THE APPROVAL OF ALL
And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips (Lk 4:22).
The gracious words from the lips of Jesus were a description of his mission: “he sent me to bring good news to the poor, liberty to captives, new sight to the blind, freedom to the downtrodden” (Isaiah 61: 1ff).
What is interesting in that story of Jesus going into the synagogue and reading from the prophet Isaiah, is the impression he made on those who were listening. It seems as though he struck a chord in the hearts of people. They would have been people filled with the usual prejudice towards those who didn’t worship Israel’s God, or those ‘cursed by God’ because they were poor, enslaved, and trapped in a situation with no escape. Yet, as Jesus read from Isaiah, it seems that many were ready to understand their scriptures in a new way. The Spirit of God had to be moving, for we all know that social prejudice is a powerful force against compassionate love.
True compassion somehow or other captures our imagination and brings forth people who want to join in and help. I suppose we can say that generally speaking, people with any human decency will almost always be impressed by compassion. We see this time and again in both history and present day when the poor are served.
True compassion comes without judgment and without any hidden agenda. Its’ purpose can never be to convert people to my way of thinking, but simply to respect the poor as human beings.
Often enough, people quickly forget the kindness offered them. That is something we must ignore. After all, are we always grateful for what others do for us?
We do need however to ask the question: what is the good news Jesus is speaking of, as well as the liberty, the new sight and freedom? I think we all know that we can only answer this when we allow ourselves be transformed by our faith. It is impossible to bring the Good News to others when we ourselves are imprisoned by what cannot bring life. Jesus made an impression while reading from Isaiah because he was free: not for him the craving for status, power or wealth. Making known the compassionate love of God was his driving force.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul, in my view, exists for no other reason than to help you express God’s compassion. If your heart’s desire is to live the words of Isaiah, as Jesus did, then those you meet will be astonished just by your existence. Then, if all you achieve by your efforts is a little hope that will be enough.
DISCUSSION: For you, what is the good news, liberty, new sight and freedom you hope to bring to the poor as a Vincentian? Who are the poor?
PRAYER
Holy Spirit
Let me see
The richness
The privilege
The honor
The vocation
Of
Being sent to bring
Good news
Liberty
New sight
Freedom
To the poor.
