Daily Reflection – Jan 7, 2015
Thursday 7 January 2016
First Reading: 1 John 4:19 – 5:4
Responsorial Psalm:
Lord, every nation on earth will adore you
Psalm 71(72):1-2, 14-15, 17
Gospel Reading: Luke 4:14-22
Today’s Note: Thursday after Epiphany
Today’s Saint: St Raymond of Penyafort
Gospel Reading:
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
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.
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.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
Reflection:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.’
In Jesus we see the grace of God in action and the fulfilment of all God’s promises. Jesus is the fulfilment of all our hopes and dreams with his words of truth, life and freedom. Jesus speaks with authority and power but Jesus’ definition of freedom is different to what the people think. It is a release from captivity to death, the will of others and the will of the self. It is the spiritual freedom to seek and do the will of God and service to our neighbour. This happens when we grow in love with Jesus, learn from him and do what he does.
Jesus invites us to say ‘the Spirit is upon us,’ God has anointed us to go to the poor, the captives, the blind and oppressed. Do you hear Christ’s call to follow and do as he does?
