January 24: Third Sunday after the Epiphany
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21
This passage from Luke marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry and follows two important events – Jesus’ baptism and his temptation in the desert. Jesus’ baptism confirmed that he was indeed God’s beloved Son, and gave him the power he needed to withstand the devil’s temptations in the desert.
Being in the desert was a time for Jesus of great vulnerability, what I have also heard referred to as a period of liminality in his life: when he no longer was the person he was before (Mary and Joseph’s son in the town of Nazareth) but not yet the person he was called to be (God’s Anointed One).
How many of us have also periods of liminality, or transition times: times when we are no longer the person we were before, but not yet the person we are to become? Any crisis can put us into one of these liminal times: a healthcare crisis, a divorce, a job loss. We, too may feel as if we are in the desert during these times, and we might be tempted to forget how beloved we are by God.
When we are in a period of liminality, we feel vulnerable, and it is difficult to put our trust in the One who loves us unconditionally and eternally. It is a challenge during transition or liminal times to remember that God’s power is always available to us, and that we are indeed beloved daughters and sons of God.
Luke begins today’s passage by saying that Jesus “was filled by the power of the Spirit.” For Luke, the action of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ life and his followers was all-important. Jesus had been baptized, had been proclaimed God’s beloved son, had faced the devil in the desert, and now he was ready to begin his public ministry.
This sequence of events in Jesus’ life shows us that transition or liminal times are preludes to new beginnings. Hopefully, like Jesus, we emerge from these in-between times stronger, wiser and more self-aware. Like Jesus, we have faced the devil in the desert and we have not succumbed.
Our new-found strength, wisdom and self-awareness, however, are not meant only for our own purposes, but to help others along the way. To be filled with the power of the Spirit as Jesus was means to be transformed and to be called to a new life, a life that doesn’t center on oneself and one’s concerns, but a life that is other-centered and involves being an instrument for God’s purposes. What a powerful statement Jesus made when he read that he was the one who was meant to “bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and to let the oppressed go free.”
As Christians, we are meant to continue what Jesus started, but most of us fail to recognize we are called in this way, nor do we recognize our own capabilities. As Marianne Williamson said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.” (From A Return to Love: Reflections on the Course in Miracles).
How will you let yourself shine today?