We don’t often hear the first part of Luke’s gospel. It may seem on first reading, that these are throw-away verses. On second look, it’s a testimony that telling the story of Jesus is critical for the spread of Christ’s message and God’s will done on earth. It may seem obvious, but if we didn’t share the story, it would die. When a story is told, it lives and breathes, and takes on a life of its own. Each time a story is shared, the sharer and the hearer are both changed. As we get near Christmas, where families often gather following absences, there will be a lot of stories shared. I wonder what kinds of stories I will share. What I speak and how I listen matters.

Luke 1:1-4

Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.