Lk. 1:1-4,4:14-21
We had a retreat as part of our ordination preparation programme. We had the Salesian tradition of sharing good night every day. It was a tradition started by Mamma Margart, the mother of Don Bosco, by giving a short moral advice to the children of the oratory before going to bed. It was a little special for us because instead of the retreat preacher giving it every day, we were asked to share our ordination motto for three minutes, which included its context, the reason for choosing this motto, and its implications for our future mission. It was a really enriching experience, and we used to long for a good night to listen to each other. All the mottos were quite inspiring and promising.
One of my companions’ motto was, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” (Lk. 4:18) I was deeply touched by the reason for choosing this verse as his motto. I would like to share that incident that he shared with us. My companion went to a community for his summer ministry experience. One fine night, he heard someone knocking at his door. He opened the door and saw the regent brother of that community in tears. He poured out all his inner struggles to my companion. It was a wonderful community experience for him, but once he pointed out a mistake of one of the confreres, created lots of misunderstanding in the community and everyone started to avoid him. When he could not bear any more, he approached my companion to share his sorrow. He consoled the regent brother and told him to go to bed and discuss it tomorrow.
My companion spent some time in prayer the next day and felt the presence of the Holy Spirit with him. Inspired by the Spirit, he confronted the confrere and asked him to forgive the regent brother for his mistake and reconcile with him. However, he felt upset and opined that my companion was taking the side of the regent brother without understanding the truth. The next day, this person started to avoid my companion and it continued till my companion left that community. For my companion, who is very jovial and friendly with everyone, this experience was quite bitter and hard. He surrendered everything to the Spirit and started his normal life in the Theologate. After a few days, he got a phone call from the confrere who misunderstood him, asking for his forgiveness and telling him that he had realised his mistake and reconciled with the regent brother over there. Having shared this experience, my companion said that he did not know how he got the courage to confront a senior person. He acknowledged that it was not his credit but the Spirit of the Lord who empowered him. He was convinced of the presence of the Spirit with him from that instant onwards, and he started to repeat this verse whenever he encountered a tense situation, and he could get through those moments with the assistance of the Spirit. As a result, he chose the ordination motto “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”
Jesus’ public ministry was not a one-man show. It was a collaborative redemptive mission of the Holy Trinity. Jesus discerned his Abba’s will on every occasion and fulfilled his Abba’s will by deriving strength from the Holy Spirit. In today’s gospel passage, we see the initial days of Jesus’ mission in Galilee. Prior to that, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to the desert, where he spent forty days and nights in prayer and fasting. He returned from the desert filled with the Holy Spirit and began his mission of evangelization. When he was given the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue, he recognised his own mission and manifesto. It was the Spirit who helped Jesus realise that this Isaiah prophecy was about him.Jesus fulfilled this mission by relying on the strength of the Spirit.
The first part of Jesus’ mission statement was: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” It implies the prophetic mission of Christ. None of the prophets were accepted in their hometown. Jesus knew that he too would be rejected in his hometown. However, Jesus was not afraid of his rejection, misunderstandings, or anger that his words might cause in others. He was convinced that he was the Messiah, the anointed one of Yahweh and the one who possessed the fullness of the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who strengthened Jesus to proclaim the Good News of Jesus to all those who sit in darkness.
The second dimension of the mission statement was: ” He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and sight to the blind to free the oppressed.” These aspects denote the kingly dimension of Christ’s ministry. The process of liberation was very close to the hearts of the Israelites because, more than any other nation or race, they had carried the yoke of slavery. They experienced the hardships of slavery under the Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Roman imperial rule. The Israelites expected the Messiah to be someone who freed them from the yoke of Roman slavery and restored King David’s throne. Jesus’ mission was not merely a liberation from Roman slavery but the perfect liberation of all humanity from the bondage of sin that he achieved through his redemptive sacrifice on calvary. The healing of the blind and the liberation of demoniac from evil possession were signs of this perfect liberation that Jesus assured.Thus, Jesus fulfilled his kingly mission drawing strength from the Holy Spirit.
The third element of Jesus’ ministry was announcement of Lord’s year of mercy. It represents the priestly office of Jesus. He himself was the priest and the victim, who offered a perfect sacrifice that granted us a perfect pardon and mercy from Abba by offering himself as a paschal lamb and his blood for the expiation of our sins. It is the Spirit of the Lord, who empowered Jesus to overcome his fears and anxiety and offer himself as a perfect sacrifice on calvary, .
We see Jesus leaves the synagogue and begins his active ministry with the power of the Spirit to fulfil his redemptive mission. Jesus always acknowledged this divine helper in his ministry. Once Jesus accomplishes his mission he asks his disciple to wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He was well aware of thier fragility and fear but he assured them that when the Spirit comes they will be witness to his good news in Galilee, Judea and the end of the world.
Dear friends we too are called to participate in the priestly, kingly and prophetic mission of Christ through our baptism. But are we fulfilling the mission of being the proclaimers of good news or the being a liberators that Jesus assured? Very often when we encounter social injustice or evil, we tend to close our one eye and shut the other. We are afraid and we don’t want to risk our comfort zones, dignity and our life. When we realise the animating role of the Holy Spirit in our lives and receive the fullness of the Spirit we can’t but become the mouthpiece of the Spirit by being the Good News of Jesus to the poor. Let us earnestly desire and pray for the awakening of the Holy Spirit in our lives so that we may live our prophetic, kingly and priestly mission of Christ…