Thursday after Epiphany

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. Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.  He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” 

In order to live Christ-like lives, we all need to bring glad tidings to the poor through our thoughts, words, and works. We do this by not only praying for them, but also comforting them in the midst of their trials, and acting with mercy and love toward others. We are to be bearers of God’s Grace to those whom are in most need of it. We, like Christ, should seek to fulfill the scriptures by following the commandments that Christ gave to us to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths, and our neighbors as He loves them. So let us bring good tidings to everyone we meet and proclaim through our every action that now is an acceptable time to be faithful followers of Christ.

How do we bring good tidings to the poor, be they poor in material goods or spiritual and emotional ones? Are we fulfilling God’s Will for our lives? Is our presence to others liberating, healing, and freeing?

O Lord, let our lives proclaim the message of the gospels.

Amen.