Upon Us

Upon Us

January 10, 2013

Thursday After Epiphany

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God, and everyone who loves the Father loves also the one begotten by him.  In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments.  1 John 5:1-2

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.”  Luke 4:17-21

Piety

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,

because the LORD has anointed me;

He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,

to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

release to the prisoners,

To announce a year of favor from the LORD

and a day of vindication by our God;

To comfort all who mourn;

to place on those who mourn in Zion

a diadem instead of ashes,

To give them oil of gladness instead of mourning,

a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit. (Isaiah 61:1-2)

Study

Fulfilled.  Throughout Luke's Gospel, the faith of generations is justified and redeemed through the actions of Jesus.  And one of the enduring images that connects this book is the connection between Jesus and the Spirit. Thus, this is not a random passage in a massive scroll that Jesus presents in the temple. 

Filled with the spirit is embedded in Luke's writing.  When Zechariah meets the angel who announced the birth of John, he is told that John "will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb." (Luke 1:19)

When Mary asks about how she can bear a child, the angel replies, "And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)

When Mary enters Elizabeth's house, the Spirit once again intervenes.  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." (Luke 1:41-42)

The spirit was also upon Simeon in the temple at the Presentation.  I am skipping some references but they are so numerous in Luke's Gospel that you will find them easily enough.

But this spirit-filled state is not an end result.  Everyone who is filled with the spirit also does two things -- first they cry out the Word of the Lord and second they act out the Word of the Lord.

So by the time Jesus enter the temple after his time in the desert (accompanied by the Spirit), this reading is not an accidental opening but rather a purpose-filled action that points out to those in the temple that they must make this passage manifest in their lives to0.  And we must do so in our lives. 

So, as we get to the end of the story, it occurs when this Holy Spirit departs from Jesus at his death on the cross.  Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)

Action

We might consider today's Good News from Luke to be the Cursillo Platform.  For what do we stand?  What will we do as Christ-followers with the Spirit upon us?  This list might not be a bad list of New Year's Resolutions.

• Bring Glad Tidings to the Poor
• Proclaim Liberty to those captive by anything other than the Holy Spirit
• Recovery of sight to the blind and those blinded by the images of popular culture
• Let the oppressed go free from whatever binds them
• Proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord -- year after blessed year.