I love Luke’s gospel for giving us the moment between Elizabeth and Mary (Luke 1: 42, 45). He doesn’t start out with genealogies like Matthew, or a theological interpretation of creation like John, or words of Isaiah and completely skipping over the birth story like Mark. Luke starts out slow, a kind of a “once upon a time,” and weaves a beautiful narrative together, starting with a scene from the home of the parents of John the Baptist, then moving to the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary.
Luke’s gospel is sometimes referred to as the gospel of witnessing. His words bring up sounds, scenes, smells, senses – so that we can feel as though we’re entering into the story too. We walk in the door with Mary. We feel Elizabeth embracing Mary. We watch Mary find refuge in Elizabeth. This moment is a different kind of witnessing – not the kind of reporting, accounting, or narrating intended for court documents or legal credibility. Luke’s gospel is less about telling us what to believe, and more about showing us what it looks like to believe.
This message is excerpted from “Our vocation” by Mihee Kim-Kort in the November/December 2021 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Luke, Evangelist.
Copyright © 2023 Women of the ELCA. Inquiries for permission to reproduce should be directed to [email protected].