A writer's tale

Let's begin our march to Bethlehem, which we've taken each of the past three years, in an interesting place ... quite a distance from the most interesting thing that has ever happened in this quaint little town.

More than 2,000 years ago, a tourist birthed a baby. Bethlehem is known more for that than anything else. Today it's a fairly large city across the wall from Israel, set apart because of Israeli concerns about Palestinians and potential bombs.

Let's begin beyond the beginning, at the start of Luke's Gospel.

Luke wrote (in the Message translation), "So many others have tried their hand at putting together a story of the wonderful harvest of Scripture and history that took place among us, using reports handed down by the original eyewitnesses who served this Word with their very lives. Since I have investigated all the reports in close detail, starting from the story’s beginning, I decided to write it all out for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the reliability of what you were taught."

What a wonderful calling to have. Luke basically tells us that others have tried to tell the words of Jesus, the actions of the Gospel, but someone has to do it right, so this doctor with connections to the Apostles Peter and Paul decided he would do it.

Luke's Gospel appeals to me the most, right above John's, as it seems to be done in the way a journalist would do it, or perhaps a physician who was used to taking notes.

The most interesting thing to me in this foreword is this persons, this honorable Theophilus. This man was important enough to have both Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles written to him. Yet we know virtually nothing about him.

It was like Luke decided he would write to cousin Marge the secret recipe of Kentucky Fried's chicken but when the recipe was released to the public, Marge was no where to be found. Important? Vital? Yes, a thousand times yes, but also unknown.

Some think there was no one person, that this was a title for someone. The word in Greek means "Friend of God." So, maybe Luke was writing to several. Some say he was a Roman, and that this his title.  According to Wikipedia, "A growing belief^[4] point this person was Theophilus ben Ananus, High Priest of the Temple from 37-41 AD.

Whatever or whomever, we owe so much to this person/position if Luke was writing to him/them to clear up some misrepresentations about the story.

What does that mean to us today? Simply this...we are blessed to have four "different" looks into the life and teaching of Jesus, the most important words put to paper in history. That Luke took the time to do this, never knowing whether it would be indeed printed, much less read, is as inspiring a tale as any in scripture.

A writer writes because there is a possibility readers will read that which he or she has written. He, I suspect, thought this tale was incredibly important; he felt inspired by God to write it; he thought the whole tale, from John the Baptizer's parents to the end of the Acts of the Apostles was worthy of the time and effort.

So must we.

Reading Luke's Gospel gives life to a man who ascended 2,000 years ago. He lives in my heart, and in these words.

Thank you Luke, and Theophilus.