Luke 4:14-21 (NRSV)
Read Luke 4:14-21 on biblegateway.com
Verse 14Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. Verse 15He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. Verse 16When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, Verse 17and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: Verse 18"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, Verse 19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Verse 20And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Verse 21Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Devotion
Jesus says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me." The Father, Son and Spirit are deeply and intimately connected in a relationship of mutual love, support and mission. Our tendency is to separate them and examine them individually, but there is no pulling apart the Trinity.
The message of Luke 4 is one of caring for the hungry and hurting people of this world. We cannot work toward the fulfillment of this message by ourselves. We need God, and we need each other. Our model is the Trinity: mutual love and support for the sake of the mission to which God calls us. That mission is detailed in today’s gospel lesson: to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, to recover sight to the blind and to set free the oppressed.
Prayer
Gracious God, unite us in the mission you have set before us. Give us the discernment and courage to name the powers and principalities in our culture that bind people to sin and corrupt our world so that through the redeeming power of Jesus, our Savior, all may be set free. Amen.