GOOD NEWS FOR ALL

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners.

Isaiah 61:1 (read 61:1-6) NIV

The poor, the afflicted, slaves and prisoners were recipients of this message of the prophet Isaiah. The people were returning from exile to their devastated land. Isaiah felt that the Lord had given him a mission to encourage them on the almost impossible task of recovery! The good news was that the day of redemption had already arrived and the Eternal was acting. The task of the people was to do what was right and with divine blessing rebuild what was ruined.

Seven centuries later, Luke reports that Jesus used this text (61.1-2a) to describe his mission (Luke 4.16-28). At first, the listeners rejoiced with the pronouncement of Jesus, but soon after, they were furious with his interpretation of the text! They rushed him and tried to kill him!

They considered the words of Isaiah to refer only to the Israelites. They thought that they were the chosen people and should be served by the Gentiles and that they had a privileged place among the peoples of the earth as "priests of the Sovereign Lord" by coming to possess great wealth. Jesus disagreed. For Jesus all of humankind was included and Israel would have no privileged place. Nobody should ascend at the expense of others. The blessings of the Father are for everyone, regardless of race, nationality, creed or social status. Jesus also said that prophets are always rejected in their own land. Jesus was rejected because he did not assign to his hearers a special place in the divine order and even included outcasts in God’s care.

Through the centuries many Christians have called themselves the "New Israel", creating what they think is a new privileged class. They think that only the Church is of God and that divine grace is concentrated there. They divide world between the sacred which is the Church and the secular which is the rest of the world. To this mindset, to evangelize is to present Jesus in a "package" that includes the "Church and its dogmas". It rejects the idea that God also acts in other religions and creeds and even outside of them.

Jesus cited the Book of Isaiah and included all the disadvantaged: the poor, the afflicted, slaves and prisoners. Jesus went beyond the popular prejudices, ignoring all barriers and including everyone under God’s gracious acts.

The Eternal Spirit continues to challenge the evils that afflict our world. The greatest affliction is humanity's environmental and social alienation. To profess to be a follower of Jesus and raise further barriers of exclusion is a major inconsistency. We are more interdependent than ever. We need to approach each other with the good news of solidarity. We need work together to plant love in the fields of hate, friendship in the fields of enmity and generosity in the fields of greed.

ISAIAH 61:1-6 – NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV)

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

    because the Lord has anointed me

    to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

    to proclaim freedom for the captives

    and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

    and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

    and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

    instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

    instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

    instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

    a planting of the Lord

    for the display of his splendor.

They will rebuild the ancient ruins

    and restore the places long devastated;

they will renew the ruined cities

    that have been devastated for generations.

Strangers will shepherd your flocks;

    foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

And you will be called priests of the Lord,

    you will be named ministers of our God.

You will feed on the wealth of nations,

    and in their riches you will boast.