Homily on the third Sunday After Epiphany
In our Gospel reading appointed for today Luke 4:14-21, Luke tells us of how after being tempted by Satan, Christ having successfully defeated the evil spirit, Christ went about the countryside preaching, teaching, and healing. We find parallel account of this in
Matthew 4:23Â And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
When he came to Nazareth, which was ostensibly his home town, he went to the temple on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. Opening the scroll to the words of the prophet Isaiah he read;
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
In my opinion this is a profound statement not just because Christ goes on to tell those in the temple that he is the anointed one, the messiah, but the implication that God has anointed or appointed him to preach to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted as well as to heal physical disease and deformities. He was also to give hope to those in captivity, those who are captives to sin, Satan, and the ceremonial law of the ancient Jews as well as the convoluted laws of mankind, to set at liberty those that are disadvantaged or spiritually bruised by a society that seeks to deny God’s Children to come to him.
In The Sermon On The Mount, Jesus explained his ministry by telling us the following;
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Even in those days people were mistaken to believe that the wealthy were blessed, those that were unrepentant and or boastful of their material prosperity or ill gotten gains. But Jesus tells us that the poor in spirit, those that are humble, who come to God in humility are the blessed.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
They that morn for sin, for their own sins; the sin of their nature, indwelling sin, which is always working in them, and is a continual grief of mind to them; the unbelief of their hearts, notwithstanding the many instances, declarations, promises, and discoveries of grace made unto them; their daily infirmities, and many sins of life, because they are committed against a God of love, grace, and mercy, those who mourn also for the sins of others, for the sins of the world, the wickedness that abounds in it; who likewise mourn under afflictions, spiritual ones, temptations. These, how sorrowful and distressed they may appear, are blessed
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
By which is meant, not justice and equity, as persons oppressed and injured; nor a moral, legal righteousness, but rather the justifying righteousness of Christ,
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
for righteousness sake: on account of their righteous and godly actions, their religious life sets a mark upon, and distinguishes them from other persons, this brings upon them the hatred and anger of the men of the world:
Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely,
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
So as we come to the Lord’s table today, let us remember these and the manifold blessings that he has bestowed upon us and give prayers of gratitude as we let our light so shine before mankind, which demonstrates our faith and good works.