Year C

3RD SUNDAY
IN ORDINARY TIME

► Text of Sunday Reflection

“You may be the only Gospel some people will ever read”
by Rosemary O’Connor & Patrick Sullivan

In this Sunday’s second reading St Paul writes about how we are all baptised by the one Spirt into one body.  He goes on to say that the body does not consist of one member but of many.  He conveys the message that through our baptism we are all part of the body of Christ.  We are all called by name – we each have a role to play in the body of Christ, each of our roles is important; no one role, big or small, is more important than another.

The question for each of us to reflect on is how do we play our role? How do we fulfil God’s mission here on earth?  Donal Harrington, the Irish Theologian, uses the expression of ‘activating’ our baptism.  We are generally baptised as babies; as we mature we are able to make choices and decisions for ourselves.  When we activate our baptism, our faith becomes real and not just words; we are filled with the Spirit and see with Jesus’ eyes.  St Teresa puts this beautifully in her prayer; “Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good.”

When we think of our baptismal calling in this way, we can get a sense that our role in the body of Christ is played out in our everyday lives; around the family table, with our colleagues, our friends and the people we encounter on a daily basis.  It is very often the little things that stand out during our daily encounters; perhaps someone smiled at us, perhaps we experienced a kind word that changed the complexion of our day.  Patrick Kavanagh captures this in his poem ‘The Great Hunger’; “God is in the bits and pieces of Everyday.  A kiss here and a laugh again, and sometimes tears.  A pearl necklace around the neck of poverty”.

There is a lovely expression based on words from St Francis of Assisi; “you may be the only Gospel that some people will ever read”.   God reaches us through each other.  There is so much ministering that takes place every day in families and relationships but we don’t always appreciate it in this way.

I invite you to reflect for a few moments on the adapted words of this poem by an unknown author:

I saw Jesus last week.
He was wearing blue jeans and an old shirt.
He was up at the Church
He was alone and working hard.
For just a minute he looked a little like one of our parishioners.
But it was Jesus; I could tell by his smile.

I saw Jesus yesterday.
He was at the hospital visiting a friend who was sick.
They prayed together quietly.
For just a minute he looked like our Parish Priest.
But it was Jesus; I could tell by the tears in his eyes.

I saw Jesus this morning.
He was in my kitchen making my breakfast. He then prepared a special
lunch for me to take with me.
For just a minute he looked like my Mam.
But it was Jesus; I could feel the love from his heart.

I saw Jesus the other day.
He was at the supermarket talking to a friend.
He then put his arms around them to comfort them.
For just a minute he looked like a woman in our street.
But it was Jesus; I could see the concern for others who hurt.

I see Jesus everywhere,
taking food to the sick,
welcoming others to his home,
being friendly to a newcomer.
And for just a minute I think he’s someone I know.
But it’s always Jesus; I can tell by the way he serves.
    Author unknown

If we were to stop and reflect on our own lives; what Gospel would people read in us?  What message do we convey through our words and actions? How do our families, our friends, the strangers we encounter, experience God’s love through us?

► Readings, Reflections & Prayers

Scripture readings: Association for Catholic Priests
– www.associationofcatholicpriests.ie
Reflections and Prayers by Fr Jack Finnegan SDB

1st Reading – Nehemiah 8:2-6, 8-10

The priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. The scribe Ezra stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Reflection

Our first reading today challenges our spiritual complacency. It reminds us to see beyond our material needs and to give quality time to our spiritual lives. Our spirits need time for renewal and restoration. We are invited to regularly recharge our covenant relationship with God. It should come as no surprise, then, that our reading paints a picture of synagogue worship and the central role played in it by the Word of God. Do you recognize the pattern: the reading of scripture followed by an explanation of the text and a time of prayerful worship? A similar order would have been familiar to Jesus and his family at Nazareth. The influence of this early ritual can be seen even today in our Liturgy of the Word. We too are invited to keep the Lord’s Day holy and to make it a day of rejoicing. We too stand for the gospel. We too are invited to reflect seriously on the Word of God, to meditate on the Word of God and review our lives in its saving light. The Lord’s Day is also a day of reflection when we think of others. We too discover that the joy of the LORD is our strength! In the process we discover that true worship with others builds us up and helps us not only to face the painful challenges of life but to cope with anti-religious opposition.

