Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, December 17, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
As we continue our journey through Advent, we continue to hear the prophets proclaiming words of hope. God’s people never seemed to catch a break, and yet they remained faithful to God (in an on-again, off-again kind of way) through generations. Now, again, they are a conquered people, many of them living in exile. They need a proclamation of God’s favor. And how blessed is the messenger that brings this good news! When Jesus began his ministry, he read this passage (more or less) to a rapt synagogue and told them that he was the fulfilment of it. Surely he did come to bring good news to the hurting, the down-trodden, the victims of injustice. And we await his coming again at Christmas and at the end of time, proclaim it again.
What good news do I need to hear today?
![1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24], God’s Care for the Widow](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/bf37035e-33d5-439f-a0d6-a68b02d0f1bc/24-11-03.jpg)
