NOTES:
1] Australian parishes / groups might like to relate these notes to Australia Day celebrations. 2] John the Baptist is now locked up or already dead, depending upon which Gospel we read, & Jesus takes centre stage. 3] Jesus is in the habit of teaching in the Galilean synagogues (by invitation, as in v.v.16+) 4] He also worships regularly, even if he doesn't like the 'Rector', the hard seats, or the unfriendly people....! 5] For vv.18-19, see IS 61:1-2 & 42:7. 6] The 'acceptable year' of v.19 seems to refer to the Jubilee year of LEV 25:8+.

WARMING UP: Are you a 'creature of habit', or do you prefer to do things more spontaneously?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Afterthoughts from, follow-up to last week's Group, or since?

EXPLORING GOSPEL:

14-15    Have we ever experienced a time of fresh, 'Spirit-filled', faith after overcoming / working our way through the kinds of dilemmas Jesus faced in his testing (vv.1-13)? Do such experiences last, or run out of steam? In either case, how come? Does news of what's happened to us spread? Does our being 'Spirit-filled' lead us to teach, set an example, that kind of thing? Or is it mainly / purely for private consumption?

16-21   How involved are we in the liturgy of our church? Or is that the prerogative of others? Have we ever considered becoming more involved, found out what steps need to be taken, taken those steps?
            Are we practised enough, confident enough, at finding where the various books of the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament) are placed in the Scriptures? If we were asked, say in an 'emergency' to read a lesson in the liturgy, would we feel able to respond positively? Are we confident at recognizing (with at least some degree of confidence) the 'thrust' of the main teachings of the Hebrew Prophets?

Is there any sense in which we feel ourselves 'anointed' to 'preach' good news to the poor, or are they the responsibility of Centrelink, etc.? What might 'preach good news' mean in our relating to the poor? What kind of good news might 'they' be looking for, hoping for, praying for? Are there ways in which we could 'proclaim release' to today's captives...civil & political prisoners, refugees, asylum seekers, etc.? How do we feel towards church & other groups who do go in to bat for them? Do we ever take stock of whether our attitude is good news or bad news to them - & to God? Apart from skilled medical help, are there other ways we could 'proclaim recovery of sight to the (physically) blind'? What about those who are 'blind' morally, spiritually, etc.? Are there ways we could be 'setting at liberty those who are oppressed' or is that a matter for government?  What if it's the government that's doing the oppressing?
          Assuming v.19 refers to the year of Jubilee (n.6, above) are there ways we could 'proclaim', observe, the spirit of that ancient law, if not the letter?
         How compelling (in terms of what Jesus quotes here from IS) is what we hear preached / like to hear preached / would preach if we had the opportunity? How does IS' / Jesus' news become 'good'? If it doesn't, is it any real use to us / anybody?
         Are there ways in which we experience scripture 'fulfilled in our hearing' today? How might this be? If it doesn't happen in some way, aren't we wasting our time - & everybody else's too?!