Luke 4:14-22
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and
news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues
and was praised by all. He 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.
* * *
Introductory Prayer: Lord, welcome into the temple of my soul.
I know that you will root up and tear down, heal and sanctify, making there a
holy and righteous place that has always been intended for you. Only you have
the power to unlock the sanctuary of my heart; only you build what will last
forever. I trustfully open my entire self to you now, so that your words can
shape my thoughts, so that your love can penetrate my heart, so that no
disorder of soul may remain in me.
Petition: Lord,
grant me a greater reverence for you.
1. He Returned in the Power of the Spirit: The Spirit appears in the world to unite
heaven’s plan to that of earth, and it does so here with every move of Christ.
Christ’s whole mission is nothing other than the fulfillment of the passage he
reads. Our vocation in life is nothing other than fulfilling our baptismal
commission by the Holy Spirit. Our Lord shows himself, therefore, to be no
one-man show. He, the Son, is sent and works in communion with the Father and
the Holy Spirit, and from here all his fruitfulness and power flows. Our
mission must truly make us feel “sent.” It compels us to bear fruit through
acts of obedience and love. Heaven seeks to deliver its plan to me in this
prayer. May I be attentive to all that the Holy Spirit prompts me to do.
2. He
Unrolled the Scroll… Today This Passage
Is Fulfilled in Your Hearing: Man is given a response to the eternal
question found in Revelation 5:2: "Who is worthy to open the scroll and
break its seals?” Contemplate this solemn moment when the Word reveals himself
among men: Many could read from the scroll, but only one was worthy to unlock
its salvific power. Many could recite the texts, but only one could set them
ablaze in their hearts. Many could preach with fascination, but only one could
satisfy their hunger for the fullness of truth. Our words are an empty breath
without Christ’s voice; our labors are to no end, if our actions are not
Christ’s. Only one person by right can change the human heart, and we in truth
can only be apostles when Christ is the one who moves our hand.
3. All Were
Amazed at the Words That Came from His Mouth: The precise nature of these words is not
revealed to us here, as if to mean that the person of Christ himself is the
revelation. Christ, in the totality of his person, comes to lighten our burdens
and lift our spirits in a way no teaching, no miraculous event, no cure left to
itself ever could. Divine providence has secured for us many goods in life, but
all goods fail us if they do not come with Christ in all the power and intimacy
that is God-among-us.
Conversation
with Christ:
Lord, I seek to revere you and honor you as the center of my life. I work
now with a holy ambition to ensure your throne is firmly established in my
heart. Teach me to let nothing usurp what belongs to you in my life. Let me not
build a life of empty self-sufficiency, lest I lose the experiences of your
power and grace I could have.
Resolution: I will visit our
Lord in the Eucharist today for the sake of honoring him for his greatness and
thanking him for his active presence in my life.