Musings from Mountains and Valleys-A Day in the Life....

Most of us have our favorite Beatle’s song, although I find mine changes from time to time. A lot of music critics select “A Day In The Life” as the pinnacle of Lennon-McCartney writing and George Martin production. Mikal Gilmore in his work Night Beat: A Shadow History of Rock and Roll, calls it “the loveliest-sounding song about alienation that pop had ever yielded.” It is the essence of the brilliance and balance of John and Paul’s collaborative: The portrayal of the ordinary intersecting extraordinary all ending with three different pianos and a harmonium banging out an E major chord!

This week’s Luke text will take us through an expanded “day in the life” of Jesus that will be anything but ordinary for those who he encounters along the way. Some will be healed, others will be set free, but all will be confounded by his message that “had authority.” Luke tells us that Jesus’s message was the “gospel” of the kingdom of God. This gospel was used to describe messages from the emperor exerting his authority to bring about what he deemed as favorable outcome; however, this was not always “good news” for those receiving the edict.

For Jesus, the good news of the Kingdom of God was meeting people at the point of their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs and by the power of God making them whole. His unique authority was found in the fully integrated way he spoke and acted through the truth and love of God. As both followers of Jesus and members of the Church that is his physical presence here on earth, the good news of this kingdom is ultimately our reason and purpose each day of our lives.