Entering into the liturgical “ordinary time,” we are invited to accompany Jesus at the start of his public ministry through St. Luke’s gospel. In fact, the reading today begins with the introduction of this great gospel account. From this foreword, we skip 3 chapters and proceed to chapter 4 to join Jesus in his first official public appearance in his hometown. Here he stands before his people in the synagogue and, creatively using a text from the prophet Isaiah, he announces, as it were, his vision and mission: "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." I love the way St. Luke creates the suspense after this announcement: “Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.” If it were a film, you can almost imagine the camera doing the close up on the hand of Jesus handing back the scroll to the attendant; and more close-ups on the eyes of the audience…perhaps with a background music heightening the suspense. Then lo and behold, what do we hear? Jesus actualizes the text, with this simple but totally provocative words: “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
While I listened to these words being proclaimed on this relatively sunny day here in our parish somewhere in Rome, I was called back to look at my “today”. And I thought if Jesus applied all these words to himself by actualizing this vision of the Reign of God in his own life, moved and reinforced by the Spirit, how would he want me to respond to these words, today, a totally ordinary day, in a totally ordinary human space? I can’t do great and heroic things as perhaps the aid workers are doing now in Haiti or in Africa or in other places needing relief and aid. I couldn't even solve the many worries and problems I am facing right now.
But the Spirit inspired me to enter deeply into a personal vision-mission, my desire to “build bridges”: the link between my apparent self and my real self; deep and authentic relationships between persons, among peoples, starting from this world and far into the next. And as I reflected over all these, I was graced today with this on-line link from a fellow sister who’s now doing research in Australia. I consider it as one possible answer to my question – how do I respond to God’s word today? How can Jesus continue to announce the Good news today, through me?
The answer is quite simple, but very deep: “open your eyes...open your heart... accept today... learn the art of gratitude... today.” See this inspirational piece of how to live the Gospel today. May you have a truly good day!
