Thursday after Epiphany
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.
Opening Prayer: I beg you, Lord, to amaze me as I try to deeply ponder this experience you had in Nazareth. Send your Spirit upon me to open my mind and enkindle my heart.
Encountering Christ:
- Jesus? The Messiah?: Nothing seemed amiss to the members of the Jewish synagogue the day that Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah—until Jesus proclaimed himself the Messiah in front of everyone! Jesus, the neighbor down the street, the carpenter, the dutiful son of widowed Mary… with the full attention of the townsmen claimed to fulfill Isaiah’s seven-hundred-year-old prophecy about the Messiah. Perhaps even more astounding was the crowd’s reaction. They “spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” With what authority and magnetism must Jesus have spoken! Jesus speaks to our hearts with the same dynamism so that we, too, may “speak highly of him” to family, friends, and neighbors.
- Living in the Spirit: Our Lord’s reputation had preceded him to Nazareth. He had been praised wherever he preached. Here, where everyone knew him, the men must have wondered what he would say. They must have been on the edge of their seats. The Scripture says that Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and I imagine that the Spirit worked overtime in the silent pause after Jesus read and before he revealed himself to the congregation. Did the Spirit find fertile and receptive souls, and help these men accept the astonishing news they heard from Christ’s lips? Holy Spirit, penetrate any hardness of heart you find within us so that Christ’s words resonate deeply and bear for us the fruit of understanding, wisdom, and zeal.
- Lasting Fruit: Coming in the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ greeted, touched, spoke to, and read the Scriptures to the men in the synagogue that day. He also revealed himself to them. What a privilege they received! At first, they responded well, but just a few verses later we hear that those same men, enraged with fury, planned to hurl him down the cliff. What changed? Jesus had challenged them to recognize that he was not just a popular preacher but the greatest of prophets and the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The two Old Testament stories Jesus quoted infuriated them. Was their hometown boy implying that he was something greater? The Spirit wants to set us straight when we presume to know more about God than we do. God is forever a mystery!
Conversing with Christ: Lord, I want to love you with a pure heart for who you are—my Lord and my God. Let me not diminish this truth by allowing presumption to creep into my soul. Although you are my friend and I know you love me, you are also my Creator and Redeemer, deserving of all my love, praise, and worship.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will delve more deeply into the sin of presumption so as to avoid it at all costs!
For Further Reflection: Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2092: There are two kinds of presumption. Either man presumes upon his own capacities (hoping to be able to save himself without help from on high), or he presumes upon God’s almighty power or his mercy (hoping to obtain his forgiveness without conversion and glory without merit).
Maribeth Harper celebrated paying the last tuition bill for her kids’ college by writing a book for parents who have college-aged young adults: A Spiritual Toolbox: Tips for Parenting through the First Year of College. She is a wife of thirty-five years, mother of four, and grandmother of twelve and counting.
