Rev Gav

Poverty

Luke 4:16-18

¹⁶ When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. ¹⁷ The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
    that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free…

Reflect

Jesus was in the synagogue and he read the Bible reading of the day, from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Now it is highly likely that this passage from Isaiah 61 would have been the set reading from the prophets for that Sabbath, and it is a reading that speaks about the Messiah. It is the most amazing coincidence that Jesus happened to be the Rabbi who was reading and speaking in the synagogue on that particular day — and what a reading it turned out to be! Jesus began by saying that he had great news for the poor.

It is true to say that God, as described by the writers of the Bible, has a heart for the physically poor, however, in this context, the poor were also those who were spiritually poor. At the time of Jesus, there were many people who were physically and mentally poor, and we know that there are many people who are physically and mentally poor in the world today, but is our western society also ‘spiritually’ poor?

Some clever bods (such as philosophers and social analysts) claim that our modern, western world is moving into a time when people are spiritually poor; that there is a growing distrust because science and human achievement have not ‘delivered the goods’ in alleviating poverty, pain or suffering, and that there is something missing from our lives.

Jesus’ message was that if we want to be spiritually wealthy, then we need to hear and respond to him; to receive and accept him, therefore, if you desire to be spiritually rich then that richness can be found in Jesus.

Do

Let the Spirit of God remind you that spiritual fulfilment is found in Jesus. Accept and receive Jesus into your life afresh today.

Pray

Holy God
I recognise my own spiritual poverty
and accept the good news
of your Son, Jesus Christ.
I welcome you into my life again today.
Please fill me with your Spirit
and give me your wisdom.
This day and for ever.
Amen.

Think

What does it mean to be spiritually rich? What would that look like for yourself, your friends and family, and your local community?