Prayer

LORD, Adonai, your joy is our strength! Make us hungry for your living word! Make us thirsty for its life-giving waters! May we listen attentively when it is read and say Amen! to your living love and wisdom! Shake us out of our spiritual complacency and apathy! Draw us to prayer! Make us hungry to meditate. Show us how to be hearers and doers of your word! May we rejoice to make our days holy in your presence! May we discover that true worship with others in the faith community builds us up and helps us not only to face the painful challenges of life but to cope with anti-religious opposition! May your Word be our strength, your love our life, your grace our defence! Now and forever. Amen and Amen.

Psalm 19:8-10, 15

Reflection

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my Strength and my Redeemer! Notice the centrality of the word in this great psalm: the word of nature and creation, the word of scripture and salvation, the word of prayer and praise and life. Perhaps this is why C.S. Lewis believed that psalm 19 was the greatest psalm in the Bible. In the verses selected for today we are shown why scripture is so precious. Note how our attention is drawn to the perfection, truth and pure beauty of God’s living word. The fourth verse calls on us to meditate on scripture in the depths of our hearts if we want to make our words and thoughts acceptable to God in every way. The psalm promises that God’s word refreshes the soul and rejoices the heart. The living Word gives us the wise understanding we need to live genuine spiritual lives where the Lord is our firm foundation, our redeemer, and the lavish giver of Spirit and life!

Prayer

LORD, Adonai, your word is ALIVE! Your word is dependable nourishment for our souls and light for our spirits! Your living word is the radical source of perfect wisdom. Your breath-taking word is full of light. It fills our hearts with joy and enlightenment. Your living word is awesome in its beauty. It is pure food for our spirits, lavishly overflowing with Spirit and life. May we rejoice in the word of nature and creation, the word of scripture and salvation, the word of prayer and praise and life! May your word shape our words, your thought our thoughts! You are the ground of our being, our merciful redeemer! May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my Strength and my Redeemer! Now and forever. Amen and Amen.

2nd Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-30

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

If all were a single organ, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to he hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we invest with the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

Reflection

What does Paul mean when he calls the Church “the body of Christ”? Is it a figure of speech or something real? Paul’s use of language in this text shows quite clearly that he intended to refer to something real. We are the body of Christ but we have to work out what that means at local and world levels through our efforts to live the Living Word in real dependence on the Risen Lord in the power of the Spirit. To be the body of Christ, therefore, makes clear social, spiritual and ethical demands on us, demands that arise out of our obligations to each other. It also draws us into an experience of living oneness and mutual concern. The long form of the reading lists and explores some of the practical and charismatic implications of living in the body of Christ and reminds us that such gifts are always the result of divine action.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we are your body. We are shaped by your Word. We are formed by the gifts of your Spirit. Bless all who teach. Bless all who tell stories full of the promise of life. Bless those who lead worship. Bless all who bring your healing touch to the community of faith. Bless those who administer the affairs of the faith community. Bless those who help the young in so many different ways. Renew your Spirit in us. Fill all Christians with baptismal life and desire for unity. Show the world you live through each one of us. Bless our Catholic schools. Now and forever. Amen and Amen.

Gospel Reading: Luke 1:1-4,4:14-21

Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed.

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to procaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Reflection

Luke 1:1-4 acts as the preface to Luke’s Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Both books are narrative accounts of the beginnings of Christianity offered for the instruction of catechumens. Unlike Mark, therefore, Luke offers us a life of Jesus rather than a proclamation of the Christ-event. His interest is the things which have been accomplished among us. ‘Us’ means the whole Christian community! Luke 4:14-21 then begins with Jesus’ return to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, that is, after his testing time in the wilderness. The link with Isaiah 61 is made clear when Jesus reads and speaks in his hometown synagogue and describes his ministry in terms of Isaiah’s Servant: preaching, delivering the oppressed, and healing done in the fulfilment of scripture. Do we notice the empowerment by the Spirit? Or the linking of preaching and teaching? Or the dynamism of Jesus’ ministry? Are we ready to read and take the scriptures to heart? Are we ready to meet Jesus in the Word and become part of his Servant’s work?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you stood in the synagogue and announced the living word to your own people as Ezra had done before you. And you proclaim it to us today. Help us take your word to heart. Let your awesome holiness touch our world. Once again, pour out the vast power of your Spirit. Teach us, deliver us from the powers of oppression, and heal our ills of body, mind and spirit. Once again, fulfil Isaiah’s prophecy in our midst and lead us onwards to life and glory. Help our schools to bring you to a new generation and share your living word with all the world. May we always recognise you in the Word and share ever more fully in your Servant work! Now and forever. Amen and Amen.

