In today’s Gospel, Jesus concludes one of the first days of his public ministry. In the synagogue in his hometown, Nazareth, on the Sabbath, he is handed a scroll and proclaims a passage in Isaiah that is his mission statement as Messiah. Quoting Isaiah, Jesus says he has been anointed “to bring glad tidings to the poor,” “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 poor.”

In this Jubilee year of Hope, we adopted siblings of Our Lord pray for the self-confidence we need to serve the Father as Jesus did. Jesus tells his fellow worshippers, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”; in other words, I have come among you to free you from slavery to debt, sin, and selfishness. People are impressed by Jesus’ self-confident tone but also doubtful about his claim because he is, after all, just one of them. When he tells them that prophets like him are not accepted in their own country, citing the experiences of Elijah and Elisha, the crowd gets angry and threatens to throw him down from the hill that Nazareth perches on, but he slips away unharmed.

We realize that we, like Jesus in the Jordan, have been anointed in the Spirit at baptism, anointed with the “Chrism of salvation,” commissioned to “remain as member[s] of Christ, Priest, Prophet, and King, unto eternal Life.” As Lent continues, we seek to use our prophetic gift to get closer to our Father and to bring others closer to him as well.

Prayer:

As the hind longs for running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God. Send forth your light and your fidelity; they shall lead me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling-place. Then will I go to the altar of God, the God of my gladness and joy. Then will I give you thanks upon the harp, O God, my God!  Amen.  (Today’s Responsorial Psalm)