The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the transformation in our lives that is a result of our growth in faith.
Transformation contemplation
The reading from the First Letter of John declares that Faith conquers the World.
* [5:1–5] Children of God are identified not only by their love for others (1 Jn 4:7–9) and for God (1 Jn 5:1–2) but by their belief in the divine sonship of Jesus Christ. Faith, the acceptance of Jesus in his true character and the obedience in love to God’s commands (1 Jn 5:3), is the source of the Christian’s power in the world and conquers the world of evil (1 Jn 5:4–5), even as Christ overcame the world (Jn 16:33).1
Psalm 72 is a prayer for guidance and support for the King.
* [Psalm 72] A royal Psalm in which the Israelite king, as the representative of God, is the instrument of divine justice (Ps 72:1–4, 12–14) and blessing (Ps 72:5–7, 15–17) for the whole world. The king is human, giving only what he has received from God. Hence intercession must be made for him. The extravagant language is typical of oriental royal courts.2
The Gospel of Luke reveals the beginning of the Galilean Ministry and the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth.
* [4:18] The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me: see note on Lk 3:21–22. As this incident develops, Jesus is portrayed as a prophet whose ministry is compared to that of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Prophetic anointings are known in first-century Palestinian Judaism from the Qumran literature that speaks of prophets as God’s anointed ones. To bring glad tidings to the poor: more than any other gospel writer Luke is concerned with Jesus’ attitude toward the economically and socially poor (see Lk 6:20, 24; 12:16–21; 14:12–14; 16:19–26; 19:8). At times, the poor in Luke’s gospel are associated with the downtrodden, the oppressed and afflicted, the forgotten and the neglected (Lk 4:18; 6:20–22; 7:22; 14:12–14), and it is they who accept Jesus’ message of salvation.3
Suzanne Braddock comments that it seems Jesus senses the Spirit is intimately one with him, moving him to amazingly announce to the assembled : ”Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” He lives and moves in the power of the Spirit. This courageous proclamation spells out Jesus’ mission, his life purpose and ultimately will result in his death. All in the power of the Spirit. Anointed and sent.
There have been times when I have uttered words that seemingly came “out of nowhere,” words of comfort when I volunteered at Hospice House, words of love or forgiveness that surprised me even as I uttered them…where did that come from?? My hope is that those times when I was better than I expected, more loving than is my custom, more forgiving than my recent ruminations on times of personal slights would seem to allow – that perhaps that was the Spirit nudging me out of the way, showing the Way. Letting us move in the power of the Spirit. We can claim this. After all, we also are anointed in Baptism and sent in Confirmation. May we all walk the way Jesus walked, in the power of the Spirit. Anointed and sent. All love and healing.4
Don Schwager quotes “Christ brings hope of release from spiritual bondage,” by Eusebius of Caesarea, 260/263-340 AD.
"'The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me' (Luke 4:18 and Isaiah 61:1). Clearly this happened to those who thought that the Christ of God was neither a mere man nor an unfleshed and unembodied Word who did not take on a mortal nature. Instead they say he is both God and human, God in that he is the only-begotten God who was in the bosom of the Father, and man... from the seed of David according to the flesh (Luke 1:32). Thus, God the Word, who through the prophecy has been called Lord, speaks out this prophecy that is preeminent among other promises: 'I am the Lord, and in the right time I will draw them together'... "Taking the chrism in the Holy Spirit, he, chosen from among all, appears as the only-begotten Christ of God. And the verse 'he has sent me to proclaim good news to the poor' (Luke 4:18), he fulfilled in that time when he 'was preaching the kingdom of heaven' and explaining the beatitudes to the disciples by saying, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God' (Matthew 5:3)... And for those nations then imprisoned in their souls by the invisible and spiritual powers he preached release to his newly encouraged disciples... Therefore, he preached release to the prisoners and to those suffering from blindness who were those enslaved by the error of polytheism, and he creates a year that is acceptable, through which he made all time his own year. And from the passing years of humanity he provides days of created light for those close to him. He never kept hidden the age that is to come after the perfecting of the present. For that age will be a time much on the Lord's mind, being an age and day of requiting. For he will grant a change of fortune or a year of favor to those struggling in the present life." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2.51.5)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 John 4:19–5:4 comments that if human love can inspire us to give of ourselves, how much more will God’s love poured into our hearts expand to people beyond our family and friends! John tells us, “We love God because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God’s love not only inspires us to love him; it enables us to see everyone with the love he has for them and moves us to love them as he does.
So when you are called to make a personal sacrifice for the sake of someone else—especially if you start to wonder whether you can find enough love within yourself to do it—keep this principle in mind. You might be called to do something dramatic, but more often it’s something ordinary: hanging back and letting a more reticent person answer first or accompanying a neighbor to a medical appointment. But whatever it is, the task can become lighter as you see Christ in the other person and love them as he loves them. Look to Jesus and see his love for the people you are called to serve. The burden that comes from feeling like you “should” do something will fade, and you will be more able to freely love them as he does. God loves the people around us more than we could ever love them. Let that love give you the strength to respond generously to the needs all around you. “Jesus, let your love flow through me and out to others.”6
Friar Jude Winkler summarizes the themes of 1 John that involve loving brothers and sisters, rejecting Docetism, and conquering concupiscence through faith. The Gospel identifies Jesus, the anointed or Messiah, bringing the freedom of the Jubilee year. Friar Jude comments on the possible omission of a line of Isaiah by Luke.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces theologian and author Kate Bowler, who counters our cultural desire to proclaim we are “self-made” with a reminder of our foundational communal reality.
It’s hard to remember a deeper, comforting truth: we are built on a foundation not our own. We were born because two other people created a combination of biological matter. We went to schools where dozens and dozens of people crafted ideas and activities to construct categories in our minds. We learned skills honed by generations of craftspeople. We pray and worship with spiritual ideas refined by centuries of tradition. Almost nothing about us is original. Thank God. It reminds me of the account of creation in Genesis. . . . God breathes oxygen into lungs in an instance of divine CPR. I love picturing that God, the only One who can create out of nothing—ex nihilo. God, who set the cornerstone of our lives and our faith, laid the first brick. The Master Builder whose carefully poured foundation is what we build on top of now. It certainly feels like a template for the rest of our experience.7
The proclamation of Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth declares the mission for Christians who accept the direction of the Holy Spirit.
References
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