Everyone Is Called To Evangelize

𝐉𝐀𝐍. 𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐘

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈: 𝟏 𝐉𝐧 𝟒:𝟏𝟗-𝟓:𝟒

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟕𝟐:𝟏-𝟐, 𝟏𝟒-𝟏𝟓, 𝟏𝟕 “𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐤 𝟒:𝟏𝟒-𝟐𝟐

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “..𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟗)                   

        It would be much easier to understand the message in today’s Gospel reading found in 𝐋𝐤 𝟒:𝟏𝟒-𝟐𝟐 if we are to look at the minute details that are sometimes ignored when we go through a narrative as those who gather for a regular Bible Reflection, Bible Sharing or Word Sharing Circle as most if not all will normally search for words and verses they refer to as their “struck” which will become the point of their reflection and sharing.

        In our continuing discipleship formation, we have been told that the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament and we take as an example the words of Jesus when he said: “𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟏). What Jesus meant was that the prophecy He read from the Book of Isaiah (𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟔𝟏:𝟏-𝟐) like the other main prophecies in the Old Testament, actually refers to Him and finds its fulfillment in Him (𝐋𝐤 𝟐𝟒:𝟒𝟒). 

        This is why the Old Testament can only be rightly understood in the light of the New Testament as when Christ opened the minds of his disciples that they may be able to understand the Scriptures (𝐯. 𝟒𝟓), and their capacity to fully understand what Jesus taught them and this was perfected when the Holy Spirit filled them on the day of Pentecost. 

        Again, this is getting ahead of the story so let me first guide you through the predicate because this is such a beautiful Gospel passage that it will provide us with a clearer understanding of the mission of Jesus and its relevance to the purpose for which we have been created.

        What you will also see from this passage was not only the relationship of Jesus with God but the beginning of the Gospel itself clearly establishes the nature and character of Jesus as the incarnate Son of God who “𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭” (𝐯.𝟏𝟒) and who was sent to set us free from the slavery to sin and the fear of death and, the eternal destruction of both our body and soul.

        This passage in fact ushers in the first foray of Jesus into his earthly ministry and coming out of the temptation in the desert His choice of where to start was crucial. That he began in Galilee was relevant and even more significant was when he went to his native town in Nazareth because it was here in the surrounding areas that the history of Israel was etched.

        There are at least two takeaways from today’s readings. The first is that “𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬, ‘𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝’, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫, 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧.” (𝟏 𝐉𝐧 𝟒:𝟏𝟗) We are all sinners and there are times when we at times look with prejudice towards others for what they have done to us.

        And this passage serves as a guide for all of us to keep our hearts gentle and compassionate as that of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to love our brothers and confess our love of God. These two are inseparable. We cannot love God whom we cannot see if we cannot love our brothers who is visible before our eyes.

       The second is this – the Lord has showered us with all the necessary gifts so we can use these gifts for the common good (𝟏 𝐂𝐨𝐫 𝟏𝟐:𝟕). And in the furtherance of these gifts, Our Lord also anointed us to do his command. In other words, God has blessed us with gifts that are useful to others and, anointed us just as he anointed Jesus to bring good news to the poor and proclaim liberty to captives.

       It is also the tradition in those days that the head of the synagogue would ask someone well versed in the Scriptures to speak at the synagogue but traveling Rabbis as was in the case of Jesus could also volunteer and ask for the honor to speak and as Jesus finished reading from (𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟔𝟏:𝟏-𝟐), he handed back the scroll and sat down (𝐯.𝟐𝟎) and we may think He was finished but the truth was that he was just about to begin with his teaching as Rabbis normally teach in the synagogue sitting down.

        When Jesus said: “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐫.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟖) he merely gave his listeners a panoramic view of the mission entrusted to him by God the Father. This also forms part of the blessings that God had promised to send to the Israelites through the Messiah who has been prophesied but whom the Jews did not readily recognize.

       And this mission of Jesus to bring the good news to the poor which he is passing on to us is anchored on what John said in the 1^st reading: “𝐈𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬, ‘𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝’ 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫; 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧.” (𝟏 𝐉𝐧 𝟒:𝟏𝟗) This becomes relevant because it would utterly be difficult for anyone following Christ to bring the good news to the poor if has no love for others.

        Conversely, as Christ came to deliver us from our own spiritual blindness that hinders our view of the eternal kingdom we too are now mandated to share what we have seen and experienced with others primary of which is the need to lead others to a deliverance from sin by leading them to accept Jesus Christ as their savior and redeemer.

        This is necessary because sin creates the evil that takes control of our lives and blinds those who wallow in sin and this hampers a person from enjoying true peace which is not just the absence of conflict, but true peace is a state in which a person enjoys the benefits of a restored relationship with God.

        What Jesus read from the scroll was a reflection of the objective of his mission and that was to ransom us from our sinful nature and we who now comprise the Church are to embrace this same objective to make it our own as we pursue this mission that precedes from Christ: “𝐆𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐛𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮; 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞.” (𝐌𝐭 𝟐𝟖:𝟏𝟗-𝟐𝟎)       

        This final instruction of Jesus provides us with our objective as we put meaning into the thrust of the Church towards the proclamation of the Gospel with new ardor by  proclaiming the truths of faith, particularly the need for a sacramental life and, the promise of Christ's blessings to His Church in the context of 𝐋𝐤 𝟒:𝟏𝟖-𝟏𝟗. 

        We cannot be faithful to our Lord if we neglect our duty to receive instructions in Christian faith and morality and share these teachings with others as well as our frequent reception of the Sacraments. And we can only help in carrying out the mandate of the Church to bring back those who have been baptized but have not been practicing their Christian faith if we ourselves remain faithful to Christ and his teachings.

        And in our pursuit of our mission, let us depart from any secular theories that tries to unify the original mandate of the Church with those of earthly institutions such as attempts to distort the Scriptures to accommodate those who are pushing for same-sex union and gender-change.

        In this age in which moral values are being undermined, let us call on the Holy Spirit to grant us the grace to follow after Jesus who said His mission was “𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫” (𝐯.𝟏𝟗) and which we can also do by helping lead others to turn back to God and yield their lives to Jesus. The year of the Lord’s favor happens when we turn away from our sinful nature and accept God as our personal Lord and Savior.

        When that happens either in our own faith experience or with others to whom we shared the Good News then that is the time when we can rightly say: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟏) (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘑𝘢𝘯. 8, 2026)