This is Jesus’ first homily. In it he tells us exactly what his mission is. He tells us exactly what he wants to do, what he came to earth for: he came to bring “good news” to those who suffer, to free captives, to cure the blind – he came because we needed him to come. Who is the suffering, the imprisoned, the blind? All of us. Each one of us. Sometimes physically, and all the time spiritually. We suffer disappointments and trials and frustrations no matter how hard we try to avoid them; we suffer the moral agony of seemingly incurable selfishness. We are captives of our strong tendencies to sin and self-centeredness that don’t seem to go away no matter how hard we try – impatience, lust, greed, fear, dishonesty, laziness: they bind us like chains. Daily we are blinded by the sparkling allure of temptation that trips us up again and again, that makes us think we’re on the right path in life if enough people (or the right people) accept us, that makes us think we will be happy if we have enough money or success or pleasure or comfort. We are the suffering, the captives, and the blind. We aren’t experiencing life as God wants us to. And in our hearts, we know that. We know that we should be better, stronger, more patient, wiser, happier. We put up a good front, but underneath – underneath we are suffering, imprisoned, and blind. We need a Savior and Jesus knows this. And he comes. To be our Savior. This was his original job description, and it hasn’t changed.From the Pastor’s Desk