Gospel of Luke and Acts (Message of Biblical Spirituality)

Like Luke, who drew together many strains of Christian tradition about Jesus for the sake of his first century readers and their needs. The same can be said for today: Luke's writings, the Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles, speaks to a wide variety of Christians. For us, as for Luke's first readers, the spiritual life is much like a journey. Part One of this book concerns the spiritual journey with Jesus and serves as the framework for all that follows. On such a journey, it is vital that companions of Jesus look to their prayer union with Him as the source of what they do as Christians. Part Two concentrates on discerning God's will in one's life through prayer, the indispensable means of being in tune with God's Spirit. Any person worthy of the name "Christian" must demonstrate their spirituality by concrete action of their faith. The saying, "by their fruits you will know them," is as true for Luke's readers today as it was in the first century. Part Three of this book deals with Lucan "themes for the journey," and calls for specific Christian responses in the day-to-day lives of its readers. Part Four is a break in the flow of these Lucan themes. This is similar to the pause which Luke provided for his readers as he moved from his gospel to the Acts of the Apostles. In that pause, his audience could sit back and marvel at his gospel presentation of Jesus prior to embarking on the exciting journey with the early church in Acts. The "interlude for marvelling" in this book will deepen the readers appreciation for Luke as literary genius. More specifically, this part highlights Luke as an author who communicates as forcefully through the literary structure of his gospel. Part Five takes up more Lucan themes, and it ends with "Joy: The Final Chapter."--Publisher.