The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to
let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor….Today this
scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
Luke 4:14-21 brings a powerful message to the people who read it in the
year 2003. This is a time when there is not much hope for the future. War and destruction
seem to be the only promises we are hearing.
Yet, this scripture says the Spirit of the Lord brings good news
through Jesus. In today’s world it takes a lot of faith to believe or even listen to
a message like this. It’s hard to find good news at a time when peace and compassion
seem so far removed from the climate in our world.
Jesus was speaking to an audience in his home town of Nazareth. What he
said, in effect, is that Old Testament prophecy (specifically Isaiah) was fulfilled in his
person, "in your hearing." The people of Nazareth were told, in so many words,
that Jesus was the Anointed One of God, the Messiah who would rescue them and set them
free. They didn’t believe him. They didn’t realize God’s promise had come
true.
The scripture Jesus quoted in his Nazareth sermon is from Is. 60-61.
Among other things, Isaiah foretold that, as a sign of the Messiah’s coming, the
blind would see. Jesus literally brought sight to a number of the blind people he met
during his earthly life, and the Nazareth audience knew this. Still, they couldn’t
make the connection and "see" Jesus as the Messiah. They were blind in their own
way.
So are we blind, in our own way. We can’t always see past the hate
in the world to God’s vision of peace and understanding among people. God’s
message opens our hearts and minds to the promise of his grace and compassion.
"Seeing" the Good News of Jesus allows us to look to the future with hope for
what is to come.
Dear God, we ask that your Spirit be with us and guide us. We
thank you for your many promises. Even more, we thank you for your faithfulness to those
promises. Help us to trust you in times of trial and to look with hope to the future. In
Jesus’ name we pray.
