We have only one life to live, and the choice of how we are to live it must be our own God-inspired choice, not a choice that we let the world make for us.  Perhaps you know of people whose choices seem to have put them on a path which gives them neither passion, nor purpose, nor a sense of freedom with their lives.  Instead of being empowered by a mission, they are fueled by ambition; rather than being true to themselves, they have sought to be liked by others.  

 

 

 

Jesus would be led by only one voice, one mission.  When people spoke well of him one day at the synagogue and were filled with awe by his wisdom and power (Luke 4:14-21), Jesus knew he had reached a point of no return in his life.  He would either heed the voice of public approval and admiration, or heed the voice of God, which had claimed him for a mission that would ultimately be unpopular – freeing the captives, liberating the oppressed, loving the poor and the sick.  He believed that this was God’s agenda and he took the assignment, giving his every waking moment to the tasks.

 

For most of us, the choice of how to live our lives comes not in some once-and-for-all, point-of-no-return kind of moment, but in the smaller, daily decisions of our otherwise predictable routines.  We may not be as free and unencumbered as Jesus to give the whole of ourselves to the mission of freeing captives and liberating the oppressed; after all, we have kids to feed and mortgages to pay and dirty dishes in the sink and responsibilities that never seem to end.  But the truth is that we are free enough to fulfill, even in small ways, the mission of Jesus today. 

 

“The spirit of the Lord is upon me,” said Jesus, echoing the words of Isaiah 61.  “To preach good news to the poor, and recovery of sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and to announce the favor of the Lord.”  Then he said to the people in church that day, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled.”

 

 

Today.  How, today, can the same be said of you?  What can you do today to fulfill that scripture in your own life – to free a captive, to bring good news to the poor, to help someone see a new reality, to announce God’s favor on the lives of others?

 

See you Sunday,

 

 

 

Rev. Mark