Travis Heide 2018

“His-Story”

“In those days a decree went out from Caesar that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to , to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.” (:1-5)

Friends, we have been gathered this evening to hear the according to St. Luke. Luke is both an historian and history’s most compelling storyteller. But most of all, Luke is an evangelist: a bringer of good news. It is the Good News of ; and it is our good news, too.

Friends, what’s clear is that the story we’ve just heard about the birth of Jesus is not a plain story. The is an historical account firmly anchored in reality. According to all modern standards of historical scrutiny, the Four are the world’s most credible ancient documents. We know more for certain about the life of Jesus than the Great or even the grand exalted Caesar Augustus himself. And that’s exactly how St. Luke would have it. Luke begins his Gospel by stating that he has laid out everything in a researched and orderly account,

“that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” (:4)

St. Luke doesn’t miss the details which place the birth of Jesus within its social and historical setting: “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.”

(2:1-2) In other words, this isn’t a fictional story that happened “once upon a time.” These are names and world events that everyone within Luke’s lifetime recalled with clarity. The facts line up. Therefore the facts surrounding Jesus’ birth, incredible as they may be, are every bit as true.

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Travis Heide 2018

All this being understood, St. Luke is not a dry historian. He’s not a mere recorder of dates and names. Quite to the contrary: Luke weaves the facts and figures into a literary tapestry, a musical masterpiece that’s great from the beginning and only gets better. St. Luke is what every storyteller (whether he knows it or not) wishes to be when he grows up.

Think of the great modern storytellers. In recent years the Star Wars franchise has joined with Disney and seeks to rule the holiday season. Young or old, we all remember how it all began in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope: the all-encompassing Galactic Empire holds in its clutches

Princess Leia. The princess carries a message for a certain Luke that changes everything. Similarly,

Luke opens against the backdrop of an empire and shifts the focus to our unlikely heroine, who is pregnant with the Word of God: a word which will shake the cosmos and topple every Empire.

Another instant classic, the enduringly popular Frozen, opens with a chilling song, an ode to the power of ice: “Beautiful!/Powerful!/Dangerous!/Cold!/Ice has a magic can’t be controlled./Stronger than one! Stronger than ten!/Stronger than a hundred men!” “Split the ice apart!/Beware the frozen heart…” This overture speaks prophetically about the young Princess

Elsa, who is destined to become the Snow Queen. Mary, an impoverished virgin from Nazareth, is hardly a princess – but she is the Mother of God. The power of the Most High overshadows

Mary (1:35), causing her to break out in song: “For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” (46-49)

On the first pages of his novel Les Misérables, Victor Hugo interestingly enough introduces a bit player: Msgr. Myriel. Myriel the bishop changed the life of Jean Valjean; and Valjean forever alters the lives of Fantine, Cossette, Marius, and Inspector Javert. Luke’s Gospel begins with the priest Zacharias, the father of another John – – whose preaching changed the lives of many poor and afflicted. Great stories have great beginnings. And none is greater than Luke.

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Travis Heide 2018

By all accounts St. Luke has made his mark in history. His biography of Jesus is both great history and a great story. But the Gospel of Luke is even more than history. It is His story – God’s story. What places the Gospel of Luke at the top of every must-read list is not any virtue in St.

Luke, not in his skill as a writer to set the facts in a pleasing and orderly manner. It’s not the way in which we read the words or act out the scenes. No; the enduring power of the Luke’s biography is not its author, but its subject: Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of the world. The storytelling and the music move us because the Holy Spirit moves with every word.

Each of us has our favourite books or films. We take pride in our various offices and trades.

All of us (some more than others) have a sense of our own importance to the world and to the lives of those around us. We all desire to leave a mark; to make the stories of our lives worth telling.

But when it comes to making history, no matter what our skills may be, everyone great or small is only a part of His story. The only life of true historical meaning is the life of Jesus. His life and legacy live on today and tomorrow, until no one remembers our names… except for God.

2000 years ago, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem and received His name, God knew you would be born; and He knew your name also. You are an essential part of history. God will use you to alter the lives of people in ways we can’t begin to know. God’s purposes He will accomplish whether you recognize His hand in it or not. None of us is more powerful than Caesar Augustus.

However, we who believe in Jesus Christ are greater than Caesar – we are sons and daughters of

God; for we have been united with Jesus Christ in His birth; in His suffering, His death and burial,

His rising from the dead, and His ascension into Heaven. His life is our life both now and forever.

Tonight, you have heard history; and all of you are going down in His story – along with

Mary, Joseph, Luke, St. John the Baptist, and everyone who has ever lived. St. Luke’s biography of Jesus is also yours. And this Gospel, this Good News, is for all people. (2:10) Amen.

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