Peasants, Women, Israel & Redemption

In reading Luke 1-2 as it pertains to the foundation for his work, and not as it pertains to the season of Christmas, has developed many findings for me. First, the revelation of God's incarnate was primarily brought through peasants and women. If the good news of proclaiming God's kingdom come and all of the humanity's participation a part of it was the goal, then it would seem that Luke was making a major public relations disaster by not only including those of low, even insignificant, status, but allowing them to be the main characters through which this story begins. It is also significant to see who was not included; kings, rulers, religious authorities. Even the temple contingency of Zechariah, Simeon, and Anna seems to use the grunts of the temple system, rather than the stars.

Believing that Luke is setting up the mission of Jesus to challenge the temple and Roman authority, he also at the outset begins by using ordinary people. Which raises a growing fascination within me to understand what is meant by the idea of "Israel" and "salvation." Like many biblical ideas/words, I think that context tends to be much broader than our current understandings. So much so, that I think our current understandings deteriorate the kingdom perspective.

With that said, I am struck at how God honors obedience. Luke, from the very beginning, uses limited language in describing his characters, but the language he does use states rather abruptly that godly obedience are the reasons why these people are chosen. They may not have risen to the heights of the temple and social systems, but their obedience prompts God's blessing.

I am also struck at how quickly people respond to God, almost like through obedience, they live with an ever growing urgency to be agents of change, and therefore have the ability to interpret the movements of God.

So I am internalizing the following and invite you to comment...

• Who or what is "Israel?" It has to have a broader meaning than a specific clan of people, or geographic boundaries. How can Luke utter the word "gentile" and "Israel" in the same breath (2.32)?
  
• What is "salvation/redemption?" It has to be a lot more than being freed from sin, since Luke doesn't use the term "sin" in his first narrative.
• How can I live with continual obedience? What are the practices of a kingdom dweller? How should I respond to the movements of God?