In today’s Gospel, Luke 4: 14-22a, Jesus returns to Galilee “in
the power of the Spirit.” He entered
the synagogue on the Sabbath, as he always did, “stood up to read and was
handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the
passage that actually spoke about his mission. It reads:
The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
The same Spirit that gave power to Jesus gives power to you
and me. Like Jesus, we, too, through
baptism and confirmation, the Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation are
authored to “bring glad tidings to the poor”.
We are sent to “proclaim liberty” to those enslaved to evil, in bondage
to sin, corruption, and deceit. We, too, are sent to “give sight to the blind,”
to reveal the Truth to those directed by misguided beliefs. We are “to let the
oppressed go free,” especially if we are the oppressors.
Can others with whom I live and work and pray say, as Jesus
said, “”Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”? When we engage in conversation with others,
are they excited because they know that we are bearers of good news, not gossipers,
not naysayers or cynics, not manipulators plotting to exploit us or take
advantage of us, or others, in some way? When we take leave, will others “speak highly”
of us and be “amazed at the gracious words” that came from our mouths, as they
did of Jesus? If not, why not? If yes,
then let us thank the Lord for working through us and ask for the grace to
continue to go forth “in the power of the Spirit”.
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