“Relax! It Is Well With You!”

“Relax! It Is Well With You!”
According to Luke, after Jesus had been tempted by Satan, he returned to Galilee “in the power of the Holy Spirit…” and the first direct scripture he read which we know was in Nazareth, his childhood town, and the text was from the prophet Isaiah.
When he sat down after reading, “the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began saying, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'”
At just this first introductory sentence of his teaching, “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.”
Liberation theologians consider that this text is the New Testament basis for Liberation theology. According to one of its staunch advocates, Gustavo Gutierrez, liberation theology “is a reflection of the word of God in the light of praxis.” Liberation theologians are accused for using Marxist framework to interpret scriptures.
That notwithstanding, Jesus’ use of the above text as his first public reading and his subsequent activities, preachings and teachings portays him as a liberation theologian par excellence!
Yes, his words were gracious because it promised hope to the hopeless:
Preach good news to the poor
Proclaim freedom for prisoners
Recovery of sight for the blind
Release the oppressed and
To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour(Lk.4:14-22a, see Is.61:1-2).
Now that dialogue has been promised in the days ahead, these are the gracious words that should come out of our lips at the dialogue table to the amazement of all!
But while we are waiting for the dialogue Jesus Christ is bringing these gracious words to you now, to meet you at your point of greatest need! Yes, today this scripture is fulfilled because Jesus is yours. If you receive it and abide in him, you can confidently say, “It is well with my soul”, notwithstanding the circumstances!
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, make concrete your gracious words in my life today. Amen!
Have a blessed weekend! Peace be with you!