Jesus inaugurates his public ministry in St. Luke’s gospel by quoting from the prophet Isaiah: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me.” Jesus applies to himself the prophetic image of bringing healing, peace, freedom and good news to the poor. This “mission statement” that Jesus makes at the beginning of his ministry contrasts with the Great Commission at the end of St. Matthew’s gospel. There Jesus commends his followers to preach, to teach, to baptize — tasks that would build the Church. We need to make both of these descriptions our own. We certainly need to strengthen and grow the Church but we must also focus on the task of the Church to be an agent of God’s grace and mercy in a hurting world.
