Dear Folks:
Jesus ministry is one one in which the power of the Holy Spirit is manifest; a ministry
of word and deed oriented toward the marginalized;a ministry that cannot be tied to a single geographical or social location; and a ministry that attracts, even demands, response. (The New Interpreter's Study Bible, p. 1860)
In the light of these words above, we turned to the words of the prophet Isaiah which Jesus read in the synagogue of Nazareth at the beginning of his ministry.
17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18 "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,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Luke 4:17-19 (NRSV)
Suddenly, our eyes were opened to see Jesus through the lens of Luke's gospel. Jesus proclaimed a reversal of the common thought of the day that it was those who had great possessions that were the favored ones of God. Jesus preached that the poor were blessed. His ministry was to challenge the use of the possessions we had. How did we use our resources? For the good of others? Jesus message in Luke was one of challenging the status quo in a physical way as well as a spiritual one. In our class last week, we began then to see how we might better live out this challenge of Jesus in our own lives and in our community.
Jesus came among the poor, the sick, the dispossessed people of Israel to fill them with a new sense of hope and rekindle their faith in a God who will not desert them.
Luke has recorded a number of healing experiences by Jesus - and the disciples - that we will study as we progress through this gospel.
Luke's writing of these healings by Christ is to open the eyes of his readers not only to the "miracle" of the healing, but to restore their faith in a loving God who will not desert the people whom God has called out to be a light to the nations. As we study these healings and Jesus calling of those whom he has chosen to be his disciples, we face the questions of would God heal us as well and have we been called out to be Christ's disciples in this place at this time?
Because of the importance of the material in Luke 4:31-9:20, I have divided it into four classes! This lesson covers Luke 4:38-5:16 The next lesson will cover Luke 5:16-6:49, the Sermon on the Plain; and the third session will take us from Luke 7:1-9:20.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. In what ways have you experienced the healing powers of Christ physically, mentally, or spiritually?
2. How can the poor be blessed in this life? In the next?
3.Jesus equipped his disciples before he sent them out. In what ways do you feel equipped to carry out the ministry to which God has called you?
Even though we will divide our classes into weekly sessions, I encourage you to read through the entire Gospel According to Saint Luke as soon as you can - and then to do it again, because Luke intended it to be read in its entirety, not just piecemeal as we will in our study.
I am including below a suggested schedule for our study which I have taken from a study guide by Geoffrey Lentz which I pray we will find useful to follow:
Introduction and Background Luke 1:1-4
The Nativity and Childhood of Jesus Luke 1:5-2:52
Preparation for Ministry Luke 3:1-4:30
Ministry in Galilee Luke 4:31-9:50
The Road to Jerusalem Luke 9:51-19:27
Ministry in Jerusalem Luke 19:28-21:38
The Passion and Resurrection Luke 22:1-24:53
Since I post this study on Face Book as well as the St Jerome's website, I invite comments and questions from any of you who are not able to be physically with us, but find this study meaningful and would like to be a part of it.
Bless you all,
Fr Colin Kelly
