He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “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, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:17b – 19. 

Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.  1 Corinthians 12:14-15

Every so often, someone gives you just the pastoral response you need. Mine came from a visiting priest. As we were vesting in the Holy Trinity sacristy, he asked me about my then-tentative call to the diaconate. I said, I wasn’t really sure I could be a good-enough deacon. He asked me when I was going to drop the false humility and get on with it.

That’s what we, in the biz, call a pastoral dope slap.

In this week’s Gospel we hear Jesus revealing yet another vision of his identity as he claims the words of the prophet Isaiah. It’s a manifesto of sorts that puts all of the epiphanies of the last few weeks in perspective. It assigns to these revelations–Jesus as King, God’s Son, and miracle worker–a purpose. And a very specific purpose at that.

Jesus doesn’t apologize, or say “I think maybe I kinda have this Savior-of-all-humankind thing I do pretty well.” He doesn’t hide away hoping someone will realize how special he is or what snazzy gifts he’s been given by his Father. He takes a risk. He makes himself incredibly vulnerable, and lays it all out, in public, in the temple: not just Who has sent him, but those to whom he’s been sent–and here our plot takes a turn. Jesus hasn’t come for those who’ve already made it or got it all together, but for the poor, the captive, the blind, the oppressed. In short, he’s the Messiah. That’s likely to create some push-back for this fellow who, so far, has been recognized around town as a pretty good teacher.

If someone had written a prophecy about your life, what would it say? What is your manifesto? Who sends you, and to whom are you sent? What are called to proclaim in both word and deed?

The answers to these questions will tell you a lot about your vocation, about how you fit into the Body of Christ. These answers bind who you are to God’s mission. These answers don’t always come clearly, and they don’t come all at once. But our God is still in the epiphany business.

The real question is: as God reveals to you who you are, who you’re for, and what your life is to proclaim, will you be ready to own it? Are you sufficiently over yourself: trusting God for your worthiness, embracing salvation, rejecting false humility? Are you ready to claim your call, take your place in the Body, and get on with the good work of building the Kingdom?