TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE PASSAGE IS FULFILLED

1 Cor 2,1-5; Ps 118; Lk 4,16-30
3 SEPTEMBER
Jesus as true God is eternal wisdom. As a true man he has always grown from wisdom to wisdom. Because of this perfect growth, from the moment of his Baptism the Father enveloped him with his Holy Spirit, so that he lived his mission always according to the most pure light. He is very knowledgeable even in words to be said. He knows with what words to start, which ones to add before and after. Today he enters the synagogue of Nazareth. He takes the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He does not read Chapter XI in which clearly, without any doubt, it speaks of the Messiah or the Son of David.

But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide, But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land’s afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked. Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips (Is 11,1-5).

Instead he takes Chapter LXI of Isaiah. He reads it and declares it accomplished in his person. The text does not speak directly of the Messiah. It can also be interpreted as if the prophet were the one to speak. Jesus wants this to be its understanding and not another one. In fact, reminding what happened with Elijah and Elisha, it is towards this truth that He directs everyone’s attention. Currently it is not the time that He reveals himself in full truth. Times are not ripe so that hearts walk with other thoughts. The Messiah awaited by the people is not the one according to God. They await a new David that takes the sword, forms an army and takes away from the land of the fathers the enemy that occupies it. But Jesus did not come to take the sword. He came to take the cross. A Crucified Messiah is not needed to the people. At most he might make crucifixes. But if man is already crucified, what is the use of a Crucified Messiah? To teach every man how to remain on the cross, without crucifying any other man.

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “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.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.'” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Today, Jesus experiences how difficult it is to speak truthfully to men. Sin has so corrupted their nature that they desire to be deceived by false promises and false prophecies. But he also experiences that the Father watches over him and no one might physically harm him until his time comes. From the beginning he knows that a heavy cross of incomprehension will accompany his mission.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints ensure that the Christian proclaims the truth with great wisdom.