► Lectio Divina

This Gospel reading is not a single continuous text. It is made up of two parts that are very different from each other, and the second part is, in fact, an incomplete account. This makes it difficult for the believer to understand and assimilate the reading. In the first part, Luke introduces himself and his work, and reveals his intentions. He is writing to show the truth of the early Christian catechesis. He is well informed and wants to do the task better than his predecessors. In the second part, he introduces Jesus and his personal mission.  Jesus makes himself known to his fellow citizens.  He is not the one they know, but the one they have been waiting for – a man of the Spirit sent by God, the one who frees the oppressed and proclaims salvation. Even in our day, the Scripture is fulfilled for those who accept Jesus as he presents himself, as he wants to be for us. Rather than trying to imagine what he might be like, we should allow him to be as God has given him to us.  It is good to allow ourselves to be surprised.

Read: understand what the text is saying, focussing on how it says it

Our text, even if it is put together arbitrarily, has a clear function as an introduction. The first paragraph is a kind of foreword to the gospel, intended to introduce the book. The episode that follows introduces the main character of the book. As we have it in the liturgical version, it confirms the veracity of the author’s testimony. It draws attention to what he is going to report and serves as an official presentation of his book to society. Following the style of historians of his time, Luke tells his readers the content of the book and his purpose in writing it, and at the same time, affirms the validity of his account. What his is going to report, is shown to be true and is worthy of acceptance. Theophilus, the reader to whom the book is dedicated, can rest assured that the account is worthy of belief.

Luke begins his account of the public ministry of Jesus in Nazareth.  This was a deliberate choice on his part. It involved changing the order found in his source, Chapter 6, 1-6 of Mark’s gospel.  Jesus was already well known in the surrounding area. Now he introduces himself and his programme to his fellow citizens, during a religious service on the Sabbath. Taking part in the worship, as was his custom, he reads the Scripture and explains it. So far, everything is normal. What is really extraordinary is the comment he makes. All eyes are      fixed on him as he says, ”today this has been fulfilled.” In the presence of all his acquaintances, among whom he had grown up (Lk 2, 39 -40), he dares to say that he is the fulfilment of the Scripture he has just read. Their own townsman says that he is the anointed one!  A man educated in Nazareth claims to be the Messiah that was foretold. This is how, in Luke’s gospel, Jesus reveals his awareness of his identity as the Messiah, a man of the Spirit; and of the mission assigned to him – to free the oppressed.

The quotation from Isaiah is complete but the comment from Jesus is very brief and somewhat surprising.  His presence at Nazareth fulfils his mission as prophet. He is God’s messenger and God’s anointed, sent to bring good news to the poor, to set prisoners free, to heal the sick and proclaim God’s grace. By applying the prophecy to himself, Jesus not only reflects his personal conviction that he is sent by God, but also describes in detail the mission for which he has been chosen. He displays an audacity unheard of  –  clear proof that he knows that he has received the Spirit and been entrusted with a specific mission. The incredulity of the people among whom he had grown up, even though it is not mentioned here, is very understandable. Jesus inaugurates his mission by making it known to his neighbours, the people who know him best. Wherever he is present, divine salvation is accomplished “today”.

