation The importance of community The use of resources The significance of hospitality The requirement for forgiveness Luke and Personal Transformation The call to discipleship The valuing of piety The work of the Spirit The importance of prayer
9. A Prophetic Vision “The first readers of Luke’s narrative would perhaps not have seen his story as a nostalgic recollection of a time past, but rather as a summons to an ideal that might be in danger of being lost, not as a work of bland historiography but as a thrilling act of utopian imagination, less a neutral report on how things were than as a normative prescription for how things ought to be.” Luke Timothy Johnson, Prophetic Jesus: Prophetic Church, p.5
10. Break for Questions / Discussion Looking ahead to next year can you identify with some of these questions in relation to the life of the church and/or the wider life of your community and society: Who is in charge? Where do the resources lie and how are they used? How do we handle diversity? Where is change needed? How does change happen?
11. Luke’s Reversal Theme Magnificant: Luke 1:46–55 (Advent 4) Beatitudes/Woes: Luke 6.20–26 (Pentecost 23) Rich Man and Lazarus: Luke 16:19–31 Pharisee and Tax-Collector: Luke 18:9–14 (Pentecost 22) Other sayings: Luke 13:30; 14:11; 17:33
12. Luke’s Reversal Theme The form: bi-polar or double reversal The theology: “The reversal of two opposites is presented as a series of related divine principles, describing God’s action towards humanity in the inauguration of the Kingdom in the presence of his son” (John O. York, The Last Shall be First: the Rhetoric of Reversal in Luke, p.93) The implication: the reversal of established value systems
13. Resources: What Do We Do With What We Have? Luke 14:33 (Pentecost 16): So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. Other sayings about wealth: Luke 9:3–6; 12.32–34; 16:13; 18:24 Parables about wealth: Luke 12:13–21 (Pentecost 11); Luke 16:1–13 (Pentecost 18) Example stories: Luke 19:1–10 (Pentecost 24)
14. Hospitality: Invitation and Challenge Seven ‘meal scenes’ in Luke: those in the lectionary are Luke 7:36-50 (Pentecost 4); and perhaps Luke 14:1–24 (see Pentecost 15) The background: Isaiah 25:6–8 The plot: characters in the story are brought ‘to the brink of transformation’ through participation in the new order that Jesus brings A detailed study: Kylie Crabbe, “Meals as Encounters with the Kingdom in Luke”.
15. Some Suggestions for Preaching Transformation in Luke Keep the connections: between Luke’s story, the theology that drives it, and the transformation it seeks. Make the most of Luke’s literary skill: try to capture and re-present setting, characterization, context Look into Acts: volume 2 describes a church trying to live up to the vision of the gospel. Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself Connect the preaching to the life of the congregation: use Luke’s vision as a reason for trying some new things.