Worth Repeating - February 3, 2017

Isaiah 61: 1, 2 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captive and release from darkness for the prisoners.

God is always about blessing people who bless the poor.*

I have always been in awe – and a little envious – of people who knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. My husband decided in high school what career he wanted. He pursued his degrees and went on to be successful in his field. I ended up in a job that would have been exactly what I would have chosen for myself if I had known it existed, so I can’t complain.

Isaiah exudes confidence in the rightness of his path. He knows that the Lord has anointed him to preach good news to the poor; and has sent him to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captive and release from darkness for the prisoners. When he goes to work every day, he knows that he is on a mission from God.

In Luke chapter four, we read about Jesus’ return to his hometown of Nazareth. While there, he popped into the synagogue, as he usually did, and he stood up and read this passage from Isaiah. Then he rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. Luke says that the eyes of everyone were “fastened on him.” “What’s he going to do now?” they must be thinking. Drum roll, please! Jesus announces, “Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

The ministry that Isaiah was so confident he had been called to perform has now been adopted by Jesus as the agenda for his mission.* Suddenly, I’m seeing Isaiah’s anointed career in a new light. No matter what we do to put food on the table, all Christians are called to this same purpose. Like Isaiah, like Jesus, we are called to preach the good news. Our ministry is to the poor, the broken-hearted, the oppressed and the prisoners. And who hasn’t fallen into one or more of those categories in their life? That means we can’t overlook anyone if we aim to fulfill our mission.

May the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord be upon you!

Jesus took the message to the people, and his discipline of proclamation calls for imitation.*