Finding Bethlehem in the Midst of Bedlam
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Monday, December 7, 2015
Read Luke 4:
16 Now when he went to Natzeret, where he had been brought up, on Shabbat he went to the synagogue as usual. He stood up to read, 17 and he was given the scroll of the prophet Yesha‘yahu. Unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of Adonai is upon me;
therefore he has anointed me
to announce Good News to the poor;
he has sent me to proclaim freedom for the imprisoned
and renewed sight for the blind,
to release those who have been crushed,
19 to proclaim a year of the favor of Adonai.”[
Luke 4:19 Isaiah 61:1–2; 58:6
.]
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In Luke's Gospel, Jesus, the One born in Bethlehem, initiates his public ministry by reading from the Scroll of Isaiah. He describes his mission by referring to Isaiah's words of hope for the restoration of Israel (see Isaiah 58:6; 61:1-2). It is a mission that is empowered by God's Spirit and that resonates with the good news of release, recovery, and freedom. Release, recovery, and freedom suggest a return to human wholeness and a restored relationship with God. As Jesus reads in the synagogue, we hear echoes of the promise and hope expressed within Mary's song of praise in Luke 1:46-56. God is merciful and remembers the lowly and the needy (verses 52-53).Jesus' concern is also for those who are poor, who are captives, who are blind, and who are oppressed. These include any who are socially or religiously marginalized by economic hardship, by gender, by illness, or by anything that prevents them from knowing wholeness and freedom in relationship with others and with God. We can hear and respond to them, especially as we anticipate the celebration of his birth in Bethlehem. We can ask ourselves, What holds us captive? What makes us blind? What oppresses us? We can be assured that freedom is ours in Christ. When we claim and proclaim the freedom Christ offers, we find Bethlehem.
God of life and hope, we thank you for the gift of freedom in Jesus Christ. Help us to claim it every day so that others may find Bethlehem and realize they are also free from the prisons of their lives. In Christ we pray.Amen.
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