Patrick Comerford
The 40-day season of Christmas continues until Candlemas or the Feast of the Presentation (2 February), and tomorrow is the First Sunday of Epiphany (Epiphany I). The calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today remembers William Laud (1645), Archbishop of Canterbury.
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
Luke 4: 14-22 (NRSVA):
14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. 15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’
Today’s Reflection:
Traditionally, the Church associates Epiphany-tide with three public, epiphany moments, before beginning to look at Christ’s public ministry:
• The visit by the wise men, who, on behalf of the nations of the world, acknowledge him as king, priest, prophet and king with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2: 1-12, 6 January 2026).
• Christ’s baptism by Saint John the Baptist in the River Jordan, when he is acknowledged in a Trinitarian movement by both the Father and the Holy Spirit as the Son of God (Matthew 3: 13-17, 11 January 2026).
• The Wedding at Cana, which is the first of the seven signs in the Fourth Gospel, and which sees Christ reveal his glory so that his disciples believe in him (John 2: 1-11, 1 February 2026).
These three Epiphany moments are brought together in the Gospel reading on the Sunday at the Eucharist today (Luke 4: 14-22):
• Jesus is seen in this reading as king prophet, and priest: King, in the majestic way in which he proclaims the Jubilee Year on behalf of God who is the Sovereign Lord; priest in the way he becomes the mediator between God and his people, in a liturgical context, opening up the way to salvation; and prophet in bringing to their true completion the promises of the prophets of old.
• The Spirit that descended on him at his baptism is manifest that Saturday morning as he declares: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me’ (verse 18). That Epiphany moment at the Jordan was not a once-off experience of the Spirit; the Spirit remained with Christ, and he continues to act throughout his ministry in a Trinitarian movement.
• The miracle at Cana was a foretaste of the heavenly banquet and as a consequence the disciples believed. In this reading, we see that God’s promises are not just fanciful, they are to be fulfilled. And as a consequence of what Jesus said, ‘all spoke well of him and were amazed …’ (verse 22).
Of course, rejection was to follow, and that is the subject of the verses that follow this Gospel reading (Luke 4: 22-30). The Gospel reading today bridges the interlude between the Christmas and Epiphany stories and the beginning of Christ’s Galilean Ministry.
Saint Mark’s Gospel places the rejection of Christ by the people of Nazareth at the end of his first year of his ministry (see Mark 6: 1-6, 4 February 2026), Saint John places it when he returns from Jerusalem and after his meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well (see John 4: 43-45), while Saint Luke places it at the beginning of his ministry, although we are told at the beginning of this reading that there was an earlier period of ministry in neighbouring parts of Galilee (verses 14-15), perhaps in Capernaum.
Instead of succumbing to the temptations of a dramatic but false start to his Messianic ministry (Luke 4: 1-14), Christ begins his ministry in a very slow, thoughtful and considerate way. At the beginning of this reading, we are told that it was habitual in the first stage of his ministry for Jesus to attend the synagogue on a Saturday, and we are told too that he taught in the synagogues regularly (verse 15). Regular worship, scripture readings and teaching are the foundations of this ministry and for any action in it.
There was no ordained minister in a synagogue. Even in those places where there was a resident rabbi, he was an arbiter and a teacher, but not an ordained liturgical leader.
The synagogue would have been controlled by a board of elders, the equivalent of a PCC or select vestry in our parishes today, and by the chazzan or cantor or attendant. On Saturdays, the sabbath service began with the Shema (‘Hear O Israel …’ Deuteronomy 6: 4-9), and included prayers, fixed readings from the Torah or the Law, a reading from the Prophets, a sermon, and a blessing.
The two readings were in Hebrew, with a running translation into the vernacular, which was normally in Aramaic but might have been in Greek in many places.
It would have been normal for literate adult male Jews to be called in turn to read the Scriptures in the synagogue: first those who were of priestly descent, the cohanim; then the Levites; and then the other Israelites. So, on this particular Saturday, Jesus may have been the third person called on to read, or he may even have been further down the list.
The scroll of Isaiah was given to him by the chazzan, the cantor or attendant of the synagogue, who combined the functions that in a parish we might now associate with the sexton, verger, churchwarden, Sunday school teacher and reader. And it is to him that Christ returns the scroll when he is finished reading from it (verse 20).
The portion Christ reads from (verse 18-19) is actually three verses, and we should note that they do not come in sequence: Isaiah 61: 1, part only of verse 2 and a portion of Isaiah 58: 6. And so, even if Christ had been handed a pre-selected portion of Scripture to read – perhaps following in sequence from two or more previous readers – we see a deliberate choice by Christ to roll back the scroll and to insert a portion of that extra verse, Isaiah 58: 6.
