Day 2 (Monday) – “Sent on the Mission of Jesus”
*Luke 4:16-21
In this passage from Luke 4, Jesus gives his inaugural address. Returning to his hometown of Nazareth after his baptism and forty days of temptation in the wilderness, Jesus officially begins his public ministry. Standing in the Temple to read, as was his habit, he is handed the scroll of Isaiah. And he knows right where to turn. This is his big chance to tell the world exactly what he is up to. He turns to Isaiah 61:1-2 and reads: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” With the eyes of the assembly on him, Jesus takes his seat and calmly declares the good news of the gospel: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” With these words, Jesus identified himself as the Messiah, the One sent by God to bring hope and freedom to all of God’s people. Through this reading from Isaiah, Jesus declared his mission statement. He was to be the One who would work for justice, who would bring health where there was disease and joy where there was sadness.
This mission statement of Jesus is our mission statement as Christians. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” Jesus said. And so we are sent into the world as Jesus was sent, with this mission statement as our guide. We, too, are to be the type of people that proclaim good news to the poor. We are sent not only to share our belongings, but we are sent to bring hope to those who are poor in spirit. Like Jesus, we are sent to proclaim freedom for the oppressed. God sends us into the world to be people that reject oppression and work for justice. And like Jesus, we are called to proclaim the Lord’s favor – sharing with all we meet the good news that God loves them and longs to make them whole.
As Christian disciples we are sent on a mission – we are sent on Jesus’ mission. We are sent with Jesus’ mission statement to guide our thoughts and actions. If we are to be successful on this mission, we have to be transformed by the good news that Jesus calls us to share. Have you experienced the overwhelming love of God? Do you truly know in the depths of your heart that Jesus died for you? Do you trust in the promise that the Holy Spirit is working within you to make you whole? As we are sent on this mission to carry on the ministry of Jesus, let us continue to seek God with our whole hearts – knowing all the while that the Spirit of God is upon us, filling us with love and empowering us to carry on God’s work.
---Laura
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