From today’s Scripture: “Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up…He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”—Lk 4:16-19

The job description that Isaiah wrote was adopted by Jesus and now Jesus has passed it on to his followers—to me, to you, to all of us. When we were baptized, Jesus united us to himself. What a joy and what a privilege and challenge it is for us to be entrusted with the job of bringing joy to the poor, freedom to those blind and bound down, and to proclaim that God is here and that he is for us. As his sisters and brothers, we are to be for the growth of his kingdom, not indifferent to it.

Let us pray: Jesus, thank you for making me part of the Body of Christ, and show me how I can better help it thrive.

Today’s author is Father Frank Ruff, former president of Glenmary, mission pastor, and Catholic representative to the Southern Baptist Convention.

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