When I was a kid, my dad would read the Hardy Boys stories to my brother, Joey, and me before bed. They are stories about two teenage brothers, Frank and Joe Hardy, who go on different adventures solving mysteries. Because the main characters are called Frank and Joe, my brother thought that the stories were about us. He would ask my dad to read the “Frank and Joey stories.” He was so excited to be part of a story. 

    In today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” What must it have been like for those in the synagogue when Jesus said these words. They were in the presence of the Messiah Himself, and the words He was reading were not just words but were coming true as He said them. They were part of the story.

     But Jesus’ fulfillment of the Scripture doesn’t belong to a distant past, but is relevant for us today. Jesus proclaims: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” We are the poor to whom Jesus proclaims good news, the captives He has come to liberate, the blind to whom He gives sight, and the oppressed that He sets free. We are just as much a part of this story as Jesus’ original hearers. 

     We have been set free by Jesus through the sacraments, especially Baptism. Through this same sacrament, we have also been empowered to share in the same mission of Jesus. We have been anointed with the same Spirit of the Lord and so receive the same call. We are called to be an integral part of the story of salvation. How can we live out this mission? We are all called to proclaim the good news, but the way we do that can look as unique as each of our personal set of gifts. Maybe bringing glad tidings to the poor means volunteering with St. Vincent de Paul or Hesed House. Proclaiming liberty to captives could be participating in prison ministry. Giving sight to the blind could be taking part in a Bible Study. And letting the oppressed go free could mean taking part in the Rescue Project. These are just a few suggestions of the many ways God could be calling us to share in the messianic mission of Jesus. 

     Like my brother thought that he and I were actually part of the Hardy Boys stories, all baptized Christians are actually called to be active participants in the story of salvation. By virtue of our baptism, we are all invited to take part in the mission that Jesus proclaimed in the synagogue at Nazareth. How will we respond?