Upon Me

January 8, 2009

Christmas Weekday

For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. 1 John 5:3-4

“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.” Luke 4:18-19

Piety

Father, take from me the trappings of the material world so I do not waste any needed effort upholding the false security and illusion that they place upon me.
Jesus, help me shoulder with all humility and obedience the burdens that you have reserved to place upon me.
Holy Spirit, give to me the strength to accept your message and never to turn away from the work and gifts you shower upon me. Amen.

Study

Is Luke Chapter 4 among the most absolutely central and important messages proclaimed anywhere in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament?

The notes to the New American Bible tell us that more than any of the other gospel writers, “Luke is concerned with Jesus' attitude toward the economically and socially poor. At times, the poor in Luke's gospel are associated with the downtrodden, the oppressed and afflicted, the forgotten and the neglected, and it is they who accept Jesus' message of salvation.” Later in this chapter, we will read, see and hear the first example of that when Jesus cures the man with leprosy and then how he cures Simon’s mother-in-law.

Jesus went much further than just a social gospel and a healing ministry. In today’s scripture, Jesus took the combined weight of the entire salvation history and placed it squarely upon his own shoulders, the shoulders which were so strong that they would also carry the weight of the cross and all of our sin along with the inequities of the world. He was able to stand up to this challenge because he was not alone. He did it with the strength of the Spirit of the Lord.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” Is that not also what we receive when we are baptized and confirmed in our faith? These sacraments of initiation (including Eucharist) get us to leave one path in life and embark upon another. According to an article by Thomas Richstatter, “We become Christians by a process of conversion—metanoia in Greek, which means literally ‘turning around.’ Conversion is a process of turning from a life of selfishness and sin—a ‘Me First’ life—to a life of Spirit-filled generosity and love.”

We are reminded of the turn around needed in the first reading today from the Letter of John. We must turn AWAY from the world and instead turn TOWARD God, turn toward love and turn toward obedience of God’s commandments. In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. 1 John 4:2-4

Jesus has just re-“turned” to Galilee from desert experience. He lived hungry. He lived poor. He lived powerless. Yet throughout the forty days and nights, he resisted the temptation of the world to give in to the easy way out of his situation. Instead, he embraced hunger. He embraced poverty. He embraced powerlessness. He returned, Luke tells us, “in the power of the Spirit.” That is how he has the confidence to stride into the temple and announce his ministry in a fashion which some have called the Nazareth Manifesto.

Fr. Richstatter continues, “This faith journey is not merely a matter of learning about the faith, not merely instruction, but also a true conversion process. It involves the whole life of the candidate and the whole life of the Church. These sacraments are not private events. They affect the whole Church. Conversion takes place in community. Conversion implies initiation into that community, initiation into the Body of Christ.”

Today, the Gospel proclaims Jesus’ initiation. And it takes place in community – in the synagogue where someone hands Jesus the scroll from Isaiah to read. Initially, the people in his hometown were amazed at the preaching of the carpenter’s son. “And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” (Luke 4:22). This helps us recall the wonder of Christmas. However, it was not long before the people started to reject the Nazareth manifesto and the challenging preacher. Rather than change (conversion), they wanted to stay in the comfort zone of their current lifestyle, politics and religion. “When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.” (Luke 4:28-29).

Right there -- in eight verses of Luke’s Gospel -- we go from Christmas right to Good Friday. The whole episode in Luke 4 encapsulates Jesus’ ministry in the world and foreshadows the rejection of Jesus in his own hometown and by all of Israel. Yet he conquers the world because the “Spirit of the Lord” is upon his shoulders.

Is Luke Chapter 4 among the most absolutely central and important messages proclaimed anywhere in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament?

Action

Imagine being the teacher who handed that scroll to Jesus. You can be like that teacher if you get involved in teaching or religious education in your parish. The youth of our parishes do not represent the church of tomorrow. They represent the young church of today. By volunteering in religious education, you can help the youth in our church learn the importance of love, obedience and humility as they “bring glad tidings to the poor, 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.”

What responsibilities do you see and feel that the Spirit of the Lord has placed upon your shoulders?