So often I hear complaints when the compilers and editors of the lectionary omit or jump over certain verses in readings in order to provide coherence and continuity, but this is what appears to be happening here.
Having read while standing, Christ then sat down, the normal posture at the time for someone who is then teaching. After he sat down, all eyes were on him (verse 20), so it was he who was expected to preach and teach that sabbath day.
Christ tells the congregation that the Scripture has been fulfilled in their hearing. Scripture has not been read that morning just to comply with part of the ritual; it actually has immediate meaning, significance and relevance that day. Christ is not merely reading the words, he is promising to see them put into action, to transform hope into reality.
In reflecting on this Gospel reading, it is interesting to recall that how Abraham Lincoln used his second inaugural address to do something no President had ever done before – to speak in critical terms of the nation. He did so in order to name the evil of slavery, the toll it had exacted in human flesh and warfare, and to address the need to stay the course and bring an end to both the war and the cause of that war.
One commentator has said this Gospel reading is like Christ’s inaugural address. Here he sets out his priorities, his hopes, his expectations, even if people of faith are reluctant at times to co-operate and give him their votes.
If we see who Christ is then we must journey with him towards Calvary and Good Friday and the Garden and Easter Morning. And on that way, we take up the challenge at Cana to ‘Do whatever he tells you’ (John 2: 10, 1 February 2026).
He tells those who hear him in this reading that at the heart of everything he does and everything he asks us to do:
• to bring good news to the poor
• to proclaim release to the captives
• to proclaim recovery of sight to the blind
• to let the oppressed go free
• to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
Today’s Gospel reading is good news, and not just to the poor and oppressed in Nazareth in the past. Who are the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed in our midst today? And are we happy with them knowing that compassion for them is at the heart of Christ’s ministry and mission?
Is it too much for us to recover the message that links Christmas faith and Easter faith – that declares that the Gospel is good news for the poor, the captives, the blind and the oppressed among us today?
It is good news that may challenge us – that may take us outside our comfort zones. But if we step outside our comfort zone and recover this good news, then we can play our part in restoring the relevance of the Gospel and of the Church to a society today that is overwhelmed by bad news.
One commentator has said this Gospel reading is like Christ’s inaugural address. Here he sets out his priorities, his hopes, his expectations, even if people of faith are reluctant at times to co-operate and give him their votes.
It is almost a year since Donald Trump was inaugurated for a second time as President of the US at the US Capitol in Washington DC on 20 January 2025. His second inaugural address certainly lacked the moral fibre of Abraham Lincoln, failing to name the evils of present-day subjugation and slavery, the toll it had exacted in human flesh and warfare, or any hope of bringing an end to both wars and the causes of war.
Instead, he started with egregious references to the indictments against him, describing them as unfounded and politically motivated, and then announced his new policy priorities, including immigration restrictions, dropping environmental regulations, anti-DEI and anti-gender discrimination policies, establishing Elon Musk’s DOGE, and what would become a major appeasement of Russia in the war in Ukraine.
The Washington Post said the inaugural address, as Trump’s speeches usually do, veered off course and came off as ‘dark’. He sounded blasphemous as claimed he was chosen by God and that he was tested and cha\llenged more than any president in a 250-year history, conceitedly placing himself above every other US president, including Washington and Lincoln.
Nobody expected a year ago that within a year he was goinng to invade Venezuela and threaten to annex Greenland. But then, nowhere in that inaugural address a year go did he undertake over the following four years to:
• bring good news to the poor
• proclaim release to the captives
• proclaim recovery of sight to the blind
• let the oppressed go free
• proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.
Today’s Prayers (Saturday 10 January 2026):
The theme this week (4-10 January 2026) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), has been ‘Hidden Histories’ (pp 16-17). This theme was introduced last Sunday with a Programme Update by Matthew Anns, Senior Communications and Engagement Manager at USPG.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Saturday 10 January 2026) invites us to pray:
God of the nations, guide us to live as people of truth and reconciliation. As we face the past, shape us by your justice, strengthen us by your love, and unite us in hope for your kingdom.
The Collect:
O God,
who by the leading of a star
manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
mercifully grant that we,
who know you now by faith,
may at last behold your glory face to face;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
Lord God,
the bright splendour whom the nations seek:
may we who with the wise men have been drawn by your light
discern the glory of your presence in your Son,
the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Creator of the heavens,
who led the Magi by a star
to worship the Christ-child:
guide and sustain us,
that we may find our journey’s end
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Collect on the Eve of Baptism of Christ:
Eternal Father,
who at the baptism of Jesus
revealed him to be your Son,
anointing him with the Holy Spirit:
grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit,
that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Yesterday’s Reflections
Continued Tomorrow
Jesus in the Synagogue, as imagined by the Northern Ireland-born artist Greg OlsenScripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
