Jesus’ life-giving words must be proclaimed. Jesus comes on the scene in this weekend’s scripture, ready to assume his role as Messiah and Savior. He goes to the synagogue on a Sabbath as he was in the habit of doing, says Luke. Having taken his place in the synagogue, he was given the job of reader. The reading was an important one. It came from Isaiah, Chapter 61. It told of the presence of the Spirit,” it spoke of “glad tidings,” of “liberty” and release of prisoners,” and “recovery of sight to the blind,” as well as a “year of favor” …. All these were good things, all of them blessings from God. It was not the old message of doom and scolding and fright that often came from the mouth of John the Baptist; no, this was something that uplifted the listeners, filled them cheer and courage and hope. After listening to Jesus, they could truly hope, because when Jesus finished reading, he sat down and began to teach and to confirm the message. He made this wonderful promise: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, all the good things longed for and wished for would and could come from him to them.
St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians tells people of that time and place where they can experience the freedom Jesus proclaimed. We achieve the liberty of Christ through being members of Christ’s body. We tend to think of freedom as being free from the obligations imposed by others. But, if we think of Jesus as being the one truly free person, we recognize that he sought out people, especially the needy. He arranged his life so he could be free to help them. St. Paul tells the Corinthians and us, that we are together members of the Body of the risen Christ. Alone we are only dismembered parts, eyes, and hands, head, and feet. It is only by trusting, relying on, and helping one another that we can work together for the freedom that Christ came to bring. In our families, in our parish, in our national and international communities we come to freedom by helping one another. We are freed to find the God who made us to be one family.
God bless! Have a wonderful week!