“A church that doesn’t provoke any crisis, a gospel that doesn’t unsettle, a word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn’t touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed – what gospel is that?” – Oscar Romero

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Listen to my song “All Are One” on YouTube by clicking HERE.

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Luke 4:17-21

Jesus was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

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Jesus had returned to his hometown of Nazareth and according to custom went into the synagogue on the sabbath day.

This is when Jesus read the statement in today’s scripture verses.

The passage from Isaiah is sometimes referred to as Jesus’s mission statement.

And while the people were impressed with the words he spoke, they soon took offense over how much Jesus had changed from when he was simply the “son of Joseph.”

And when Jesus criticized them over their narrow-mindedness and self-righteousness, they soon wanted to kill him.

The turn-about in their attitude was swift.

Jesus stood up to the powerful on behalf of the oppressed.

There are many people who have been oppressed in this country based on their skin color or sexual orientation.

If Jesus were here in person, he would be standing with those people…or kneeling.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are also called to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and to free the oppressed.

Those in power – the oppressors – will not like you.

But know this: The Spirit of the Lord is upon you!

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Listen to the song of the day “All Are One” from the Mercy Reigns album by clicking HERE.

Stream and/or purchase my songs on Amazon Music by clicking HERE.

Purchase my book “Mercy Reigns: A Daily Devotional of Compassion, Comfort and Healing” on Amazon by clicking HERE.

Remember: God loves you!