Fr Marco Lazzaron
uke begins his Gospel by explaining the reason why he wrote it. Like us, he did not know Jesus personally. Then the gospel goes directly to chapter four.
Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee; and his reputation spread throughout the countryside. He taught in their synagogues and everyone praised him. He came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. On Saturday, in the synagogues, there was a reading from the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and one from a prophet. It was customary to invite passing guests to read and comment on this second reading. It’s good to ask yourself what I would say if I were given this opportunity? It is a good way to meditate on the word of God.
He stood up to read and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written: “ The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour. It was a text known by everyone and Jesus goes to look for it; then reads exactly what he wants to say. They are his first words and they tell us what he came to do.
First of all, he states that the Spirit of the Lord is upon him. It means that he is in perfect communion and harmony with God, and adds that he was chosen for a mission. That of bringing the good news to the poor. The poor are those who need everything and have nothing to give in return. The opposite of those who are rich in merit and think they can claim God’s blessing. Sight for the blind is the ability to see what choices to make to live well and do good.
In other words, Jesus came to free us from everything that oppresses us and prevents us from flying high. He concludes by speaking of the Lord’s year of grace. It refers to the jubilee year, which was the year in which the land was redistributed equally to all the tribes of Israel, so that no one would be poor and to reiterate that the land and life are a gift from God.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. The Old Testament, the prophecies, are fulfilled in Jesus. Now Jesus sits down, like the teacher that he is, and begins to proclaim his good news.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. If we read Isaiah 61:1-6, we understand better why everyone’s eyes were fixed on him. The text speaks of a day of vengeance and of God’s unprecedented violence towards Israel’s enemies, and people became very excited listening to this reading. Jesus, however, stops at the liberations and blessings, and everyone wonders where he wants to go.
Then he began to speak to them: “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen”. Jesus wants to announce universal salvation, for everyone; this is the big news, which still today perplexes those who feel righteous and makes the poor rejoice.
Lord, help us to welcome this good news!