When Jesus returned to Nazareth after His Baptism, He proclaimed in the synagogue the passage from the prophet Isaiah that spoke of the coming Messiah and His saving actions.
“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 the recovery of sight to the blind, to free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19)
At the end of his reading, Jesus utters what I think are the most extraordinary words in the Gospel.
“Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21)
In that moment, He revealed His identity as the “Anointed One,” the “Christ,” the “Messiah”.
He is the long-awaited Savior, prophesied by Isaiah.
This “acceptable year of the Lord,” which Jesus proclaims, is the time of Jubilee, when the Lord is most profoundly at work in the world, seeking out the lost and the broken, healing the blind and the sick, proclaiming the Good News of salvation.
He is the Messiah
In this passage, we can easily see that Jesus indeed is the long-awaited Messiah and that He has ushered in a permanent Jubilee of grace and salvation, one not limited by space or time.
The wonder of His earthly ministry of preaching, healing, and teaching, culminating in His death and resurrection, carries on in His presence among and within us today, through the power of the Word and the grace of the Sacraments, and in the mystical life of the Church.
Understanding the Jubilee Year
In these profound ways, the Lord stands always available and welcoming, wanting us to draw near and to know the joy of salvation in Him.
In this context, we can better understand this current Jubilee Year of Hope, which we continue to celebrate.
Every 25 years, the Church calls us to do perhaps more intensely and devotedly what we can and should be doing all the time — walking the way of faith, going deeper into the Mass and the sacraments, placing prayer at the center of our day, serving the needs of others with heroic charity, and witnessing the power of Jesus to others through missionary discipleship.
Pope Francis died in this Jubilee Year, but prepared us for it and thematized it with the virtue of Hope.
We have also experienced the beginnings of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate.
In humility, simplicity, and joy, he speaks often of Jesus and our need to let the Lord heal, forgive, and love us.
Just this past Sunday, the Holy Father canonized both Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis, two young people who exemplified the hope and joy we can find in the risen Christ.
A year can be a long time to stay focused on a particular theme, so I encourage all of us, including me, to use well the remaining months of the Jubilee.
Visit the six designated churches in the diocese where you can gain the Jubilee indulgence.
Frequent the sacraments and Eucharistic Adoration. Perform works of charity, small acts of love which give hope to those who suffer and know want. Study and pray over the Nicene Creed. We are celebrating the 1,700th anniversary of its formulation this year. Choose to radiate hope to a world that often feels trapped in darkness and despair.
In these simple ways, we can both experience and witness to the permanent Jubilee of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who has ushered in the final age of salvation and mercy.
No matter how heavy the cross, no matter the weight of our sins, no matter the intensity of the storm, we can turn to Him and know that He has personally come for each of us, to speak the Good News, to heal our blindness, to release us from the chains that bind us, to free us from sin and death.
Christ’s love for us is always fresh and new, inviting us to push on towards the glory of His Kingdom and the light of the Heavenly Jerusalem, where the angels and saints eagerly await us!