Gospel : Luke 4 : 14 – 21
Year C
Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in Him, returned to Galilee,
St. Luke has often noted the important place the Spirit has in Your life, Lord. Is this not an important teaching for all of us?
It is through the Spirit that Mary gave You a human body, Jesus. At Your Baptism, the Spirit was seen to descend on You. And the voice of the Father proclaims You as His Beloved Son.
It is the Spirit that drives You into the desert where, for 40 days, You know the tough experience of the Hebrew people in the Sinai desert. There, You teach us to resist the tempter in nourishing us with the Word which came from the mouth of God.
You begin Your ministry by referring to the Prophet Isaiah: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. It is He Who sends You to bring Good News : to proclaim new sight to the blind …. to prisoners, freedom… Teach us to let ourselves be guided, in everything, by the Spirit, like You.
He taught in the Synagogues ….
You continue to-day to ‘teach’, especially every Sunday, just like on the Sabbath day long ago. Do we know how to listen to You like the crowds who came to You? All eyes in the Synagogue were fixed on Him …. Grant us, Lord, a thirst for Your Word, the desire for light in order to see our lives more clearly: Your Word is a lamp for my steps and a Light for my path (Ps. 118).
May the Spirit come to assist us in understanding Your Word. It is He Who inspired It. May He fill us with It, and make us live by It! Grant us a thirst for the Spirit, the true living water which You promised us and which You give us through the Eucharistic Celebration to make us live as children of God, with You, in You.
