Jesus’ mission statement in Luke, nothing short of a revolution:
Good news for the poor (is that bad news for the rich?); freedom for prisoners of war (are those terrorists?); sight for the blind (how much do we not see?); set the crushed free (who is being crushed here?); ‘the year of the Lord’s favour’ (what does that mean?). What would happen if churches were to join Jesus in this programme of renewal?
The year of the Lord’s favour also translated as ‘the acceptable year of the Lord’ or ‘the favourable year of the Lord’. Peterson paraphrases: ‘This is God’s year to act’. I also found ‘a welcome year of the Lord’ (in a Dutch translation by Oussoren). Although this year sounds a bit like a Jubilee (Leviticus 25), Isaiah (61:2) and Luke do not use that word. Maybe this year could be every year rather than having to be only once every fifty years. It is a time that is acceptable to God, a time that God welcomes, like when Jesus ministered. Can we follow in his way?
24 January 2016
Lk. 4:14-21
This weekly blog on one of the lectionary readings is by Anne Claar Thomasson-Rosingh, Programme Leader for Lifelong Learning at Sarum College.
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