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Gospel: Luke 4:14-22
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
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 was 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,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Today’s Gospel describes the very beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.
For the next, and final, three years of his life – some 1,000 days – Jesus will perform miracle after miracle, healing the sick, casting out demons, and forgiving those caught in sin.
I’d say his entire life and mission can be summarized in three words:
Jesus lifted burdens.
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So can we.
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Recently, for example, I ZOOMED with a group of first graders from my former parish. I asked them, “How do you help other students?”
One said, “I pick up his pencil when it falls.” Another, “I help her spell long words.” And another, “She makes me feel better when I’m sad.”
Even in first grade, children have their share of burdens – a dropped pencil, trouble with spelling, a bad morning at home – but they know they can look to a friend to lift their burden.
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How might we help someone else today?
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By the end of the day, hopefully we can say like Jesus (and even first grade students):
We lifted someone’s burden.
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(1) Hear God’s Heart (2) God’s Hot Spot WordPress (3) Soul Food