Led by the power of the Spirit

In today’s Gospel,   Lk 4: 14-22a,  we are told that “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit” (Lk 4: 14).  When Jesus was baptized, John “saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him” (Mt. 3:16).  Following His baptism, “…Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness” (Mt. 4:1).  In today’s Gospel, Jesus is “lector” at the synagogue service and opens the Scriptures to a verse from Isaiah: 61: 1-2: “The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me….”  Again, In Mt. 12: 18 Jesus  asked those He healed not to make him known in order to fulfill the prophesy in Is 42:1: “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, the favorite of my soul. I will endow him with my spirit,…”  (underscoring mine).

Jesus knows he is God’s servant sent here to fulfill God’s plan for our salvation.  Do I know who I am? Do I recognize that I, too, am a servant of God, upon whom, in Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, the Spirit of God descends, enters into my very being? Do I realize that I, too, have the choice of walking “in the power of the Spirit,” as Jesus did? Or is my heart hardened to the point that I do not recognize God’s Spirit directing me, inviting me to go here, go there, do this, do that, don’t do this, don’t do that, don’t go there or stay here, speak up, remain silent, etc? And if I am not following the Spirit's direction, whose direction am I following?