Luke introduces his Gospel with a message to Theophilus. Little is known about this figure, but he was likely an important leader, someone Luke expected to be influential in spreading the word about Jesus. We do know, though, that his Greek name, Theophilus, means “friend of God” or “loved by God.” Luke was writing down his account of the life of Christ for a particular person at a particular time in history, but he was also writing for all people throughout time who are loved by God; he was writing for us, for you and me, that we may “realize the certainty of the teachings [we] have received.”
After this introduction, today’s Gospel reading jumps ahead to Chapter 4. John has recently baptized Jesus in the Jordan, and Jesus has just returned from his 40 days in the desert, where He was tempted. “In the power of the Spirit,” the time of his public ministry has come.
Jesus teaches in the synagogues of Galilee to great acclaim. He then continues to his childhood home of Nazareth. He goes to the same synagogue where he has faithfully gone with his family on the sabbath, and they give him the book of the prophet Isaiah to read. It is an honor to read, and Jesus does so with great reverence and respect. He reads from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor …” After reading, Jesus closes the book, gives it back to the person honored with its care, and sits down. “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing,” he says.
We read that a couple thousand years later, and we skim right by it. Yep, Jesus reads Isaiah and says, “This is now,” because it was — he’s Jesus, Son of God, Savior of the World and all. But imagine that moment in time. He’s Jesus, a neighborhood guy, son of Joseph. They grew up with him; they know his family. They know HIM, but something’s different. He reads with an authority that gets their attention. They can see it. He finishes, he sits, and all eyes are on him. Silence. Wonder. And in that moment, he tells them: the time has come; the time is now. “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” Mic drop in Nazareth.
Sit in that moment for a few minutes. Could they tell? Did they know? The verses that follow suggest that maybe they didn’t just yet, but in that moment, what stirred within them? What stirs within us?
Jesus begins his public life among those he loves. Years later, Luke writes the story of that life to Theophilus, loved by God. Two millenia later, we, also loved by God, have the grace of reading the same story, of living the same moment so that we, too, may “realize the certainty of the teachings [we] have received.”
Daily Reading
Monday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Hebrews 9:15, 24-28 Christ is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called…
Saint of the Day
Saint Angela Merici
Saint Angela Merici, founder of the Ursulines, dedicated her life to education and religious formation, pioneering the first teaching congregation for women.
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