Gospel Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21
Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.
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.”
Homily
Here in T&T we have just seen the completion of the THA (Tobago House of Assembly) elections and as usual silly times prevailed. There were many statements of intent. Many promises were made, many predictions of a future filled with serious difficulties if one or other party won the elections. If we go on past experiences however, many, if not all, of these promises made, will not be fulfilled. The inability to fulfill promises made is normally always due to lack of political will, and to the need to appease financiers. How easy it is for persons who begin their political careers with great idealism and zeal to fall into the trap described above as they are often advised to begin to live in what is described as the real world. How often we change focus and our goals change, and instead of people and their concerns, we place what appears to be our own selfish concerns like money and power.
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In the Gospel reading for today, we are presented by St. Luke with Jesus’ beginnings as a public figure. His earliest excursions into the public arena have been blessed with success. People who have heard him liked what they are hearing. We are told, “He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all” To Jesus it must seem that the time to launch the movement is at hand. He chooses his home town to do this and again in the synagogue, he proclaims his statement of intent. He begins by validating his movement. It is validated not only by the interest of the people but also by God’s Spirit, and his message is a message which deals with the issues of the people.
In that society as in ours there was a huge mass of unlettered poor, politically oppressed people, and, and it was to these that Jesus spoke. He quotes for them a passage from the prophet Isaiah, “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.” After Jesus has caught their attention, he adds, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” He tells them in fact that from then on his life would be totally dedicated to their liberation, a liberation that their political and religious leaders could not achieve because they were compromised by their lust for power and alliances with the oppressing forces. The public life of Jesus however tells us that Jesus retained his idealism and indeed gave not only his life to the programme which he outlined but he was also willing to die to make the goals of this programme a reality.
While it is true that all of us will not be vying for public office, it is true that we all begin projects with great idealism. Whether it is the project of marriage, or another in our work place, or a social project in the community, we begin with great idealism. Unfortunately at some stage there is the temptation to compromise and we begin to lose the idealism with which we began. It is so easy to replace our initial goals with our own petty concerns. It need not be so however, like Jesus it is possible to maintain our idealism. It is possible to maintain focus and not compromise. That is what Martin Luther King did in spite of having his life and that of his family threatened. It is what Nelson Mandela did in spite of years in jail. Today then we thank God for these exemplars of fidelity to the ideal, beginning with Jesus done through the ages to people like King and Mandela and we ask for the grace to remain faithful to the ideal no matter the project in which we are engaged.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, today when idealism seems to be on the wane we thank you for reminding us that idealism is not only possible but necessary if your kingdom is going to take shape in our midst. We thank you for the many examples beginning with your son Jesus right down through the ages who show us that it is possible in our age to live lives full of idealism dedicating ourselves to the wellbeing of those who surround us. Help us to avoid the temptation of always putting ourselves first and help us to remain faithful to the dreams with which we begin our projects. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother and your son Jesus. Amen
