February 01st, 2025

This Sunday’s title is quite interesting. As was mentioned in last week’s writing, the titles around this time of year are somewhat similar, since they follow after the important day of Epiphany. But the official title for this Sunday, since this Sunday happens to fall on February 2 (the fortieth day after December 24), is “The Purification of Mary and the Presentation of Our Lord”. That does not happen too often.

There are many details in the Gospel according to Luke that are not found in the other accounts. And even when they ARE found in the other accounts as well, sometimes they are significantly different. Last week’s writing basically looked at the difference between the important thing being in the middle and the important thing being at the end. Ultimately both points are important. And both points, at the time of their occurrence, give a helpful structure to whatever is the thing that is being progressed to its finality. It would be nice to know when you are halfway through something, and it is certainly nice to know when you are at the end.

In these writings we are going through the Gospel according to Luke, in the way in which it was laid out by the writer, taking a little piece at a time. What follows is the section of that Gospel account which follows right after Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. You might say that the temptation time in the wilderness is a good start that closely compares to where he will be ending his life, at the cross. Instead of the devil tempting Jesus to jump down from a high place on the temple, those around Jesus while he is on the cross just outside of Jerusalem want him to come down from the cross and save himself (see Luke 23:35ff). Yet he stayed on the cross to save someone more important to him.

What follows is an extremely literal translation of Jesus’ start of ministry among the people, Luke 4:14-30; and the ending of this text gives yet another possibility of an ending to Jesus’ life. But that is not the end; instead of being at a low point in death by being pushed over a cliff, he waited and was raised to a high point on a cross. And he did this for ALL people. And here is the text (and if this is the first time reading the texts of this website, it will be helpful to know that the hyphens connect the words in English which are the same word in the Greek text of the New Testament; sometimes this writer uses some big and rare words; and even if you are familiar with this section of the text—it was quite recently essentially the Gospel reading of the day—it may be helpful to look at other translations and/or a study bible for more details):

And  he-returned,  the  Jesus,  in  the  dynamite  of-the  Spirit,  into  the  Galilee;  and  a-report  came-out  through,  whole,  the  region-around  concerning  him.  And  he,  he-was-teaching  in  the  synagogues  of-them,  being-glorified  by  all.

And  he-came  into  Nazareth,  where  he-was,  having-been-nourished,  and  he-came-into,  according-to  the  custom  for-him,  in  the  day  of-the  Sabbaths,  into  the  synagogue,  and  he-stood-up  to-read.  And  it-was-given-over  to-him  a-bible  of-the  prophet  Isaiah,  and  having-unrolled  the  bible,  he-found  the  place  where  it-was,  having-been-written:

“Spirit  of-Lord,  upon  me,  which  for-the-sake-of,  he-christened  me,  to-evangelize  to-poor-ones,  he-has-sent-out  me  to-proclaim  to-captives  release,   and  to-blind-ones,  to-see-again,  to-send-out,  having-been-shattered-ones  in  release,  to-proclaim  a-year  of-Lord,  favorable.”

And  having-rolled  the  bible,  having-given-back  to-the  attendant,  he-sat;  and  of-all  the  eyes  in  the  synagogue  were  gazing  at-him.  Now  he-began  to-say  toward  them,  “Today  it-has-been-fulfilled,  the  writing,  this,  in  the  ears  of-you.”
And  all  they-were-witnessing  to-him,  and  they-were-marveling  upon  the  words  of-the  grace,  the-ones  going-out,  out-of  the  mouth  of-him,  and  they-were-saying,  “Not  son  it-is  of-Joseph,  this-one?”

And  he-said  toward  them,  “By-all-means  you-will-say  to-me  the  parable,  this:  ‘Healer,  therapize  yourself;  what-things  we-heard  having-happened  into  the  Capernaum,  do  also  here  in  the  patron-place  of-you.’”  Now  he-said,  “Amen,  I-am-saying  to-you  that  no  prophet,  acceptable,  is  in  the  patron-place  of-him.  Now  upon  truth,  I-am-saying  to-you,  many  widows  were  in  the  days  of-Elias  in  the  Israel,  when  it-was-closed,  the  heaven,  over  years  three,  and  months  six,  as  it-happened,  a-famine,  mega,  upon  all  the  land,  and  toward  not-one  of-them  he-was-sent,  Elias,  if  not  into  Sarepta  of-the  Sidon,  toward  a-woman,  a-widow.  And  many  lepers  were  in  the  Israel  upon  Elisaios  the  prophet,  and  not-one  of-them  was-a-catharsis  if  not  Naaman,  the  Syrian.”​

And  they-were-filled  all,  of-anger,  in  the  synagogue,  hearing  these-things,  and  having-stood-up,  they-threw-out  him,  outside  the  city,  and  they-led  him  until  a-brow  of-the  hill  upon  which  the  city  had-been-built  of-them,  so-as  to-throw-down-a-cliff  him;  now  he,  having-come-through,  through  midst  of-them,  he-was-going.