St. Luke's Blogs

The people who follow Jesus, and the people who serve the world in the name of Jesus, are a diverse people. Women, men, and children of every race and nationality represent Jesus around the world. When you look back in history, you will see that the people who first helped the church come to life are a diverse people. In fact, two of the strongest leaders of the early church were quite different from one another.

Susan Boyle is a Scottish singer who came to fame in a most unusual way. At the age of 48 she took a risk and auditioned on the show, Britain’s Got Talent. Susan was nervous to step on such a large stage. When she stepped on the stage, she was facing a massive crowd who had gathered in the 3,000-seat auditorium. Not only was it a capacity crowd, but sitting front row were the infamous Britain’s Got Talent judges…

Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues,

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. You blind Pharisee! first cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

“See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

One of my new favorite Broadway musicals is Come from Away. I love the music. It is a musical that explores every side of human emotion. I had the privilege of seeing this show when the traveling cast “came from away” to the Oklahoma City Civic Center. In this hit Broadway musical, stories are told of the amazing people of Gander, Newfoundland. Through their hospitality and kindness, people from all over the world are welcomed and cared for on the morning of September 11, 2001.

Tony is a young man who has had a difficult start to life. He was given up for adoption when he was born. Unfortunately, he spent many years in the foster care system before being adopted. He lived with his new family for six years, until they left him at a local hospital for medical care and never came back to take him home. They gave up their parental rights and Tony went back into the foster care system. Peter Mutabazi received a phone call from a foster care worker who told him about Tony…

I recently read about Weston “Wammer” Mazey and the kindness that was shown to Weston and his family. He is a freshman baseball player for his high school in Morgantown, West Virginia. Weston is from a baseball family. His dad is the head baseball coach for the University of West Virginia. During a game last year, Weston collided with a player from another team. It was a serious collision and caused significant injuries. In just one moment, Weston received a broken nose, broken bones in his face, and a traumatic brain injury…

Imagine being seconds away from walking onto a stage for a performance – a performance ON BROADWAY – and being told you’ll be out of work in a couple of hours. Not exactly a comforting thought before starring in the longest running show in Broadway history. Eryn LeCroy was ready to play the lead role of Christine Daaé in Phantom of the Opera on March 12, 2020, when a crew member turned to her after getting a phone notification.  Broadway – the entire industry in NYC – was shutting down at 5 p.m.

Today, I had the privilege of taking one of our young Poteet Theatre actors, Matthew, down to Langston’s Western Wear in Stockyards City. His mother and I picked out a cowboy hat for him. Now, this was no ordinary cowboy hat. This was the hat for Curly McLain, the lead male character in “Oklahoma!” And Curly needed a sharp lookin’ hat! The theatre staff wanted to thank Matthew for all his hard work, and for the kindness he shows to everyone else in the production.

There came a woman of Samar′ia to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samar′ia?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Just then his disciples came. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but none said, “What do you wish?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”