In today’s Gospel reading, St. Luke provides a compelling account of Jesus visiting his family and friends in his hometown of Nazareth. On the Sabbath day, as was his custom, Jesus went to the local Synagogue to pray with the community. The Third Commandment states: “Remember the Sabbath day, so that it remains holy. You shall labor for six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God; you shall not do any work on that day” (Ex. 20:8-11). In the same spirit, we continue this tradition by gathering as a community to worship the Lord on Sundays, celebrating the day of rest and renewal.
The Sabbath was not merely a day of rest but also a day of joy and celebration for the people of God. It was a time for the community to come together in worship, praising God with hymns, prayers, and psalms. On that particular Sabbath, Jesus stood up in the Synagogue to read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. The passage he read proclaimed glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives, and freedom to the oppressed. These words would have resonated deeply with the Jewish people, as they echoed the promises of the Jubilee Year, a time of liberation and restoration celebrated in their tradition. After reading the passage, Jesus made a startling declaration: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” With these words, Jesus inaugurated a new and eternal Jubilee – a time of grace, mercy, and salvation for all people. This “today” is not confined to that moment in history; it is an eternal “today” that speaks to each one of us, calling us to recognize the presence of God’s Kingdom in our lives.
Throughout history, God has used courageous men and women filled with the Spirit of the Lord to bring transformation to the world. As followers of Christ, we are also called to be instruments of the Holy Spirit, bringing glad tidings to those around us and working to heal a broken world. Reflecting on this mission, let us consider the example of St. Telemachus, a Christian monk from Asia Minor who lived during the early centuries of the Church. One of the most famous historical landmarks in Rome is the Colosseum, which could accommodate over fifty thousand spectators. This structure, completed in A.D. 80, hosted gladiatorial games that often resulted in the deaths of countless individuals, including slaves, criminals, and prisoners of war. Over the centuries, nearly four hundred thousand people and one million animals perished here. If the stones of the Colosseum could speak, they would tell countless heart-wrenching stories of human suffering.
St. Telemachus was instrumental in ending these cruel games. On January 1, A.D. 404, he entered the Colosseum during a gladiatorial fight and courageously intervened to stop the violence. His actions enraged the spectators, who stoned him to death. However, the news of his martyrdom reached the ears of Emperor Honorius, who was moved to ban all gladiatorial games. St. Telemachus’ sacrifice, inspired by the Spirit of the Lord, saved countless lives and serves as a powerful example of how one person, filled with God’s grace, can bring about profound change.
My dear sisters and brothers in Christ, today’s Gospel invites us to honor the Sabbath by worshiping the Lord with our families and communities. Like Jesus, we are called to bring glad tidings to the poor, freedom to the oppressed, and hope to the downtrodden. In doing so, we participate in God’s work of renewing the face of the earth. Let us pray for the courage and grace to be filled with the Spirit of the Lord, so that we may become faithful instruments of his love and mercy.
Rev. Dr. Mathew Charthakuzhiyil