10 January 2019
Thursday after Epiphany
Jesus begins His ministry in Galilee by going to the Synagogue and proclaiming “a year acceptable to the Lord” (Lk. 4:19; cf. Is. 61:2). What did this year consist in? For Luke, the rest of Jesus’ public ministry would be roughly one year. It would involve miracles and it would involve death. The coming year would see Heaven and earth united in a way no one had ever thought possible. There is far more to that one year than anyone could ever imagine.
The acceptable year sees Jesus bringing joy to many, and it also sees Him embracing sorrows. Perhaps most importantly, it seems Him conquering death and making us true children of God. Whenever we remember our baptisms or rejoice in the sacraments, we are still living out the fruits of that acceptable year. The acceptable year that Jesus came to proclaim was not just for those sitting in the synagogue on that day, or even just for the Israelites of Jesus’ time. The year acceptable to the Lord was for all of us, and is something in which even today we can still rejoice.