Sunday, January 26. Good Tidings

What would be good news for you today?  That your grandchild just won a college scholarship?  That all your bills have been paid by an unknown benefactor?  That scientists have found a miracle cure for cancer?

What would be good news for a political hostage in Gaza?  To be released from prison of course.  What about for someone living in poverty? To win the lottery?  What about a blind person?  That they be able to see.

Jesus came as a bearer of good news.  What did it mean for the people of his day?  What does it mean for us?  What did he mean by it.

Today we read about the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and listen to him read his “mission statement” to a group of people (Luke 4:14-21).

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit…He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.  He came to Nazareth…and went…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 is 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…”

Jesus’ mission statement was taken from a prophecy given by Isaiah many years ago.  Was he promising to give a large amount of money to the poor?  Was he promising to open the jails to prisoners?  Would he really give eyesight back to all the blind people?  Just what was Jesus going to do?  We know that he did work miracles that gave blind people their sight.  But did this happen to all the blind people living in Israel?  There is no mention of him giving money to the poor or opening the doors of prisons.  What is the “glad tidings” that Jesus was talking about?

He went on to say that he came

…to  proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord…Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus was introducing a new era to the world.  It was the beginning of a new Jubilee year.  How was this era going to be different from what had taken place in the past?  Did this era last only for the three years that Jesus walked the earth, or did it continue after that?  What about us?  Does this era extend to us today?

As Mother Teresa once told citizens of our country, real poverty has nothing to do with the lack of money; it is the absence of love.  And we know of people who have everything imaginable (check out our basements) and are held prisoner by their sins and addictions.  And we live in an epidemic of blindness—people are blind to their need for salvation and to the One sent from God to give it to us.  Our age may be even worse off than that of those Jesus was speaking to in the synagogue.  We have an abundance of gadgets, luxuries, entertainment, and food, and yet the suicide rate keeps climbing in our country.  Let’s face it.  We are desperate to hear “good news.”  Blessed with faith, we know that Jesus alone is Savior; he alone has the real good news that opens us to God’s love, freedom from sin, and even life after death.

The “new era” is here today.  It is available to everyone including the poor, the captives, and the blind.  Jesus wants to plant this “new era” in our hearts.  He challenges us to turn to him, to let go of failed solutions to live, and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit—which is the dwelling of God within our hearts.

The Jubilee year is not about a new world order, but a new order in our hearts.  Jesus gives us the food of eternal life each time we go to Mass.  Let us make our next walk to the communion rail an “altar call” to accept Jesus fully into our lives.

About the Author

Author Bob Garvey lives in Louisville, Kentucky. He has a master’s degree in religious education and has been an active leader in the Catholic charismatic renewal for forty years. After retiring as a high school teacher, he began to write daily commentaries on the Church’s liturgical readings and other topics relevant to Catholic spirituality. He is married to Linda, has three daughters and four grandchildren.

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9 Comments

  1. So well written Bob. There is nothing better than to really talk to a person one on one. Texting is so impersonal. I think it, texting, is a reason people are becoming more lonely. Next time call someone to ask how they are feeling. It will make their day.

  2. Bob your reflections on the readings are spot on and a motivation for this beautiful day that God has given us. Keep up the good work and know that you have made a difference.

  3. My Good News today is reading another article written by Bob Garvey!!! Just know I truly appreciate the time and effort you put into explanations and stories. Doing Sunday writings as double duty too!!!!

  4. Thank you for the food for thought, Bob.

    Something to consider is the plague of depression that has pervaded this new generation. We’ve read, seen, and listened to all the suffering happening in the world: the war over Ukraine, the endless struggle in the Middle East, the homes and lives of our countrymen and women destroyed by flooding and fire. These catastrophes are not where the despondency lies – there has always been a great outpouring of love and support from all generations and all classes when the need rises. Rather, the despondency and growing rage of a generation is forming over the actions of the powerful greedy: when CEOs draft the laws over who is allowed funding to live (and how comfortably, too – like the child who was denied coverage for their anti-emetics while on chemo), or how Canada is beginning to investigate themselves for euthanize those whose basic social needs (food, housing, etc) are unable to be met.

    The people today are primed like a powder keg for the Good News – very much like the people of Jesus’ time. And the question again remains that will we hear the real glad tidings when it comes, or will we be drawn to another’s honeyed words, so desperate are we for s justice that only God can give?

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