Thursday after Epiphany
(I John 4:19-5:4; Luke 4:14-22)
According to baseball lore Babe Ruth stepped up to bat
during the World Series in Chicago and pointed to the centerfield fence. He was evidently indicating that he would hit
the ball beyond it and that is what many people have said that he did. In fact, so many people have testified that saw
Ruth that day “call his shot” that one radio host commented that there must
have been 500,000 thousand people attending the game! In the gospel today Jesus in a sense calls
his shot although, of course, before a much smaller number of viewers.
The passage does not say that Jesus chooses the scroll he
is to read. Rather it presumes that it is
given him randomly. Yet it seems to be
the one he wants as he reads the famous passage from the prophet Isaiah that
speaks of one being anointed to bring relief to the oppressed. Then Jesus boldly suggests that the passage
is fulfilled in his person. And the rest
of Luke’s gospel testifies to that fact.
Christmas reminds us that Jesus has come to save us from
distress. He brings glad tidings that we
don’t need as much as we think we do nor do we have to produce as much as
others. But he insists that we trust him
by showing compassion on those less fortunate than we.
