Meditation for the First Tuesday in Lent, February 28, 2012

'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,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Isaiah 61:1

Quoted by Jesus  Luke 4:18

Jesus proclaims to the people in the Temple after reading that portion of Isaiah, that this scripture is fulfilled this day.  Jesus is the one annointed by God with the Holy Spirit to bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, restore sight to the blind, let the oppressed go free and initiate the year of the Lord's favor.  

This is the first sermon of Jesus recorded in the Bible.  His intent was to minister among those who were the poorest in society, primarily.  He planned to work with the blind, the maimed, the widow, the orphan, the outcast.  Why?  Perhaps because God's great concern is with those who have not.  Jesus' plan was for restoration.  The blind will see again.  The lame will walk.  The poor with be brought into community and there will be justice for everyone.   We can, of course, take this on a different level.  We can examine the passage and apply it to those who are spiritually blind or maimed, or poor in spirit.  And I think that is also valid.  Jesus did bring sight to those who were spiritually blind and healed the spirits of many people, both rich and poor.  

However, Jesus did not come to be a powerful king like David, or a wealthy king like Solomon, or a military leader like Joshua.  He came to serve the least of these.  If we are to be imitators of Christ, than we need to pay attention to what Jesus came to do and follow in his footsteps.  We need to be servants, too.

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