SUMMER REBOOT – this podcast was originally published in Advent, on 17 December 2018.

—

Hello and welcome to Foundations Daily. My name is Liam; I’m on the staff team here at STC and it’s great to be with you this week as we look at the Bible together.

Last week, my colleague Helen concluded our series of podcasts on Matthew’s Gospel – focusing on the death and resurrection of Jesus. This week, we’re going back to much more familiar ground at this time of year as we move into looking at Luke’s Gospel.

The Gospels are Jesus’ story. This week’s readings – all from the beginning of Luke’s Gospel – are the Christmas story. It’s a story many of us are familiar with and yet it’s a story which beneath the tea towels, the tinsel and the twinkly lights is so scandalous, so challenging that it should make us stop and reflect on just how incredible our God is. So thank you for listening this week and let our prayer be that as we consider these famous scriptures again that God would reveal something new, something fresh to us and that we might discover more of Him as we head towards Christmas day in just a couple of weeks’ time.

REFLECTION:

Today’s passage is Luke 1:1-17 which you can hear in full at the end of this short thought. We’ll focus our attention today on verses 13-14 which I’ll read to us now:

But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth

Luke’s Gospel account – an account which we read in the prologue has been carefully and meticulously put together – begins with the angel Gabriel (God’s messenger) visiting Zechariah – a devout man, a priest in the Temple, informing him of the incredible news that he and his wife, despite their advanced years, will have a son whom they will call John. A child who will, as we read later in the passage, play a key role in the fulfilment of God’s promise of sending someone – a prophet who would prepare Israel (God’s people) for the coming of a divine king. This baby boy – John – is the fulfilment of that promise.

The angel Gabriel tells Zechariah that this child will be ‘a joy and a delight’ to them – but also that there will be many others who will ‘rejoice because of his birth’. Joy – this is a word we will see appearing again when we read about the birth of Jesus later on in the week. On this Monday though, let’s begin by reflecting on what the Bible means when it talks about ‘joy’ and how we can experience this each day of our lives.

We often associate this festive season with the word – joy. The word joy’ used in today’s scripture literally translates as ‘God’s grace recognized’. The angel tells Zechariah that he’s going to have a son – despite both he and his wife being so advanced in their years – and not only that but that he’s going to be called John. The Hebrew form of the name John means ‘Yahweh is gracious’. Today’s passage shows us this – God is so gracious, he’s so kind to this elderly faithful couple who have committed to living the God life as best they can. Much like their baby boy will do, their story prepares the way, sets the scene, for an even greater example of God’s grace recognised with the birth of Jesus – the one who, as we heard last week, is King over all, who is our great rescuer.

When we recognise God’s grace in our lives, joy comes into our hearts. Joy as we know is a fruit of the Spirit, a result of God’s saving work – his very presence in our hearts. It’s something God gives us. That’s the nature of God’s grace – it’s His grace, his favour. He chooses us – that’s what brings us joy. But it’s also a choice we make. We can choose to experience joy. And we choose joy when we give thanks. When we give thanks, we recognise God’s grace in our lives – for the simple things,