Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21
“... just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us ...” (Luke 1:2)
Our brief journey into Ordinary Time continues with Jesus declaring in his home town a time of “fulfillment” for the people. He speaks aloud the promises of the “jubilee year” proclaimed by the prophet Isaiah years before during a time of captivity for the Jewish people.
The verse I chose this week stood out to me because of the phrase “ministers of the word.” In our Gospel passage we witness Jesus ministering to the hearts and hopes of the people, declaring the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy. Here, the Word of God (Jesus), by his own statement, fulfills the Word spoken and the promises declared earlier by God.
I’m moved to ponder the presence and fulfillment of God by his spoken Word. And, as the verse highlights, our unique call as his anointed ones to steward the promises of God and minister to others his messages of hope by his Word.
Fundamentally, to believe in the living presence of God through his Word is an act of hope – to trust that what He said those two thousand years ago in the synagogue of Nazareth remains true for us today, because of Him who spoke it.
I’m moved to reflect on how I steward and live in the promises of Scripture, trusting their fulfillment is also here and now, because of his presence among us.
Lastly, we hear from Nehemiah how “rejoicing in the LORD will be your strength” (8:10).
We are continuing as pilgrims into this Jubilee Year of hope. With these passages in mind, I invite all of us to pause and reflect on how we can invite the Holy Spirit into any trial, confusion, or despair, and ask Him to give us a new perspective through the lens of rejoicing. Rejoicing turns our gaze back to Him, whether in wonder, hopeful expectation, or honest recognition that without Him we are and have nothing. Let this year of hope also be a year to increase our time spent with Him through Scripture. That we might know Him better and believe in the promises He speaks, for us here and now, in our hometowns and present moments.
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