Daily Reading
First Reading
1 John 4:19–5:4
We love because he first loved us. Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, 4 for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.
Psalm
Psalm 72:1-2, 14 and 15bc, 17
Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;
may they pronounce him happy.
Gospel Reading
Luke 4:14-22
Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
When 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, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
“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,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And 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. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
Reflection
Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus chooses to preach on Isaiah 61 for his inaugural address in his hometown synagogue. He felt that this text summed up who he was and what his mission was.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” he declared. The Ruach Yahweh, the breath of God—this is what has seized and animated Jesus. After the Resurrection, he breathed on his disciples, communicating to them (and the Church) something of this spirit.
Animated by the Ruach Yahweh, what does he do? “He has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.” The lowly hear this, those who are oppressed, the poor, the unjustly treated, the marginalized and forgotten. What are the glad tidings? That God’s love is more powerful than the powers of this world.
This is the message of Christ. Therefore, when you place yourself on the side of this power, you are on the winning side, though dark powers gather around you. It is fully expressed in the Paschal Mystery. The world threw its entire power against Jesus, and God raised him up. Nothing can overwhelm or overcome the authority of the Lord God.