Dear <<First Name>>
We have now finished our long journey through the Saul – David – Solomon saga. Well done for sticking with the story, the long readings and, I hope, the interesting practical reflections on them. We try to alternate between Old and New Testament and mix various styles of writing. When looking at the Old Testament sagas the passages are, of necessity, longer than when looking at, say, an Epistle. Happily for those of you who prefer shorter passages our next journey together is through St Luke – and the daily passages will be shorter.
We will be reading St Luke together until after Easter and start tomorrow. Luke is the longest Gospel and covers the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. It is the first of a two part work with Luke-Acts dominating the New Testament in terms of length.
The editor had, at least, three sources – Mark’s Gospel which is reproduced more or less in its entirety, a set of stories shared with St Matthew’s Gospel and the editor’s own material – for example the story of the angels proclaiming the birth of Jesus to the Shepherds. Neither St Luke nor Acts names its author. Tradition associates Luke the Evangelist as the author. It is thought to have been written around 80–110 but some think it was still being revised well into the 2nd Century.
The Lectionary used in most of our churches has St Luke as the Gospel for this year so it’s fitting we read through it just as the Church Year has started.
If you would like to promote these Devotions in your church you can use the poster here. If you’d prefer to receive them in booklet format – for you to print off you can get the booklets on the Devotions’ webpage (the left hand column) here and sign up to receive them in the future here. You can also read any you’ve missed the Devotions’ webpage.
Andy
Andy Braunston
Coordinator, Daily Devotions from the URC Project