The Spirit sends me to bring good news to the poor, to people all free
Introduction
Paul reminds his Corinthians that he had preached them the simple, uncomplicated message of the crucified Christ. That was a message of faith, not of human wisdom.
From now on until Advent begins, we shall read the gospel of Luke, the evangelist who pays special attention to the Holy Spirit, the mercy of God, Jesus’ special concern for the poor, the role of women in the life of Jesus, and the liturgy. Luke presents his gospel in the form of a journey from Nazareth in Galilee to Jerusalem. Today we hear about the beginning of the so-called public life of Jesus, his program set for him by the Spirit. He announces salvation as starting “today” with his teaching and working among the people. For us too, the time of grace is today, in our time, with the Lord working and living among us now.
1 Reading 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
When I came to you, brothers and sisters,
proclaiming the mystery of God,
I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you
except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling,
and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of spirit and power,
so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God.
Responsorial Psalm 119:97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102
R. (97) Lord, I love your commands.
How I love your law, O LORD!
It is my meditation all the day.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
Your command has made me wiser than my enemies,
for it is ever with me.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
I have more understanding than all my teachers
when your decrees are my meditation.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
I have more discernment than the elders,
because I observe your precepts.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
From every evil way I withhold my feet,
that I may keep your words.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
From your ordinances I turn not away,
for you have instructed me.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
Alleluia Luke 4:18
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Luke 4:16-30
Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
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.
Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'”
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
Commentary
Why do the listeners of Jesus, who are initially appreciative of him, turn against him? David Bosch suggests that the clue to an answer lies in the point in Isaiah’s prophesy where Jesus stops reading and rolls up the scroll. Jesus ends at: “to announce the Lord’s year of mercy.” However, in Isaiah, the phrase actually says: “to announce the Lord’s year of mercy and his day of vengeance” (Is. 61:2). For the Jews of those times, whose history was replete with slavery, subjugation, and humiliation, the year of the Lord’s mercy was inseparable from the Lord’s day of vengeance on their enemies. Mercy for themselves, and vengeance on their enemies, were the two sides of the same coin, the deepest desire of a nation that had suffered long. But Jesus would dare to break the inseparable phrase and end with the announcement of mercy, period. Vengeance was not his mission. Revenge was not an option in his Gospel. Thus, as he kept on speaking of God’s grace, his audience grew upset and angry. Jesus was challenging the unquestioned ethos of their nation. No wonder they wanted to kill him.
Jesus would not comprise his Gospel to appease people or save his life. Would you?
Blessing
Today, with Jesus alive among us in our community, we should also be ready to say with Jesus: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon us. He sends us to bring good news to the poor.” May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.