St. Luke's Blogs

The St. Luke’s theme for 2021 is “Love Your Neighbor; No Exceptions.” This theme is based on the scripture from Luke 10:27 where Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and, Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus is clear when he teaches that those who follow him must care for and love the people they encounter.

When my oldest daughter, Ella Kate, was a little girl she loved to watch the Wiggles. She knew their songs. She loved to dance and sing along with them. She knew ever character in their show. I also knew all their songs and characters. The wiggles were on our T.V. frequently! The wiggles are a children’s musical group from Australia. They stared in 1991 and have performed for millions of children around the world. They have many albums, videos and a successful T.V. show. Although we no longer listen to the Wiggles in our home, they have a special place in our memories.

The Christian faith takes great courage. Much of what we do comes naturally. Yet, Jesus challenges us to move beyond what comes naturally, or what we normally do. Jesus challenged the people he encountered to move beyond what was simple and easy. He invited them to follow Him into a deeper and more challenging faith.

“Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.” -James 5: 13-16

And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and love salutations in the market places and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. 

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked advance against me
    to devour me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.
For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

Recently, I was reminded of one of the great stories of triumph that took place on the college football field. You may not remember the name of Joe Thomas, Sr.  He did not win a National Championship, or a Heisman Trophy, but he did set a particular NCAA record in football. Joe only played five total plays for South Carolina State. Those plays do not do justice to his amazing accomplishment. On November 19, 2016, Joe Thomas, Sr. became the oldest player in NCAA football history. At age 55, he entered the game and carried the ball for 1.3 yards.

The early church was messy. It was a collection of people from multiple regions, different cultures and even different religious backgrounds. They had witnessed Jesus, or they had heard the good news of his life, death and resurrection. As the news about Jesus spread, more and more people came to faith. Each person brought a different perspective to the young church. Most of the books we read in the New Testament are letters written to help establish common belief and practice for the faith.

The staff at Luciano, a restaurant in London, showed the world what a moment of thoughtfulness can do to bless a life. Natalie Te Paa and her friends stopped in for a late dinner after seeing a show. Luciano is one of Natalie’s favorite restaurants. While ordering, Natalie let it slip that it was her birthday and that they were there to celebrate. The staff immediately went to the kitchen to begin working on a special surprise for Natalie.

Natalie was excited to celebrate her birthday. I am sure she was hoping for a special piece of cake or other fancy dessert. What she received was a special moment of joy, made from chocolate, of course. The staff at Luciano knew that Natalie was blind…

One of my favorite musicals never made it to Broadway, but played off Broadway for 42 years, making it the longest running musical of all time.  I had the good fortune to see The Fantasticks which played in Greenwich Village on my very first trip to New York City in 1978.  It is the story of two neighbors, Hucklebee and Bellomy, who each have one child.  The two fathers desire to be matchmakers for Hucklebee’s son and Bellomy’s daughter.  Using reverse psychology, the fathers pretend to be feuding and even build a wall in hopes their children will be drawn together because, as the fathers note, children will always do the opposite of what you tell them to do.  The ruse appears to work as Matt and Luisa fall in love.  However, in time the little game the fathers play backfires, and their children go their own way.   In the light of day, the fathers and their children begin to complain about one another, noticing all the flaws that have become glaringly visible by daylight.