Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Dr. Luke Investigates

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Dr. Luke InvestigatesOur pastor is preaching through the Gospel of Luke on Sunday Mornings. During the sermon yesterday a thought struck me.

Luke was a physician which is why he sometimes gives very detailed descriptions of the infirmities of those who came to Jesus for healing.

The “aha” moment for me yesterday was when I realized that while gathering information for his Gospel, Luke would have had opportunity to interview some of those who had been healed by Jesus. The physician got to follow in the footsteps of the Master Physician and catalog the healings that took place.

I can appreciate the skill involved when listening to a master musician play or sing. But someone who has more training and skill can derive even more enjoyment out of hearing that same performance. His advanced training allows him to better appreciate the quality of the performance.

Luke, being a physician, perhaps was more astonished at the number and quality of the healings than those who do not fully appreciate the effects of disease.

I wonder if Luke walked away from his interviews with Jesus’ former patients saying, “how cool is that?”

The Fellowship of the Obtuse

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Luke 18:34 (ESV)

34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.

You Just Don't Get ItTwo lines of thinking present themselves to me in reaction to this verse.

First, I am comforted that the men who God used to turn the world upside down had moments when they just did not get it. They, at times, were just as obtuse and blind as I often am. I feel as though I am in good company and take encouragement from it.

My second thought is concerning the veracity of the Gospel accounts. One of the lines of argument of atheists is that the New Testament was compiled by church leaders in later centuries to support the claims of the faith. In other words, the leaders made up stories to support their theological positions.

If I were making up stories about the men from whom I inherited my authority, I don’t think that I would include any statements that would denigrate those men.

Why would Luke include this statement in his Gospel? The only logical answer is because it was true and shows that the spread of the Gospel is not due to the incredible wisdom of the Apostles. They were regular men, just like you and I. They had the same periods of stupidity and struggled in their faith like we do.

Ask, Seek and Knock

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KnockLuke 11:9–10 (ESV)

9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

In response to these verses I can only echo the prayer “I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 (ESV)

Because of my struggle to fully appropriate these promises, my prayers are often whiny and insipid when they should be bold and passionate.

I suppose the answer to this has something to do with deepening my relationship with God so that I am increasingly aware of God’s desires for me and my world. With this knowledge, I can pray more boldly.

My biggest struggle is praying for things which I am not sure God wants. For example, the computer on which I am writing this has a screen that often turns everything blue and is old technology, but it still works. Can I pray passionately for God to provide a new one when there are so many other, more basic needs in the world? Am I just being selfish with such a prayer?

I suppose I can pray passionately about the computer with the realization that if it is not something that God wants, he will not provide it.

Perhaps the answer is to let loose the passion in prayer with the expectation that God will direct that passion for his purposes. I can see where it might be better to be passionate about the wrong things in prayer than lukewarm about the right things.

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