Vision for the People of God
Inaugural addresses are important.
President Obama just used his to announce the priorities of his second term. But of course it’s more than priorities: it’s also a vision, his vision for what this country can be --- a new era!
A century and a half earlier, President Abraham Lincoln used his second inaugural address to speak in critical terms of the nation – in order to name the evil of slavery, the toll it had exacted in human flesh and warfare, and the need to stay the course and resolve both the war and its cause. A new era!
In 516 BC, the words of Ezra the scribe signaled the beginning of a new era for the Jewish exiles from captivity in Babylon.
So what kind of vision do we hear in Jesus’ address in Nazareth? It, too, is an announcement of a new era! It is a description of the kingdom of God. It is a promise of God’s aid and presence. And all of this and more is summarized by the words good news: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
What is striking, if you listen closely, is that this good news is only good if you are willing to admit what is hard in your life, what is lacking, what has been most difficult. It is not “good news” in general, but rather good news for the poor. It is not just release, but release to those who are captive, sight to those who are blind, freedom to those who are oppressed.
We all want to be saved, but not from our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We all want to be saved, but not at too great a cost. We all want to be saved, in our way---not His.
If only we would "realize the certainty of the teachings (we) have received"........