The Commencement
…and the angels sang;
all Nature stood on tiptoe,
and Man for whom He came
sat in wide-eyed wonder
speechless
at His commencement
as He, the desire of all Israel
proclaimed the fulfillment
of this prophecy
made six centuries earlier
in this acceptable year of the Lord
– a man, the likes of whom
the world had never seen
and will not see again
until He returns in glory,
not as the Lamb of God
but as the victorious conquering King
awesome to behold
to claim His own
in the clouds.
And the angels sang
to hear the Son made flesh
speak those words
after His time of testing
on the mountain
at the commencement
of His ministry,
which has enthralled mankind
these two millennia.
… and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.
Luke 4:17-22
Dr Oliver Seet is a member of Wesley Methodist Church and a Board Director of the Metropolitan YMCA.