Note: Celebrating Sabbath is my attempt to begin each week with a reminder of our true identity: whose we are and who we are called to be.

I find these word from Isaiah doubly good as they are the ones Jesus references, according to the gospel of Luke, in his first public speech. In other words, this text from Isaiah also serves as Jesus’ mission statement. We who would follow Jesus’ Way in the world must make it our mission statement as well.

Isaiah 61:1-2a

The Spirit of the Lord, the Eternal, is on me.
    The Lord has appointed me for a special purpose.
He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
    He has sent me to repair broken hearts,
And to declare to those who are held captive and bound in prison,
    “Be free from your imprisonment!”
2 He has sent me to announce the year of jubilee, the season of the Eternal’s favor.