Called into the Foreground

Luke 4:14-21

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. 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,and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

"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,to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

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.

Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Jesus embodied God's desire (and God's power) to heal all degrees of human suffering. The world was made right through Him...God's plan for us was made complete. Reading from Isaiah, he informed the community that God was accomplishing amazing things ... in that moment! It wasn't a matter of bragging...It was an articulation of potential and purpose given by God. He knew what he was to do, as well as the source of the power to do it.

What happens when you are faced with the God's commandments regarding loving and serving others? Most of us have experienced the "nudge" to say or do something...or to go somewhere on behalf of another. And quite often that nudge (sometimes in the form of a question about whether or not we "should" take action) happens when we read or hear scripture.

Scripture is dynamic. It calls forth potential...and purpose. It often proclaims something astounding about what might well happen when God uses us.

St. Paul reminds us today in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a that we can't separate ourselves from the web of relationships in our community. There is an interwovenness about the Body of Christ which results in marvels and miracles. Each one of us has been given some ability or gift that in and of itself may seem limited. However, when placed freely before God in ways that serve others, there is an outpouring of the fullness of possibility.

This is most evident, perhaps, in the face of suffering. Whenever anyone is in pain, there is something that agitates the community. We can try to ignore it or gloss it over... We may try to expedite pain relief through words or quick fixes. But somewhere in the store of human capability of word or deed there is something specific that will meet the need and result in healing, wholeness and justice.

Today when you notice something being stimulated that makes you wonder if you might do something which could soothe some of the pain in the world, realize that one of your blessings is being called into the foreground. There is something about you or the resources you have that God can use to move the brokenness we see towards the wholeness God desires for all.