A
Reflection on Luke 4:14-22a
Jesus returns to
Nazareth filled with the Holy Spirit, and everyone is buzzing with excitement
about the remarkable things he has been doing. When he stands up in the
synagogue to read, he's handed the scroll of Isaiah, and the words he reads are amazing: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor." These aren't just any words; they're a
job description for the Messiah; the one Israel has been waiting for through
centuries of longing. Jesus reads about giving sight to the blind, freeing
captives, and proclaiming a year of favor from the Lord. Then he sits down, and
with every eye fixed on him, he makes the most astounding claim imaginable:
"Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." In other
words, "I am the one you've been waiting for."
What makes this moment so powerful is that Jesus doesn't just announce God's
kingdom, he becomes its living presence. The promises of Isaiah aren't distant
hopes anymore; they're standing before the assembly in human flesh. When we
pray the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary, particularly the Proclamation of the
Kingdom, we enter into this very moment. We contemplate how Jesus didn't come
merely to teach about God's love but to be that love incarnate. Just as Mary
pondered all these things in her heart, we're invited to ponder how Jesus
continues to fulfill this mission today. The poor, the imprisoned, the blind,
the oppressed, they're still with us, and Jesus is still proclaiming freedom
and favor through his Church, through the sacraments, and through each of us
who bear his name.
The people in that Nazareth synagogue had a choice: they could dismiss what
they were hearing, or they could recognize God breaking into their ordinary
lives in an extraordinary way. We face the same choice every single day. Do we
see Jesus as a biblical figure from two thousand years ago, or as the living
Lord who speaks directly to us through Scripture, who meets us in the
Eucharist, who sends the Holy Spirit to anoint us for mission just as he was
anointed? The Catholic faith teaches us that we share in Jesus's anointing
through our baptism and confirmation, we too are called to bring good news to
the poor, to see those whom others overlook, to bring freedom where there is
bondage. The same Spirit that rested on Jesus in that synagogue rests on us.
Mary knew this mission from the beginning. At the Annunciation, she said yes to
bringing Jesus into the world, and at the Proclamation of the Kingdom, she
watched her son announce why he had come. Through the Rosary, we join Mary in
saying yes again and again, yes to letting Jesus proclaim his kingdom through
our lives, yes to being his hands and feet, yes to recognizing that today,
right now, in our own towns and homes and hearts, Scripture is being fulfilled.
The question isn't whether Jesus can still do what he promised in that
synagogue. The question is whether we'll let him do it through us.
Questions
to Consider:
·
When
I hear Jesus say, "today this scripture is fulfilled," do I believe
that his mission of freedom and healing is still active right now, or does it
feel like something that happened long ago?
·
Who
are the "poor" in my life that Jesus might be calling me to bring
good news to, not just those who lack money, but those who are poor in spirit,
in hope, or in love?
·
As
someone anointed in baptism and confirmation, what does it mean practically for
me to share in Jesus's mission? What would change if I truly saw myself as sent
by God?
·
How
does praying the Luminous Mysteries, especially the Proclamation of the
Kingdom, help me understand my own role in continuing what Jesus began in that
Nazareth synagogue?
·
Am
I more like the amazed crowd in the synagogue who marveled at Jesus's words, or
am I ready to actually follow where those words lead?
©2026 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
