Jubilee: Joy in Freedom

Jesus' first "sermon" after his post-baptism wilderness journey was in his home synagogue. He read a passage from Isaiah that most of his hearers associated with the coming messiah, or anointed one. After reading, he simply said, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled just as you heard it." That got the crowd pretty excited.

     Perhaps the more intriguing thing Jesus said, as Rev.Dr. Angie Barker-Jackson noted, was his inclusion of the word, "Today."  All the promises of the Isaiah verse were realized that day, and every today since.  What might it mean that you can experience freedom "today"? From what? Freedom may not require than your circumstances change, as has been the case in the past from enslaved persons who remained so yet lived in freedom, or holocaust survivors who continued to suffer, yet they were also free.

   May you find - or begin finding - freedom from whatever holds you back, and may it bring you great joy.