Reflection on Luke 4:16-21 ~
Note: This is the Gospel Reading for the Holy Thursday Chrism Mass, here is the reading for the Evening Mass f the Lord’s Supper.
In Jesus’ time, the Sabbath day brought everyone to pray at the synagogue, where any adult could read from the Torah and provide a sermon. In front of the town’s population of a historical estimate of 400 people, Jesus stood to read from Isaiah, pronouncing the short homily of “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Listening to that Biblical moment in our current timeframe, we have to ask ourselves, are we just hearing Jesus’s words? If so, then there is the more complex question of shouldn’t each of us be able to proclaim, “The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me?”
Jesus Unrolls the Book in the Synagogue by James Tissot (full resolution) and for more detail the Brooklyn Museum website.
Luke 4:16-21 – Scripture (NRSV Bible)
The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth
16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Additional Thoughts
Thank you for meditating on this daily Gospel reading and considering this Lectio Divina Luke 4:16-21 Reflection – The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me.
The above passage from Luke 4 in the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) used with permission.
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Prayer for young families:
Lord, let the young families of our communities get to know your joy, peace, comfort, and love despite the world’s distractions.
Attributions
This site has written permission from New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) to use the Luke 4 Bible passage.
This site follows the guidelines for image web use at the websites of the Brooklyn Museum and the Jewish Museum.