There is a lot to Scripture, much more than we usually consider. Scripture is the history of a people, both in the Old and the New Testaments, but it also and even primarily describes that history as that people's conversation with a God who calls them to know and love Him. Scripture is also a strong word on what is most important in living, prescriptions on how to live a life, and an almost living presence in the lives of those who believe. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about a passage from Isaiah 61 being fulfilled in the presence of these believers, but Scripture is not "fulfilled" only at certain times and places. Yes, maybe certain passages bear a most pointed and primary significance at certain times and in certain circumstances, as in this gospel passage, but even these words from Isaiah also have a relevance for each of us now and in every aspect of our lives. The first part of Jesus' ministry was preaching the Good News of God's imminent reign, healing bodies and souls, driving out demons, and feeding people physically and spiritually, and this is what He is doing here in the early part of Luke. In a later phase of that same ministry, however, Jesus sends each of us to do the same thing, to bring Isaiah's words --- and those of Jesus himself --- to fulfillment in our own lives. So do we go out to all the outcasts, do what we can to mend the broken, and feed those who hunger either physically or spiritually? Are we a light in the darkness, hope for the lost, good news to all those around us? Is Jesus the Word alive in us? Is Scripture, the word of God brought to life by the Spirit, also alive in us in that same presence of Christ? Do we seek and embrace that fact by our reading and studying Scripture and our trying to follow that Spirit? |