The bull of St Luke

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

The Birth, Circumcision and Naming of Jesus: Lk 2,1-21

The four stages in these verses are marked especially by the angels and the shepherds:

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Jesus is born: 2,1-7

Augustus gave peace to the Roman Empire after many years of civil war. Augustus was therefore hailed in the imperial cult as the bringer of peace. Yet his was the peace of an oppressor. We are being prepared for the contrast with Jesus announced in verse 14, the true bringer of peace.
Part of that oppression would have been a census: this gave the rulers control over the people and allowed for a more accurate assessment for an already overbearing tax system.
I suggested a look at 2 Samuel 24. There David angers God by taking a census of the people. Such control belongs only to God.

Apart from setting the scene with this background, the census becomes the means for the evangelist to get Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem where traditionally the Messiah was to be born (Micah 5,2).

In verse 4, we find a strong stress on David: we have now seen God's promise of a house (dynasty) to David in 2 Sam 7 several times.

Verse 5 then reminds us that Mary is bethrothed not married but pregnant even so.

The birth of Jesus in verse 6 makes again the point that he is the first born. That means he has the special status of a first born within the community of Israel (Ex 13,2). This will be taken further in the next scene (2,22-23).

Wisdom 7,4 mentions the infant Solomon wrapped in swaddling clothes, though we need not make too much of the link.
There is though such an emphasis on the manger that one commentator at least sees a deeper significance. Mangers are feeding troughs and laying the infant Jesus in the manager suggests that he will be food for the world.

No room at the inn means that Jesus is numbered among the poor whom he will account blessed (6,20).

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Angelic Proclamation: 2,8-14

Shepherds were definitely among the poor, one more sheep being taken in taxation (2,1) would have made life even more difficult. There is possibly an echo of David here because he began life as a shepherd (1 Sam 16,11).
It's as well to note that Luke has shepherds whilst Matthew has Magi visiting Jesus. The different visitors to the child reflect the different themes of the two evangelists. The emphasis on the poor is a strong theme in Luke - 6,20 again.

"Angel" means messenger as we have seen in chapter 1. Here the purpose of the angel is to proclaim the meaning of the birth.
The glory of God in verse 9 is the visible sign of his presence, a bright light in the cloud as we see in the book of Exodus. The shepherds show fear, a common response to a manifestation of the divine.

Good news in verse 10 is the fulfillment of the promise of 1,19. Good news is used in the second part of Isaiah to announce the coming of God to lead his people out of exile in Babylon (Is 40,9), to be their saviour (Is 45,21) and redeemer (Is 43,14). Joy here is now great, whereas in 1,14 it was simply joy at the birth of John. It is good news for all the people, in a narrow sense the people of Israel but the wider possibilites are there as well.

Verse 11 then provides the good news in summary:
"Today" is a favourite word of Luke. We find it here, at the sermon in Nazareth (4,21), at the healing of the paralytic (5,26) and elsewhere. Of special importance is the declaration to Zaccheus: Today salvation has come to this house (19,5.9). Today is today, it is not just a today a long time in the past, as we see in Psalm 95 (Ps 95,8: O that today you would listen to his voice).
The city of David we have seen a number of times already (2,4).
Saviour we has also seen already (1,69), with my comments on good news in the preceeding verse.
Messiah is Hebrew, Christ is Greek: the word means anointed and it refers to the expectation of a saviour who would be the anointed one of God.
Lord is used in the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Jewish scriptures) to translate the sacred name YHWH. It became the distinctive Christian title for Jesus after the resurrection.

After that build up, verse 12 is something of a let down: a baby born to poor parents lying in a manger.

Then comes the proclamation by heavenly choirs, a song of praise, returning glory to the one who shows his glory. The peace of Christ is as we have noted very different to the peace of Caesar Augustus (2,1).
The better understanding of the second line is that of "those on whom God's favour rests". The initiative is with God and this is not brought out by the alternative "men of good will".

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The Shepherds go to Bethlehem: 2,15-20

Unlike the reactions to angels in the first chapter, there are no doubts on the part of the shepherds. They quickly decide to go to Bethlehem, (though what happens to their sheep is not stated).

Verse 16 is then a summary of verses 1-7. The sign given by the angel in verse 12 is fulfilled. The manager (but not the swaddling clothes) is mentioned for a third time.

Verse 17 is the report of the shepherds, verse 18 is the general response and then that of Mary is recorded in verse 19.

Finally, in verse 20, the shepherds go back to their flocks praising God.

Circumcision and Naming: 2,21

Jesus is circumcised after eight days as was John the Baptist. He thus becomes a member of the people of Israel, though we have also been told his special importance with the titles in verse 11. As we are told in Matthew's Gospel, the name Jesus comes from the Hebrew Joshua and means saviour.

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