Going forth "in the power of the Spirit"

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”.

Jesus, Bearer of Good News

In today’s Gospel, Jesus enters the synagogue, as He had always done during the Sabbath.  He is handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and opens to the passage which 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.

This is Jesus, the Son of God, reading this passage. Jesus tells us that the Father anointed Him “to bring glad tidings to the poor,” to us, that He “has been sent [by the Father] to proclaim liberty to captives,” yes to us; and to bring “recovery of sight to the blind,” to you and me, to free us from our oppression!

Like the Jews who were listening to Jesus and who dismissed him, saying “Is he not the son of Joseph,” do you and I find a reason to reject His message?  Do we choose to remain blind, oppressed, unfree because Jesus, in our minds, is only the son of Joseph, not the Son of God sent by the Father to bring us good news of salvation? On the one hand, do we dismiss God’s message because we do not like the one who delivers it?  On the other hand, when we are the instrument that God invites to proclaim the Gospel, to share our faith, do we resist because, after all, whom am  I, I’m only so and so’s son/daughter!

Happy Fourth of July

I received the following email and am passing it one here:

Happy 4th of July!....     
   

Let' s get this started ,NOW! 
    
   

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE
   

FLAG, 
   

OF THE UNITED 
   

STATES OF AMERICA ,     
   

AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR 
   

WHICH IT STANDS, 
   

ONE 
   

NATION UNDER GOD ,
   

INDIVISIBLE, 
   

WITH LIBERTY    

AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!      
   

   

For all of our other military
personnel, where ever they may be. 
   

Please 
   

Support all of the troops
defending our Country.     
   

And God Bless our Military 
   

who are protecting our
Country for our Freedom. 
   

Thanks to them, and their
sacrifices, we can celebrate the 4th of July.     
   

We must never forget who gets
the credit for the freedoms we have, 
   

of which we should be eternally
grateful.     
   

I watched the flag pass by one
day. 

   

It fluttered in the breeze.     
   

A young Marine saluted it, 
   

And then he stood at ease.    
   

I looked at him in uniform; 
   

so young, so tall, so proud.
   

With hair cut square and eyes
alert, 
   

he'd stand out in any crowd.    
   

I thought how many men like him
   

had fallen through the years.
   

How many died on foreign
soil; 
   

how many mothers' tears?     
   

How many pilots' planes shot
down?
   

How many died at sea? 
   

How many foxholes were
soldiers' graves? 
   

NO, FREEDOM ISN'T FREE !    
   

I heard the sound of Taps one
night,
   

when everything was still. 
   

I listened to the bugler play
   

And felt a sudden chill.     
   

I wondered just how many
times 
   

That Taps had meant 'Amen.' 
   

When a flag had draped a coffin
   

of a brother or a friend.     
   

I thought of all the children, 
   

of the mothers and the wives,
   

of fathers, sons and husbands
   

With interrupted lives.     
   

I thought about a graveyard

   

At the bottom of the sea. 
   

Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
   

NO FREEDOM ISN'T FREE 

   

Enjoy Your Freedom 

   

and

   

God Bless Our Troops.     
   

When you read this, 
   

please stop for a moment    

and say a prayer for our
servicemen 

   

Of all the gifts you could
give a U.S. Soldier, prayer is the very best one.