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.
I have often drawn great inspiration and even consolation from this Gospel passage.
It is the Mission/Vision Statement of Jesus, the Christ.
It gives hope with its promise of salvation and redemption.
The spirit of the Lord guarantees its fulfilment
There is evil in the world.
War is evil.
Violence is evil.
Widespread poverty is evil.
Oppression is evil.
Evil is real and there are many who would minimize and trivialize it.
They would re-cast evil into virtues:
calling greed a burning ambition,
or seeing pride as a strong self-image,
or being slothful and calling it a life of leisure,
or making selfishness the prime reason for striving,
or living a materialistic and hedonistic life
and calling it enjoying the fruits of one’s labors.
And virtues are devalued as well.
Humility is dismissed as being soft,
generosity as being a naive do-gooder,
fidelity as being passé,
compassion as being out of touch with reality.
I too am infected by this evil and very much in need of salvation.
I have decided to follow Jesus but I often fall short.
When I turn a blind eye tot he poor and their needs,
I am in need of redemption.
When I turn a deaf ear to the cries of the oppressed,
I am in need of redemption.
When I close up and just think of myself,
I am in need of redemption.
Following Christ is never easy.
I pray for the Spirit of the Lord to be upon me
to live up to this Christ Mission I have committed myself to.