The gospel of Luke is about Jesus. That’s obvious. But it’s also a weaving of characters and themes. While Luke has many aspects of being an historian he’s not a historian by our sense of the word. He’s telling us about the past, yes. But he’s doing it in a way that weaves into the future.
Thus
far in Luke’s gospel we’ve been switching between Jesus and John the
Baptist. That’s something that’s often
overlooked when all we read is the birth story on Christmas Eve. That story is not meant to stand alone. It speaks most clearly in its broader
context. John the Baptist serves as a
bridge between ancient Jewish history and identity and then the emerging
Kingdom of God that Jesus ushers in.
There
is a concept called “supersessionism” or “replacement theory” in
Christianity. The idea is that God
replaces Judaism with Christianity. The
idea is that Judaism was either so corrupt, or so hopelessly misguided, or
hopelessly lost when Jesus arrived that God has rejected Judaism. While many Christians consider it to be the
truth, it is not. At least it isn’t in
Lutheran theology, and it certainly isn’t in Luke’s gospel. Luke wants to portray the life and ministry
of Jesus as an ongoing expression and expansion of Judaism. Luke is not anti-Semitic. Luke
wants us to see that God has been at work all along guiding things
forward. John the Baptist links the
history and theology of Judaism to Jesus’ ministry. That is why Luke swaps back and forth between
John and Jesus in these first chapters.
That will continue for the next few chapters.
And
the story to this point is about more than just the initial lives of John and
Jesus. We’ve met a whole host of
characters: Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, shepherds, religious leaders, and
today: Simeon and Anna.
Both
Simeon and Anna are described as being deeply faithful Jews. You’ll remember the same was said of John the
Baptist’s parents Zechariah and Elizabeth.
Luke deeply values ancient Judaism and wants us to also.
And
so we have Jewish history, and Jesus and John, and a whole host of characters
woven together as God’s kingdom is expanding in new and impressive ways. God is rejecting no one. And ultimately Luke wants us, his readers, to
realize our lives are woven into the story as well.
Yesterday
was Christmas. When I was a kid I
remember receiving one of those little square looms that you could use to make
potholders. It was about 10 inches
square with little pegs along the sides.
It seemed like everyone had one.
It came with a bag loops and you could set to work making potholders
right away. I remember making potholders
for any number of relatives. Doing the
first direction was easy. You just
stretched the loops from one peg across to the other, making sure you didn’t
accidentally cross them.
The
second direction was always harder. You
had to hook them on one side and then weave them up and down through the other
loops. Sometimes they would pop off the
pins and you’d end up with a frustrating mess.
Still though, it was a good activity and you had something lasting to
show for it. It also taught how strong a
simple weave could be. Crisscrossing
fabric bands creates a tremendous amount of strength.
I
could simply take this image and say that is how the story our lives are woven
into the story of: ancient Israel, and Zechariah & Elizabeth, and Simeon
& Anna, and John the Baptist, and Jesus.
But that would be selling things short.
A
weaving like a potholder is tidy and orderly.
You can create pretty patterns.
And you can still make out each individual color and loop. The whole thing is together, but yet still
distinctly separate in its parts.
I
believe this is how people think a life of faith should work. They find the idea of God weaving them into
his greater work of the kingdom, and into the story of salvation
appealing. They feel like they are being
made into part of something that is strong.
Those are good thoughts. However,
Jesus never said we will be woven by God into a “heavenly potholder”!
Of
course he didn’t use that image because woven potholders hadn’t been invented
yet. People would have look at him as if
he were strange! But it’s also a flawed
image.
The
image that Jesus uses to describe our connection to him and to each other is
the image of grape vines. In John 15:5
Jesus says, “I am the vine and you are the branches.” Now that’s another image we can understand
well, especially living here in the Finger Lakes wine country.
I
think you’d all agree from seeing the vineyards around that vines definitely
weave themselves together. Except it is
not a pretty tidy pattern. It is truly a
mess. If you have grapes in your own
yard, or if you’ve ever been to one of the pick you own grapes vineyards, have
you ever tried to trace a single vine?
It’s possible but it’s really hard.
They’re all the same color and they weave together in completely
irregular ways.
People
will often ponder what they are good at.
And then when they find it they focus on it and grow and to that thing
well. There’s nothing wrong with that. But too many people say they aren’t good at
anything. Or they see someone else who
is better than them and so they think they must focus on something else. That may be how an orderly potholder
works. That’s now how a vine works.
In
a vine there are countless branches.
Some big. Some small. They are often indistinguishable, but they
are all absolutely important and contributing to the strength and productivity
of the plant.
The
few times I’ve picked grapes I’ve been amazed at how much fruit those vines
produce! There’s so much weight the
wires that hold them up have to be very strong, and even so they still collapse
sometimes. That is the kingdom of
God. It is not a pretty woven potholder. It is often a complex, messy, tangle – but
one that is incredibly productive.
Everything is a mix and there are no individuals. There are no golden or silver strands in a
grapevine.
And
are they ever strong! For the last
several years the property committee has been working to clear back the brush
that has been growing in along the tree lines and around the stream that runs
through the property. There used to be
countless vines in the midst of the tangles.
Most of them are gone now but there are still some. Of course the vines are rooted in the ground,
but they stretch all the way to the tops of the tree canopies. I remember trying to pull them down. Good luck!
You’d make a little progress but then they’d yank back, and if you
weren’t careful they’d pull you off your balance. The Boy Scout troop we charter has been and
great help in getting rid of the vines.
Several boys grab onto a vine and pull for all their might. Sometimes they succeed and the vine suddenly
lets loose and they go toppling backwards.
And sometimes the vine stays stubbornly in the treetop’ absolutely
refusing to let go.
So
it is with the way we are woven into God’s story. Jesus is the vine and we are the
branches. There are no individuals but
everyone has a part in the common strength.
And strong it is! Every time
someone becomes a part of this community of faith it grows stronger. Every time someone dies or leaves another
branch is gone.
All
in all, don’t expect life in God’s kingdom to be tidy weave. It is a complex and messy business, and God
is in and through the midst of it.
So,
whether you are young or old, weak or strong, talented or average you are woven
into God’s kingdom. You are tangled in
with Zechariah, Elizabeth, John the Baptist, Simeon, Anna, a whole bunch more
people we have yet to meet in Luke’s gospel, and everyone who is a part of
God’s church.
The
baby born in the manger, and presented in the temple, will tie all things into
himself.
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