Today's gospel speaks of the Spirit of the Lord being upon Jesus. This is the same Spirit that hovered over the waters at the dawn of creation. This is the same Spirit who overshadowed the Virgin Mary so that the Word of God became flesh. It is in the power of this Spirit that Jesus returned to Galilee and began preaching, teaching and healing. This is the same Spirit who this coming Sunday descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove when he is baptized in the Jordan River. This is the same Spirit who descended upon the gathered disciples on Pentecost and enabled them to speak in various languages and empowered them to proclaim the Risen Lord unto the ends of the earth. This is the same Spirit who we received at our baptism and with whom we were sealed in Confirmation. What kind of evidence do our lives present that the Spirit is upon us and at work with us and empowering us to love as Jesus loves?

By our initiation into the Church we, too, have been anointed to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind and to help to let the oppressed go free. Can we validly claim to love God who none of us has ever seen if we fail to see the needs of our neighbour and address them? Are we forgiving those who injure us and asking God to forgive them? Are we praying for those who cause us harm and perhaps even hate us?