Luke 5 Reflection

Click here to read Luke 5

Process for Reflection 

• Read and Ponder each passage.
• Write the words that leap out to you.
• Meet the challenge to write a prayer using all the words you selected.
• Then select a phrase or sentence from the passage that grabs your attention.
• Write several personal I BELIEVE statements about each passage.
• (Try not to let my examples get in your way.)

Words that leap out at me

deep   nets     filled   overcome     amazement      afraid

 Prayer

Holy God, you invite us to cast out into the deep, not just with the tools of our trade but with our entire lives. In spite of the nets with which we live the life you have invited us to share, we long to be filled to overflowing with your grace and generosity, your wisdom and your love. Sometimes, though, we are overcome by the distractions of this life, which keep us from hearing your call. Yet, we stand in amazement when you show us more, fill us with more, give us more. In those moments when we are afraid, when we shrink back from going deeper with people and with you, we ask that you get in our boats, that you go with us. Show us the way through your Word and by your grace when we cannot see the way. Bind from our hearts any fear that would hold us back. And then, help us to step into a future unafraid, filled with the new life you desire to bring. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 A Phrase That Jumps Out at You From the Text

 “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be fishing for people.” (vs. 10a)

Belief Statements

I believe Jesus keeps inviting me to go deeper in places I haven’t been.

 I believe I am constantly overwhelmed when I expected little and Christ gave a lot.

 I believe following Jesus is calls me to withdraw for prayer.

 I believe Jesus calls us to change our hearts and lives.

 I believe Jesus calls us in the midst of the ordinary, everyday spaces of our lives.

Further Reflections

We have been speaking for some time across the United Methodist Church about discipleship, about making disciples, about what it means to follow Jesus.  One need only read the first five chapters of Luke to begin to see that Jesus needs a team in order to change the world, and he has gathered others to join him in this great adventure.  In Luke 5 and 6 Jesus will continue to expand his reach and invite others to follow him into this kingdom work. “They left everything and followed him.”

Jesus heals a leper and a paralytic.  Jesus calls Levi, the tax collector. Along the way, Jesus eats with tax collectors and is accused of some bad manners—eating and drinking—not praying and fasting. It will get worse before it gets better for these followers of Jesus.

In the end, the kingdom spreads; some will follow and others will not. Luke calls these who don’t follow the scribes and Pharisees. What is Luke up to?  He has, for these first five chapters, been establishing Jesus’ identity.  Along the way, Jesus has set the course for those he will invite to follow him. Luke’s pace is sufficient enough to allow space and time for those to decide if they are willing to follow.  A few miracles here and there underscore that something significant is taking place. This is no ordinary prophet.

Since Jesus’ baptism, he is calling. The call of Jesus has not changed in 2000 years. Across the Nashville Area of the United Methodist Church, we are talking about creating a culture of call. While each of us experiences a call to follow Jesus differently, it seems that there is one constant.  The one constant is that Jesus calls still today in the midst of the ordinary.  Rarely dramatic; often routine, Jesus calls.

Yesterday I had the privilege of being with some amazing people who are listening to the call of God upon their lives. Just seeing them and speaking with them gives me hope for the ways in which God continues to call young adults and emerging leaders across the Memphis and Tennessee Conferences.