Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song And Praise

If you remember last week’s gospel reading which Rich so powerfully proclaimed, Jesus had gone to his hometown synagogue and read words from the great prophet Isaiah, saying:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, to preach good news to the poor."  Well, today, we get the rest of the story.  After reading from Isaiah, Jesus sat down.  The people’s eyes were fixed on him, and he said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."  The first public word spoken by Jesus himself in Luke's gospel is the word "today."  That word is a favorite of Luke's.  It appears twelve times in Luke's gospel.  "Today" conveys a real sense of immediacy.  Furthermore, Jesus unabashedly says the words of Isaiah are "fulfilled in your hearing."  Hearing Jesus' words, connecting them with the fulfillment of scripture and seeing Jesus' ministry of "release" on behalf of the poor – all of this Jesus claims is taking place right now, today, in and through him as he lives out the love of God for all people.  Well, initially, t