20 January 2019 - R. Steven Notley walks us through the details of Luke 4:14-21 which records Jesus' first sermon, given at his hometown synagogue. What is recorded tells us quite a bit about how Jesus was seen in the community and how first century synagogues worked. When Jesus says that the Isaiah passage he reads is fulfilled, he is telling his listeners that the passage is relevant to them. His reading Isaiah 61 through the lens of Isaiah 58 communicates to the people of Nazareth and to us that we must be careful about categorizing people into whom God loves and whom he doesn't love. It is not any of our business. Don't limit God's ability to redeem and restore those we deem outside our comfort zone. Instead, we should offer ourselves to God to be used by him as vessels of mercy.

Readings: Isaiah 35; Isaiah 58:5-12; Luke 4:14-21