As Jesus started teaching around his home region, word spread and he “was praised by everyone.” One sabbath day he went to his home synagogue where the community would gather to pray and hear scripture read together. Jesus read aloud, finding a passage about the messiah in the book of Isaiah. The words Jesus read reflect the long tradition of God’s care and commitment to outsiders: good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed, a year of God’s blessing.
Jesus begins his public work, choosing a passage from an important prophet to lay out his priorities – his mission statement. Jesus echoes God’s care for those who are poor, disadvantaged, held captive, and oppressed. God sees those who are most in need and intervenes on their behalf. This theme and mission runs throughout the Hebrew Bible as well as the New Testament. The very God who creates the whole universe has deep concern for people who are struggling and powerless. God is committed to inclusion, to justice, and to love without conditions.
Sometimes it seems that those with power influence gain more and more everyday. It may be unexpected to hear these words that remind us how deeply God cares about the poor, incarcerated, marginalized, and struggling people in our world. God cares so much that they are the core of Jesus’ first statement of purpose for his work in the world.
God does not differentiate – we are all beloved. God sees us, embraces us, and works through us not only when we are at our best, but also when we are struggling/having rough time. As we follow Jesus, we embrace his commitment to those who are most in need, who are rejected by our communities, who seem to have the least to offer. God’s love and commitment is for all.
In this week’s gospel, Jesus reaches into the rich history of God’s story and proclaims his cause at the beginning of his work with ancient prophetic words. As he tells the synagogue, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” Jesus uses a verb for continuous action, meaning that the fulfillment begun that day continues on and on, through the years, to today, and into the future. Continually, God surprises us, defies assumptions, breaks boundaries, brings justice and new life.