Monday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
“Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Today’s gospel passage speaks of healing and wholeness, of liberty and freedom, of restoration and new life, of liberation and salvation, that God wants for us. It contains the very Good News Jesus brings. And this Good News is being fulfilled now in Jesus.
There are plenty of reasons to wonder about the realism of Jesus’ preaching, considering the situation of the world today. What are we to make of the continuing reality of poverty and misery, of suffering and affliction, of oppression and injustice here in our country?
It is not enough for us to say that Jesus has come to bring glad tidings or good news to the poor, the deprived and the oppressed. We, Jesus’ followers, are “to bring glad tidings” in every possible way to everyone who needs good news. Jesus’ mission is our mission; Jesus’ ministry is our ministry.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me…” By virtue of baptism, we, too, have been anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry on Jesus’ mission. Just like Jesus, we are anointed and empowered to proclaim good news to the poor – both materially and spiritually.
We should be good news to the captives who are locked up in their own selfish concerns, interests and ambitions and who avoid self-giving and self-sacrificing love. We should be good news to the blind who refuse to see the signs calling for repentance, conversion and renewal, and refuse to see the proofs of God’s loving presence and saving action because they only focus on their worldly desires and on material things. We should be good news to the oppressed who are crushed by society in its mad rush for fame and fortune.
Christian living is none other than taking God’s word and making it concrete by the very way we live. If we live according to the Gospel of Jesus faithfully, if we live by the gospel of truth, justice, peace, and love, if we live manifesting God’s kindness, goodness and generosity, our daily living becomes “the Word made flesh” We become an ‘incarnation’ of the Good News.
Let us embrace Christ’s mission and live by these words: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.”
Parokya ni Osong 