Luke for Advent 2024: a list of verses
24 days, 24 chapters, 24 verses
A couple of years ago in 2022 I noticed that the days of Advent lined up with all the chapters of Matthew; and the three-year lectionary cycle had began Year A, the Matthew year. I decided it was fitting to read one chapter of Matthew per day for the season. I streamed myself on Instagram1 reading one chapter every day, and enjoyed it. Streaming was my strategy to keep me consistent, so that I felt like I was reading to somebody, even if just my phone. (The human heart is a vain thing, especially in spiritual matters.)
This year I did the same thing with Luke, because of the same coincidence: Advent began on December 1 and this year is Year C, the Luke lectionary year. So I began on December 2 with Chapter 1, which meant that Jesus dies on Christmas Eve and rises on Christmas Day!
Every day, like with my Matthew year, I concluded the reading with the Collect for Advent 1:
Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which Thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when He shall come again in His glorious majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through Him who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.2
In recent years, praying Advent I every day has been my most reliable practice for the season.
For Christmas Day, I concluded with these prayers:
Almighty God, Who hast given us Thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon Him and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin: Grant that we, being regenerate and made Thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by Thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.3
O God, Who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of Him who humbled Himself to share our humanity, Your Son Jesus Christ; Who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.4
This time around I decided to note a verse or two that stood out to me with each day’s reading. They’re all strung together below. This year I also took advantage of my library and cycled through many different translations. There was no system; maybe I’ll try one next time.
It’s an interesting practice to read one chapter of the Gospel per day in conjunction with the church year. I felt more intimately acquainted with the uniqueness of Luke, the Gospel I have studied the least, and the one which feels the most different of the Synoptic Gospels for me. More interestingly for me is to approach Christ’s death and resurrection in conjunction with his Nativity. It’s a poignant reminder for me that the salvation of Christ comprises the totality of His personhood. Incarnation and Atonement and Resurrection are a seamless garment. I hope this Christmas, we may be clothed with that very garment by our gentle Savior, throwing off any pride or shame, that we may “become partakers of the divine nature.” (II Peter 1.4 RSV)
1.45 NIV1984.5 “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
2.10 RSV.6 And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people.”
3.9 RSV. “Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.”
4.22 RSV. And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.
5.5 RSV. “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”
6.21, 24 RSV. “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God… But woe to you that are rich.”
7.13 RSV. And when he saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
8.47 NIV1984. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed.
9.31 TNIV.7 They spoke about his exodus,8 which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.
10.21 TNIV. At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.”
11.9 Knox.9 “And I say the same to you; ask, and the gift will come, seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you.”
12.42 RSV. And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time?”
13.32 NEB.10 “Listen: today and tomorrow I shall be casting out devils and working cures; on the third day I reach my goal.”
14.23 NEB. “‘I want my house to be full.’”
15.10 CSB.11 “There is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
16.15 CSB. “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts.”
17.24–25 CEB.12 “The Human One13 will appear on his day in the same way that a flash of lightning lights up the sky from one end to the other. However, first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”
18.14 CEB. “All who lift themselves up will be brought low, and those who make themselves low will be lifted up.”
19.42 REB.14 “If only you had known this day the way that leads to peace! But no; it is hidden from your sight.”
20.13 REB. “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’”
21.27 Lattimore.15 “And then they will see the son of man coming upon the cloud with power and great glory.”
22.28 Lattimore. “But you are the ones who have stayed with me in my time of trial.”
23.48–49 Lattimore. And all those crowds who had gathered together for this spectacle, when they had watched what happened, beat their breasts and went away. But those who were known to him stood at a distance, and also the women who had followed him from Galilee, watching all this.
24.48 KJV. “And ye are witnesses of these things.”
@ blueberrymill
“Collects: Traditional—First Sunday of Advent,” Book of Common Prayer (1979), p. 158.
“Collects: Traditional—The Nativity of Our Lord: Christmas Day,” Book of Common Prayer (1979), p. 160.
“Collects: Contemporary—Second Sunday After Christmas Day,” Book of Common Prayer (1979), p. 214.
NIV1984: New International Version, 1984 edition (NIV New Testament 1973; Old & New Testaments 1978; revised 1984, 2011).
RSV: Revised Standard Version (New Testament 1946; Old & New 1952; New Testament 2nd ed. 1971). This is the predecessor of the NRSV (1989) and ESV (2001; rev. 2007, 2011, 2016). The RSV and NASB (1971; rev. 1995, 2020) are both separate revisions of the American Standard Version (ASV; 1901). RSV is my favorite translation.
TNIV: Today’s New International Version (New Testament 2002; Old & New 2005). This was a successor to the 1984 NIV that was pulled from publication and is no longer in print. TNIV was replaced by the NIV 2011. TNIV is comparable to NRSV in its commitment to gender inclusive language.
9.31 TNIV. Footnote; main text his departure
Knox: The English Catholic priest and author Ronald Knox’s mid-20th century translation of the Latin Vulgate. (New Testament 1945; Old & New 1949). I chose a Catholic translation to honor the commemoration of the Virgin of Guadalupe that day (Dec 12), since Luke is the bedrock of so much Marian devotion.
NEB: The New English Bible (New Testament 1961; Old & New 1970). This is a quirky translation but one of my favorites. It was based in the UK and was one of the first mainstream “dynamic equivalence” committee translations of the postwar period. Many editions use a beautiful, readable, elegant single-column text block.
CSB: Christian Standard Bible (2017; rev. 2020). This is the official successor of the Holman Christian Standard Bible (New Testament 1999; Old & New 2004). I don’t use this very often, and frankly cannot differentiate it from NIV; but the stellar Ancient Faith Study Bible (Holman, 2019), featuring patristic commentary, uses this version.
CEB: The Common English Bible (2011). This is a dynamic equivalence translation intended as a sort of mainline Protestant alternative to the evangelical NLT. Like NRSV, it is thoroughly committed to gender inclusive language, to the point that the traditional title “Son of Man” for Jesus is “The Human One” in the main text (see n. 10 below). I love the scholarship in the CEB Study Bible (ed. Joel Green; 2013); check it out!
17.24 CEB footnote. “The Human One”: or Son of Man
REB: The Revised English Bible (1989). This is the official successor of the New English Bible. The REB tones down the quirkiness of NEB but keeps many of its most striking phrases. It is one of the most underrated translations available and I wish it was more common in liturgy.
Lattimore: Richmond Lattimore, The New Testament: A New Translation (London: J.M. Dent, 1998), 183. Lattimore (d. 1984) was a classics scholar who translated many ancient Greek classics, including Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. His New Testament was originally published in two volumes, first the Gospels with Revelation (1979), then Acts with the Epistles (1982). I am attached to this version because of Lattimore’s academic background; it feels rare for a classics scholar to engage in biblical studies.
Great commentary! Enjoyed listening to Luke for Advent this year.