Man on a Mission
Jesus' Nazareth Manifesto
Announcements for January 22, 2022:
OLMC's Men's Group meets the first and third Saturdays of the month. For more information and to get connected, please send me a note.
Our youth group will meet the evening of Friday, January 28th. All teens in grades 8 through 12 are encouraged to attend.
With no national collection this month, our beyond-the-tithe opportunity is for our parish cemetery. You can find the cemetery fund in the dropdown menu of our Parish Campaigns.
Visit the OLMC Parishioner Portal for all of our recent announcements.
If you need anything at all, please be in touch with me.
Dear Saints,
The passage we read this weekend from the Gospel of Luke is commonly known as the Nazareth Manifesto. In it Jesus sets out his agenda. He announces God's plan to renew the covenant with his people and restore his creation.
The people who heard Jesus were astonished. They had been waiting for some sign that God was on the move, but Jesus’ proclamation was not what they anticipated. Their hope was that God would overcome their pagan oppressors, destroying the wicked nations in his wake.
More on that after the break, but first an invitation:
Our school's next open house will be January 30th from 9:00am to 1:00pm, and you're warmly encouraged to stop by. The work of OLMC School is flourishing thanks to your support, and this is a great opportunity to see the amazing things we've accomplished together. We hope to see you there!
More on Jesus' Manifesto...
In Nazareth, Jesus chooses a different part of Isaiah’s prophecy to read than the one the people wanted to hear: He is at the head of God's kingdom-bringing movement, but he has come not to destroy the nations but to bring them God’s blessing.
In short order, Jesus is driven out of town. The people reject him and his agenda without hesitation.
We see, then, quite quickly in Saint Luke’s account, that to announce God’s kingdom is to go to the Cross.* Jesus’ crucifixion is the way in which God's reign will be established. The Cross of Christ reveals the shape of Love in a fallen world!
We are made in Jesus' mold. If we are to advance God's heaven-to-earth mission here and now, then we must trust and follow Jesus without counting the cost all the way to the cross.
The cross is where love confronts and conquers every evil. The cross is where life defeats death. The proclamation of Christ’s kingship cannot be separated from the victory of forgiving love that shines forth from the cross.
I love you, my friends, and I look forward to seeing you very soon.
Christ's Peace,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
*NT Wright, How God Became King
Preparing for Mass?
Check out this weekend's readings:
The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Christ in the Synagogue
Nikolaĭ Nikolaevich Ge, 1868