The Spirit of the Lord is upon me - Lk 4:14-22
Today's Gospel explains why we call the Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word Christ ( χριστός - Chrīstós) - like the Hebrew Messiah (Mashiah) - means: Anointed. In the Old Testament, kings and priests were anointed, and sometimes prophets were also anointed (for example, we read about the anointing of Elisha as a prophet). Hence, in the Old Testament it was already assumed that the Messiah would be the supreme king, priest and prophet.
The Lord Jesus himself drew attention to this prophecy. Namely, during a service in the synagogue in Nazareth, he read these prophetic words of Isaiah that the Messiah would be anointed not only with material oil, but with the Holy Spirit himself. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me," the Lord Jesus read from the Book of Isaiah, " to bring glad tidings to the poor" etc.
Let us consider what it means that the Lord Jesus is anointed with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third Divine Person, true God, equal to the Father and the Son. He is the personal Love of the Father and the Son. When love connects two people, their love is affection, active kindness, also sacrifice. In God, Love is infinitely more than affection or active kindness. In God, Love is a Person, the Eternal Father and His Only Begotten Son love each other with the Holy Spirit. When I love you, my love for you is different from your love for me. Meanwhile, the Eternal Father loves his Son with the same Love, the same Holy Spirit with whom the Son loves the Father. Therefore, the Three Divine Persons are One and indivisible God.
Well, Jesus is the Messiah, that is, the anointed by the Holy Spirit, which means that also in his human nature, the Son of God is filled with this infinite Love, with the same Holy Spirit with which he loves his Father eternally. And He loved us with this Love, that is with the Holy Spirit himself. And even more: thanks to Jesus, thanks to his saving death and resurrection, the same Holy Spirit is sent into our hearts.
One more thought
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. (cf. Is 61; 1-3)
Jesus says: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”. Just today ... now. What Isaiah wrote about several hundred years ago is happening now. This prophecy is fulfilled in My activity. In what I am already doing, but most of all in what I am about to do, when the time comes. Of course, Jesus does not speak openly, but all listeners can read between the lines.
And what do we - our contemporaries - feel when we hear these words. Do we believe that they refer to Jesus?
Jesus came to make this world better. This is the mission he received from the Father and for which he was anointed with the Holy Spirit. Why is He not yet fully successful? Why did the world only partially change under His influence?
We can try to find the answer in the followingverse. “And the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him”. I think our eyes are fixed on Jesus. However, can we really listen to Him? In today's Gospel, Jesus himself explains how in Him prophecies and predictions are fulfilled. How our hopes are fulfilled in Him. Everyone's eyes are fixed on Him. Surprised to hear such graceful words.
However, this is not enough. It is not enough to stare at Jesus. It is not enough to listen to His words superficially, it is not enough to nod and agree with His words. For Him to change the world to the end, He must be recognized as an authority - everyone must believe Him. And that is the problem. We still believe some ordinary person rather than Him. Yes, we admire His words, but we do not believe Him. If we believed Him, we would organize this world according to His teaching, but we prefer to arrange it our way. That is why it is as it is.
If we remember this passage correctly, it has a rather dramatic sequel. Those who so diligently listened to Jesus and nodded to Him will seize Him and will want to kill Him. In an instant, the delight at the teacher's words will turn into open hostility. Is not the same with us? Each of us has the opportunity to listen to Jesus. Can I be faithful to His words, can I hear and keep them?
Until Tomorrow
fr. george