The Dangers of a Study Bible

My favorite Gospel is Luke. It has the best "Christmas Story" and I especially like it when Linus quotes it. So I often spend some time in Luke during December. I just started and I was letting my Study Bible lead the way. This is what struck me today.
Luke 1:13 "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard..."
This section was cross referenced to Acts 10:4. About the ninth hour of the day [Cornelius] saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, "Cornelius." And he stared at him in terror and said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God."
It is easy for me to think of prayers ascending to God. Prayers are intangible, like the incense that wafts up to God. But alms? In Acts 10:2 we are told that Cornelius was "a devout man who feared God with all this household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God."
Maybe my issue is that the intangible and the tangible things of earth do not seem to be distinct before God. The "spiritual" act of prayer appears before God equally along with the "physical" act of giving alms.
And therein lies the danger of Study Bibles...rabbit trails that lead right back where God wants you to go.

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