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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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As a priest, I hear confessions often. While each soul is unique, and needs to be cared for as such, there is often a common thread woven throughout. “Father, I have not prayed as much as I should.”
When a person confesses this lack of intimacy with Christ, I ask them to imagine a large spider web. “If I were to cut a hole the size of a penny anywhere in that web, then the integrity of the entire web would be lost.”
A spider web derives its strength from every fabric working together in unison.
When we stop praying, or pray less than we ought, a hole begins forming in the web of our spiritual lives, enervating our strength, causing us to succumb more frequently to temptation.
While one thought or action may seem unrelated to another, everything is, in fact, related. On the other hand, if we pray ardently, then the force of our spirit is consistently strengthened.
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In today’s Gospel, Luke records Jesus as entering the synagogue, “in the power of the Spirit.” Here, Jesus inaugurates his public ministry, speaking openly for the first time. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, he outlines his mission for the next three years.
“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.”
The Lord will be able to accomplish these things and more because of his consistent reliance upon the Spirit. Multiple times, the Gospels record Jesus as getting up before dawn, or staying awake all night, in order to pray.
The Spirit was the source of his strength; in a sense, prayer held the “web” of his life together.
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We should see ourselves in the same way.
If we want to live holy, orderly, virtuous lives pleasing to God, then we must make time for him – of course through the Sacraments and charity – but also in those quiet moments alone where we can hear the Spirit whisper.
What is my prayer life like?
Perhaps the Lord is inviting us to strengthen it in order to heal any “hole” in the web of our lives today.
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Image credits: (1) Harbor Lights Ministries (2) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (3) iStock, Getty Images, Anastasia Hevko