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Image: Head of Christ by Rembrandt
Pope Francis Angelus Reflection
Saint Peter’s Square – Sunday, 26 January 2025
The Evangelist Luke presents Jesus to us in the synagogue in Nazareth
“Luke (4:18-21)
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down;
and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Dear brothers and sisters,
This Sunday, the Evangelist Luke introduces us to Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth, the town where he grew up. He reads the passage from the prophet Isaiah announcing the Messiah’s mission of evangelization and liberation.
Then in general silence he said: ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled’.
Let us imagine the surprise and consternation of Jesus’ fellow citizens, who knew him as the son of Joseph the carpenter and would never have imagined that he could present himself as the Messiah.
It was confusing. But so it was: Jesus proclaims that, through his presence, ‘a year acceptable to the Lord’ has come. It is the good news for all and in a special way for the poor, for the captives, for the blind, for the oppressed).
That day, in Nazareth, Jesus confronted his listeners with a choice about his identity and mission.
No one in the synagogue could help but wonder: is he just the carpenter’s son, assuming a role that does not belong to him, or is He truly the Messiah, sent by God to save people from sin and all evil?
The Evangelist tells us that the Nazarenes did not recognize Jesus as the Lord’s anointed.
They thought they knew Him too well, and this, instead of facilitating the opening of their minds and hearts, prevented them from doing so, like a veil obscuring the light.
Sisters and brothers, this event, with its analogies, is also happening to us today.
We too are challenged by the presence and the words of Jesus; we too are called to recognize in him the Son of God, our Savior.
But it can happen to us, as it happened to his countrymen, that we think we already know him, that we already know everything about him, that we grew up with him, in school, in the parish, in catechism, in a country with a Catholic culture…
And so, for us too, He is a person who is close, perhaps even “too” close.
But let us try to ask ourselves: do we feel the unique authority with which Jesus of Nazareth speaks?
Do we recognize that he is the bearer of a proclamation of salvation that no one else can give us?
And I, do I feel in need of this salvation?
Do I feel that I too am in some way poor, imprisoned, blind, oppressed?
Then, and only then, will the year of grace’ be for me!
Let us turn confidently to Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, to help us recognize Jesus.
