January 25, 2013

3rd Sunday - C



Commentary

Today, Here

“Jesus returned to Galilee…. He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up.”

And, “he went to the synagogue according to his custom.”

The verbs and phrases used by Luke, such as “Galilee,” “Nazareth,” “returned,” “where he had grown up,” and “according to his custom” all express a sense of familiarity and even ordinary.

And there, in that familiar environment, Jesus announces, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

The Kingdom of God, as promised by prophets, is here and now.  Jesus began the fulfillment of the prophecy with his presence and preaching that day, in the place where he had grown up.

That Kingdom is here with us today.

We, like Jesus, are called to live and proclaim to those around us, “Today, in this place, this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

And it’s here, today, that the Kingdom of God is revealed when we strive to live out the Good News that Jesus announced, “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.”

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