THE BIBLE – DISCOVERY YEAR ‘O7, WITH LUKE’S GOSPEL
COMMENT FOR EPIPHANY 5 - 04.02.07
The season of the Epiphany comes in the New Year as we are mostly on holiday and not yet ready for the serious work of the year. But we consider two events that echo through time to our twenty first century world:
1. The Baptism of Jesus – Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22
John appears with all the mystique of the Hebrew prophets from an area like that which gave us the Dead Sea Scrolls. He calls on everyone to create the conditions for the Messiah who was expected to establish a David-type kingdom as a separate people free and strong. People then wanted John in that role, but he points to Jesus who is then baptised.
The crowd grows quiet and still. Jesus is praying.
Perhaps he prayed that his life and work would achieve such a disclosure of Divine spiritual power that the human divisive concepts of race and nation, along with their combative fear-generated, primitive, warrior fixations would lose their power!
The air is electric with spiritual energy. Then from the heavens comes an explosive shout of affirmation, a divine YES!
2. Jesus explains the plan for his ministry – Luke 4: 16-21
Back in Nazareth he reads the words of the vision of the prophet Isaiah. It is good news for the poor, release for the captives, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and God’s favour for all.
He says that this ancient promise is happening in the here and now as he speaks. He is living a new creation as the spiritual energies of the creative God sweep away the self-serving structures of the strong.
Now he is living a life of responsible, caring love regardless of race, nation, or gender. He would call on all to risk following him in the service of his creative God.
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