Meditate: apply what the text says to life

When he had asserted with a certain solemnity the veracity of the story he was about to tell, Luke introduced the person of Jesus, at the beginning of his public ministry, in his home village, among friends who had known him since childhood. As on many other occasions, Jesus was participating in the weekly assembly, where the Scriptures were read. This time he was the one to explain the reading to his fellow citizens. Their neighbour became their teacher. It was only natural that Jesus should choose Nazareth to announce the kingdom for the first time. He wanted to reveal himself to his own townspeople as the one who had received the Spirit of God, was sent to proclaim the Gospel and the Lord’s year of grace, and to bring freedom to the oppressed, sight for the blind and the liberation of slaves

It is surprising then that those who knew Jesus best refused to accept him. His fellow citizens did not believe him. They found it impossible to believe that someone who had been their neighbour, whom they had known for a long time, could be the one sent by God. It would be a real pity if we today were to respond to the gift of Jesus with the same indifference and disbelief.

Like them, we run the risk of thinking that we have known Christ for a long time, that we know all about him, and we are not ready to recognise him as the one sent by God, bringing us a new spirit and good news. It could well happen to us – the Christians of today – that we are so familiar with Christ that we do not expect anything more of him than what we already know.

Is it not true that his Gospel, which we think we know well, has become a collection of words that no longer inspire and attract, and so it fails to attract our interest? And if it does interest us, what can we discover new about Jesus?  Like his own townspeople, we have to make a real effort to understand that what he is saying to us is new and transformative, capable of restoring joy and hope to our lives.

To attain this, we need to overcome the initial surprise of seeing that it is good news, proclaiming a future free from injustice, healed from sickness and capable of overcoming oppression. This is only an example, but if the kingdom of God is to be established in the concrete history of humankind, how can we look on in silence when people today have their rights trampled upon?

Jesus evangelized his townspeople by proclaiming liberty and consolation. What he promised was so good that they could not believe hm. He was so well know that they could not accept his stupendous promises. Certainly they needed healing, peace, compassion and consolation, as we do today. It would be enough for us if Jesus were to find in our hearts what was lacking in his own people, namely faith and acceptance. We have no shortage of problems. Why then have we so little faith in the one who comes to heal us?

It is not enough to believe that Jesus wants to heal us. We need to lend him our voice and give our very lives so that his desire to save reaches all people, beginning, as he did, with the people nearest to us.

Whatever our situation, our words and our actions should proclaim freedom and the promise of salvation, as the words and actions of Jesus did at Nazareth. Sadly, our Christian life today does not proclaim new life and is not good news. We no longer reach out to others, beginning with our own families and friends, as bearers of God’s Spirit and of his promises, because we do not live, as Jesus did, aware that we possess his Spirit and committed to his gospel.

Who will bring the voice of Christ to our people, if we remain silent? How will they know that they are loved by God, if we do not tell them? When will we begin to approach them as people sent by God who wants them to be well and to be free, as Christ did at Nazareth?

The world still needs the gospel, and Christians should be “new Christs” – good news for the world, a reason for hope among men and women. That is what Christ was for his people at Nazareth. Why can we not try to be the same? Is it that we are not really Christians?

It is a bit embarrassing for us to have to admit that most of the great social, technical and political achievements in today’s world, are happening without the involvement of Christians, maybe even in spite of Christians.  It saddens us to see the divisions and disunity that exist among us. How can we face the world confidently as bearers of new hope, if we ourselves seem to have lost hope and become disenchanted, living in delusion?  We have to make the gospel good news that renews us, and fills us with enthusiasm, making us capable of promoting unity, overcoming injustice, fighting against evil and giving the world reasons for hope.

If we want to be Christians today we should begin by reaching out to our own people, to our families and friends and to all the people we know, as Christ did at Nazareth. We should be among them as bearers of hope, bringing healing for all their ills, and as workers for the kingdom.

If we remind them of God’s promises, they will more easily remember God and they will see their personal salvation close at hand. We will be good news for our families, friends and neighbours, as Christ was at Nazareth. The times may not be as good as we would like, but they are still the best time to prove to Christ and to the world that we want to be good Christians, effective preachers of his message and his lieutenants on earth. Let us take up his message, by our words and in our lives – we are Christian enough to present ourselves to people as “other Christs”. In this way, Christ will become life for us, and we will become his witnesses as he wants us to be.  He still has trust in us, and he still needs us to make him present in the world.  If we can make his programme our own, the world will be set free from evil and we will live in his Spirit.