I loved playing telephone when I was a kid. It was a terrific game about learning how to listen or rather a lesson in our lack of listening skills! Everyone would gather in a circle and one person would whisper a message into the ear of the person next to them. That person would then whisper what they heard into the ear of the person next to them. This would continue person by person all the way around the circle until the message was whispered into the ear of the sender. Usually, the final message would end up being nothing even close to the original message. This mix up would cause everyone to burst out in laughter as we shared what it was that we thought we heard as the message got passed along. It was always amazing to me how quickly the message was changed from person to person.
Sometimes I think life is a giant game of telephone. Whether we are sending the message or hearing it and passing it along, most of the time I feel somewhere it gets lost in translation. We hear something, we might question “is that right?”, but we still go ahead and pass it along. How many times have we said something to someone only to find out we had all our facts wrong. Anyone…maybe its just me!
I wonder if that is how the disciples felt in the early days of the church. As eyewitnesses shared their stories, those stories got shared with others and soon everyone was talking about the amazing miracles of Jesus. Think about some of those stories…raising people from the dead, casting out demons, healing a leper…really? How would someone know if those stories were true? How could the disciples and others share the facts and tell the truth? I think this is why I love Luke’s Gospel.
Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught. (Luke 1:1-4)
Luke checked the facts. He got firsthand accounts straight from the mouths of those who were there. He carefully investigated, and didn’t just trust the word on the street. How different would life be if we went straight to the source? Checked, double-checked and triple-checked our facts before passing them along. It is good for us to remember that truth is not subjective! Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
This Sunday we begin our journey through the Gospel of Luke. As a part of our Walking with Jesus theme I have decided to preach through the Gospel of Luke. Here is my disclaimer: There will be a few deviations from the Gospel for Stewardship season and Advent. It won’t be every chapter and it won’t always be in chronological order. It will be a great walk through some familiar and less familiar stories.
I also want to invite you to walk with Jesus as we read through the Gospel of Luke. Each week beginning this Sunday through April 12, we will read one chapter or partial chapter. I have created a schedule so you can read on your own or join me as I read it and post it on our Facebook page.
Blessings,
Pastor Jenni
Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning,
I also have decided to write an accurate account for you so you can be certain
of the truth of everything you were taught. (Luke 1:4)