This week's New Testament lesson reveals something interesting about Luke: while he could weave a wonderful story when using his own sources, Luke's ability to work chronological events into his illustrations sometimes suffered from awkwardness. Luke's gospel narrates Jesus' birth and the earliest moments of Jesus' ministry by focusing on the messianic meaning of these events. According to Luke's account, Jesus had already embarked upon a profoundly popular ministry in Galilee, one characterized by tremendous healing crusades and believing crowds. Yet he was still working alone.

Now, in chapter 5, Luke begins to develop another aspect of Jesus' message _ his desire to put together a team of disciples to work with him. Today's text incorporates the calling scene from Mark 1:16-20 but couple…