Coming off the heels of our Lady’s instructing us to “do whatever He tells you,” this week we encounter our Lord in the Synagogue. What is He doing? He is reading from one of the Sacred Scrolls. What is He reading? The most famous prophecy of Isaiah regarding the Messiah. So, let us listen in to what He is saying:
“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.”
As He is reading this passage, an image of the Messiah must have come to the minds of those listening. Then, He seizes the moment and tells those gathered: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” In other words, I am the One that Isaiah is speaking of in the prophecy. This must have grabbed their attention. The long-awaited Messiah is right before their very eyes. As would be the case, some would embrace the reality and others would reject it.
Each and every time we come to the celebration of the Holy Mass, we hear about the Messiah and we get to see Him in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. How privileged we are to hear and see the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Wayne