This week's reading is pretty straight forward.
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.”
Sometimes we tend to get wrapped up on our own words. The turn of a phrase, the composition of the sermon, the pitch and tone of our voice as we read.
We forget that sometimes the most powerful expression is also the most plain.
What this passage reminds us is the most basic message of all - Jesus was the fulfillment of the scripture passage, the sum of all the biblical prophecies. Jesus is our savior and he came to rescue all of us - even the lowest of our society.
He came to save us.
As Christians, others eyes are often upon us. Examining how we conduct ourselves, how we treat others, the language that we use.
This may make us uncomfortable but it is the cross that we must bear if we are to follow Jesus.
Let us have courage and be able to speak and act with courage. We do not need to worry about being fancy in our language - we just need to be clear about our message.
Someone today needs to hear your testimony and the most powerful testimony of your faith and of God's love are your actions. Let us love each other as Jesus loved us.
Don't worry about your words - God will provide if we ask. Sometimes, the most powerful testimony we can provide is just to give someone a hug.
Find someone to give a hug to and do it today.
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