THURSDAY - November 19

Read. Luke 4:14-21

14 Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news about him spread throughout the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.

16 Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue as he normally did and stood up to read. 17 The synagogue assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

18 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, 
19     and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.[a]

20 He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the synagogue assistant, and sat down. Every eye in the synagogue was fixed on him. 21 He began to explain to them, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it.”

Reflect. Jesus is in his hometown of Nazareth and goes about his normal routine of going to synagogue on the Sabbath. This is a normal practice for the Jewish people in his community to do. While he is in the synagogue, one of the religious leaders gives him scripture to read. Everything seems pretty ordinary up until this point; remember Jesus is just another Jewish man reading scripture in the synagogue. Then he read these words from Isaiah that speak of bringing liberation to the marginalized. Following this, he rolls up the scroll and claims to be the fulfillment of this passage. 

• In the midst of the synagogue, Jesus says, “I am the one who has been anointed by God to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” If you read on, the crowd around Jesus gets angry and tries to throw him off the cliff. Regardless of the crowd’s reaction, Jesus remains resolute that this message of liberation is his mission. 
• In what ways do you think Christians and the church fall short of Jesus’ mission in this passage? What can we do better to live into what Jesus desires? What can you do better to live into what Jesus desires?

Pray. Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours. Help me to follow the path of Jesus. Amen.

COMMUNITY PRAYER LIST

Doug Lawson. Collier. Adam Funderburk.  Mary Reber.  Linda Harmon. Betty Carolyn Ward. Albert Rasanke. Lois Robinson. Ross Henley. Tiny & Donald Creasman. Bonnie Brenner. Baker Family. Robert McKenzie Family. Kibler family. Carolyn Harlow. Jeff Green. Earl Graves. Mickey Huff. Huff & Welch families. Helen Leigh. Paul Huffman. Schools, Teachers, Staff, Parents, Students. Church regathering plans. Layman family. Charlene Withrow. Brandon Casteel. Dirk Orr family. Smith family. Crowder family. Lillard family. Family of Floyd Eaton. Family of Eddie Rynes. Robertson Family. Harmon Family. Nancy Ryan & family. Bobby Roberts. Elizabeth May & family. Melvin Rinehart. Susan Rogers. Brandon Haugh. Barbara Buchanan & family. Harold Cordell. Debbie Arrowwood. Maggie Morgan family. Kay Ledford. Lacey Hitchcock and baby River. Leita. Rose Blyler. Tina Sage. Dave McKale. Chris Denton. Drew Ellison. Family of Glenn Ethridge.