Devotion for the Tuesday of the Second Week in Advent

Good Morning,

For those of you who have been following my blog on a daily basis, I'm sorry that I never had a chance to post a devotion yesterday. It was all written, but I never even had time to login. So....here's the devotion for yesterday, and later on I'll post today's devotion. Blessed Advent to all the readers.

Theme for the week: love

Devotion for the tuesday of the second Week in Advent (Day 10)

Reading: Luke 4:16–20 (NRSV)

¹⁶ When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ¹⁸ “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, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. ²¹ Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Reflection:

Although we rarely use this text from Luke during Advent, it is another indication by Luke that the Kingdom of God is at hand. When Jesus stands up in the synagogue to read from the scroll of Isaiah, he reads from a prophecy that points to himself. This prophecy foretells how the world will be turned upside down by the Lord, by one specially called by God. At the conclusion of his reading, Jesus astounds the assembled group by telling them that this prophecy has been fulfilled with a clear indication that he, himself is the one anointed by God to do this work.

The words Jesus selects are an echo of the words spoken by his mother Mary before his birth in her song. Mary relates how the poor will be lifted up, while Jesus speaks the words from Isaiah that tell how he will bring good news to the poor.

Throughout his Gospel, with words spoken by Zechariah, Mary, John the Baptist and Jesus, himself, Luke constantly tries to paint a picture for us of how God is doing a new thing by changing the established order.

Jesus, who is God’s love, come to life, lived God’s new order by feeding the hungry, healing the sick, socializing with the outcasts and challenging the rest of us. Those of us who are healthy, well-fed, well-clothed and generally comfortable are not to sit back and just enjoy our comfort. We are called to demonstrate God’s love for the world. We are called to help in bringing God’s Kingdom into the world.

God’s love came down among us, as Jesus the anointed Son of God. God’s love came down among us to challenge and change us.

Prayer:

Pray that your comfort will not so cloud your vision that you do not see the suffering of others. In this Advent season, may God’s love transform you to love and serve your neighbor. Amen