First Reading - 1 John 4:19-5:4
Gospel - Luke 4:14-22
In the First Reading, St. John gives us a simple but profound truth: "We love because He first loved us." God’s love for us is the starting point of everything. It is not something we earn or deserve; it is freely given. But this love comes with a challenge — if we claim to love God, we must love one another. Love is not just a feeling or a nice idea; it is something we live out in our daily actions. John makes it clear that we cannot separate love for God from love for others. If we fail to love those around us, our love for God is incomplete.
This call to love is at the heart of Jesus’ mission, as we see in today’s Gospel. After spending time in prayer and fasting, Jesus returns to Galilee, filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. He enters the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth and reads from the prophet Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and to set the oppressed free.”
These words reveal the heart of Jesus’ mission — a mission of love that transforms and liberates. He didn’t come just to preach good news; He came to bring healing, freedom, and restoration to those in need. His love was active, reaching out to the poor, the brokenhearted, the sick, and the marginalized.
But notice what happens next. The people in the synagogue were amazed at His words, but their amazement quickly turned to doubt. They couldn’t accept that someone they knew — the son of a carpenter — could be the fulfillment of God’s promises. Their hearts were closed to the transformative power of His message because they couldn’t see beyond their own expectations.
This reaction invites us to reflect on our own openness to God’s love and mission. Are we willing to let God’s love transform us? Are we open to seeing His work in unexpected places and people? Or do we, like the people of Nazareth, resist change because it challenges our comfort and assumptions?
Dear friends, when we allow God’s love to transform us, we are called to share that love in practical ways. The First Reading reminds us that loving God means overcoming fear, hatred, and division. St. John says that true love casts out fear and that faith in God enables us to overcome the world’s challenges. This doesn’t mean life will be without struggles, but it means that God’s love gives us the strength to persevere and the courage to act.
Jesus' mission of liberation is not just for His time — it continues today, through us. We are called to bring good news to the poor, to comfort those who are brokenhearted, to stand with the oppressed, and to bring light to those in darkness. This begins with the small, everyday choices we make — choosing kindness over indifference, forgiveness over resentment, and compassion over judgment.
As we reflect on today’s readings, let us ask ourselves: How is God calling us to be instruments of His transformative love? Are there people in our lives who need to experience God’s love through our actions? Are we willing to step out of our comfort zones and become part of Jesus’ mission to bring healing and freedom to others?
God’s love is not passive; it is a love that transforms and liberates. May we allow His love to work in us and through us, so that we can be agents of His healing and hope in a world that so desperately needs it. Let us, like Jesus, proclaim with our lives: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me," and let that Spirit guide us to love in ways that truly make a difference.
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