The Third Sunday After Epiphany

Because of Jesus, who is the embodiment of the reign and will of God, the Kingdom is already among us, it is already here, today.  Christ makes this claim in this week’s gospel (Luke 4:14-21), drawing on Isaiah 61.  It’s hard to ignore and we should probably pay attention.  The promise of freedom, of good news for the poor, of the ability to see as God sees, and of liberation for all who are oppressed is fulfilled, in Jesus, TODAY.  And yet, there is also a distance, a gap, between what already is true and what is yet to be.  The fullness of God’s Kingdom, God’s reign over all of Creation, and God’s will coming upon the earth, is both present in Christ and yet, it is also out there on the horizon, waiting to be.  Our holy vocation is to follow Jesus, to draw near to him and become like him, and to be a living embodiment of Isaiah’s beautiful vision, today.