Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Luke 4:14-21

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OUR HUMAN CONDITION

I don’t really like the poor. They’re not always clean. I stay away from sick people. They smell bad. I don’t understand people whose customs, culture, and ways of thinking are different from mine. They make me feel uncomfortable. I don’t want to go to church with them or socialize with them. People with handicaps also make me feel awkward. Actually, I enjoy being with people who are just like me.

Disciple

Reading

• Jesus’ birth and childhood, temptation
• Jesus’ announcement of his mission, healing miracles, dispute about greatness
• Mission of the seventy, parables of watchfulness and faithfulness
• Parables of the lost
• Parables of stewardship and prayer, Zacchaeus
• Entry into Jerusalem, Passion, Resurrection, walk to Emmaus

Disciples throw their weight with God’s mission to the least, the last, the lost.

Disciple

Reflection (from Disciple)

• We can look at the least, the last, and the lost in two ways. One way is to think of people who fall into those categories.
  • Who are the poor today?
  • Who are the social outcasts?
  • What are you or your church doing to include them in the grace and fellowship of your community of faith?
  • What kind of criticism are you likely to receive for including them?
• The other way to look at the least, the last, and the lost is to include ourselves in that group.
  • In your experience, have you ever felt outcast, ashamed, cut of, or “unclean”?
  • If so, what was it like?
  • What helped you overcome that feeling?

“Deep down, disciples know that their wealth, power, and prestige will not save them. Deep down, disciples know they are desperately in need of Jesus Christ’s grace. Deep down, disciples understand that God has a special concern to include the outcast, the marginalized, the widow, the orphan, the dispossessed, and the exploited. Disciples throw their weight with God’s mission to the least, the last, and the lost.”

Disciple

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