Scripture: Luke 4:17-18
The synagogue assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed…
Thought for the Day: This is a portion of tomorrow’s sermon text. As you may note, it is Jesus reading aloud the words from yesterday’s Isaiah text. Jesus has been invited to read from the scroll of Isaiah among those gathered at the synagogue in Nazareth. At the time of Jesus, these words were probably 500 years old, and yet as Jesus spoke them, they were renewed and became relevant to his listeners. It is always important to dig deep into the historic context of scripture, otherwise we might make scripture say whatever we want it to say. At the same time, the combination of good critical study and the movement of the Spirit can once again do exactly what Jesus did in the synagogue – ancient words finding meaning and providing purpose in a new context.
Prayer: As we dive deep into the words of scripture, we ask for you to be our guide, O Lord. Open up and reveal for us what the original context and purpose was for those words. As we struggle to understand the history, draw for us respectful and relevant lines between what was and what is. We offer these words in the name of your Word who was and is and shall be. Amen.
SEE YOU TOMORROW
Sunday Morning Worship
