vangelo del giorno

Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing

10 JANUARY (Lk 4,14-22a)


Who reads entirely Isaiah’s prophecy about the Messiah of the Lord, will notice that his Sent comes to operate a new creation within our humanity. He comes to change every man’s relationship with man. A new world is born with him.

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, To announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God, to comfort all who mourn; To place on those who mourn in Zion a diadem instead of ashes, To give them oil of gladness in place of mourning, a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit. They will be called oaks of justice, planted by the Lord to show his glory. They shall rebuild the ancient ruins, the former wastes they shall raise up And restore the ruined cities, desolate now for generations. Strangers shall stand ready to pasture your flocks, foreigners shall be your farmers and vinedressers. You yourselves shall be named priests of the Lord, ministers of our God you shall be called. You shall eat the wealth of the nations and boast of riches from them. Since their shame was double and disgrace and spittle were their portion, They shall have a double inheritance in their land, everlasting joy shall be theirs. For I, the Lord, love what is right, I hate robbery and injustice; I will give them their recompense faithfully, a lasting covenant I will make with them. Their descendants shall be renowned among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; All who see them shall acknowledge them as a race the Lord has blessed. I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul; For he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, So will the Lord God make justice and praise spring up before all the nations. (Is 61,1-11).

In the synagogue of Nazareth, Jesus declares his fellow citizens publicly, that this Scripture, the one He read, today takes place before their eyes. With words not too veiled, He tells them that he is the Messiah of the Lord. In fact, Jesus does not read the passage from the prophet Isaiah as all the other readers did. He reads it as a true Actor, Agent, Person on whom there is all the Lord’s Spirit, that qualifies him to a particular, unique mission. He comes to restore, rather improve the creation of the Father. This was ruined by sin and He comes to give it its original beauty back, even one more beautiful, bright and wonderful.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. 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.
With the reading of this text the waiting time ends. One enters in the time of realization. That is how St. Paul describes this so special time in history.

I mean that as long as the heir is not of age, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything, but he is under the supervision of guardians and administrators until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were not of age, were enslaved to the elemental powers of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

This is a unique moment in the history of mankind. Jesus is the person of the prophecy.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints make us true witnesses of Jesus.