“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,

and news of him spread throughout the whole region.

He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,

and went according to his custom

into the synagogue on the sabbath day.

He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

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.

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,

and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.

He said to them,

‘Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.’”

Last year, while the archbishop was serving as the apostolic administrator for the Diocese of Knoxville and as the Vicar General, I had the opportunity, privilege, and responsibility of presiding at a number of confirmations in various parishes throughout the archdiocese. It was always a great blessing to see each community offer their best in worship to God for the good of the youth that had been preparing for the sacrament. It was always a moment of joy and gratitude. There are a limited number of readings that each parish can select for the confirmation mass and our Gospel reading today was one frequently chosen. It became one of my favorites to preach on at confirmation because it tied so well into the reality that the confirmandi, or those to be confirmed, would experience in the sacrament. 

After noting that Jesus was uniquely the anointed one of God, that the Spirit was upon him in a singular way, I would remind them that confirmation was not a graduation from the faith, but a new beginning. It was the beginning of a better story, with a wider horizon, to live as part of God’s story, in the drama of salvation, where each of them and, in fact, each of us has a purpose and a mission. I would then share with them three important realities from their confirmation. First, God loves us. It is so familiar that it often loses its meaning, but God does love each of us personally, profoundly, carefully, and truly. Second, God gifts us. In so many ways, through our talents, abilities, time, faith, relationships, and all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, God gifts us. Each gift from God also bears within the gift a responsibility to use that gift to its full potential and for the good of others. We are all blessed to be a blessing for others. Third, God sends us. He sends us on mission to be his hands and feet, eyes and heart, into the world. He does not send us as we are often sent on an errand. Instead, he sends us and promises us, “I will go with you.” We are never alone, but through the Holy Spirit, God goes with us. 

In every Eucharist, it is also true that God loves us, gifts us, and sends us. We become what we receive and are sent to be his presence in the world. At confirmation, we each, like Jesus, become anointed ones of God. In the Eucharist today, we are renewed in that mission. Today, the scripture passage we read is fulfilled, once again, in our hearing.