A Story of Great Joy
The birth stories of Jesus are found only in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. While Matthew contains information not found in Luke, such as the visit by the Magi, I have always favored Luke’s version of events. For as long as I can remember, I have turned to Luke on Christmas Eve to once again read his beautiful story of the night angels announced joy to the world. No matter how often I read the words, I am always deeply moved by this first Christmas message that changed the world.
The physician Luke begins his Gospel by telling his friend Theophilus that he has done a “careful” investigation of all the facts surrounding the life of Jesus (Lk. 1:1-4). Since he was not an eyewitness to Jesus’s ministry, and had never met Jesus as far as we know, we are left to wonder what triggered his interest in the itinerant preacher from Nazareth.
Perhaps Luke was merely curious. He was, after all, an educated man and curiosity is a mark of intelligence. It makes sense that after hearing stories about Jesus, especially reports that he healed the sick, which would have been of great importance to a physician, he would do a little research to see if the rumors were true.
Then, too, maybe Luke was searching for something that was spiritually authentic and true. As a Gentile in the first century, Luke, no doubt, was familiar with a variety of stories about miracle workers and even would-be messiahs. Was Jesus just one more pseudo-messiah, or was there something more to this man who preached to the poor and befriended tax-collectors and prostitutes? Whatever the reason, Luke decided to investigate for himself to see if the stories about Jesus had any basis in fact.
While Luke asks questions and takes notes from those who were eyewitnesses to what Jesus said and did, the physician experiences an unexpected change of heart. The focus of his attention slowly begins to morph. What started out as an investigation into Jesus gradually shifts from Jesus to God. The more Luke looks into the life of Jesus, and the more interviews he conducts with those who personally knew Jesus, the more interested Luke becomes in Jesus’s God. Every act Jesus performs, every story and parable he tells, every sinner he forgives, every sick person he heals, every tenderness he displays toward others, every lesson he teaches, shines a brighter light on the love and goodness of Jesus’s God.
Stained Glass window depicting Saint Luke the Evangelist, in the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold in Mechelen, Belgium
As Luke listens to the witnesses and researches the facts, he finds himself being drawn to Jesus’s God. In some mysterious way, Luke experiences the human face of God through Jesus. When Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son, how the son betrayed the trust his father had placed in him, Luke visualizes the father running to greet him, forgiving him, and welcoming him back into the family. Through the parable, Luke experiences a freshness, a palpable expression of God’s incomprehensible love he had never known before.
When Luke digs a little deeper to check out the consistency of Jesus’s teaching, he learns from those who heard Jesus first-hand that we are to love our enemies. Such teaching was new to Luke and certainly at odds with what he knew of the Greek gods who were all about retribution. Luke listens intently when others tell him that Jesus compares God to a shepherd who has one hundred sheep but loses one. The love the shepherd has for the one lost sheep defies reason as he leaves the ninety-nine in the wilderness and searches for the one that is lost.
The stories stack up, one after another, each one revealing a new dimension of God’s outrageous love. Luke discovers in Jesus an irresistible God, a God who cares for all human beings—the poor, the sick, the wayward, the undeserving—everyone. It is the best news he has ever heard. It is no accident that Luke’s book is called “The Gospel,” which means “The Good News.”
The Good News that God reaches out to all people with love, compassion, and forgiveness is indeed the Christmas message. The words almost leap off the page—the angelic announcement brings Joy to the World!
The angel said to them, “Do not
be afraid. I bring you good
news of great joy that will
be for all the people.
Today in the town of David
a Savior has been born to you;
He is Christ the Lord.
(Luke 2: 10-11)
Merry Christmas!
