Today

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll 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.” ~ Luke 4:16-21 (ESV)

When the calendar flips, when an increment of one is added to the year, when the ball drops and the fireworks fade… New begins.  Something fresh.  A beginning happens.

I’ve wondered whether in the ministry of Jesus He experienced anything similar.  A start.  A blastoff.  An inaugural.

Luke 4 helps me.  It’s here, as Jesus returns to the place of His childhood, to the place where He endured splinters and skeptics.  Here where He worked with diligence and honor; it’s here that something extraordinary begins.

Jesus took His role in the synagogue.  He read… from the scroll… from Isaiah, chapter 61.  The words of the prophet became His coronation, His commissioning, His blessing, His mission, His death sentence.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me.”

To proclaim – to the poor, to the captive, to the confined, to the broken, to the overlooked and overpowered… and then He did it.  He embraced it and pronounced it… “TODAY!  Today is the day.  Today is MY day.  Today I cut ribbon on MY ministry.  From today on everything changes, for me, for you, for mankind, for all of history.”

Isaiah 61 is not simply prophetic; it’s also a job description… for the Son of God.  TODAY.

I’m not pretending that this was somehow a New Year’s resolution for Jesus… but it does bolster in me the fresh embrace of a new season, a beginning, a start.  Today.

Jesus had thirty years of calendars in the recycling bin and now the crisp new pages reflected the start.  Today.

No panic, but urgency.
No chaos, but orchestration.
No worry, but faithfulness.
No delay; TODAY.

What shouldn’t wait any longer?  What’s poised and ready?  What demands your courage, your commitment, and your honest proclamation… Today!

For the poor, for the prisoner, for the sick, for the weak, for the wounded… for our King.

Today.

Everything changes when we answer the call… today.