Third Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year C
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 8,9, 10,15; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21
The first reading for this Sunday is from the not so well known Book of Nehemiah. This man was a leader, perhaps governor, of the Jewish community in Jerusalem from about 445 B.C. on. He was a man of action, energetic, unselfish, and clever. Through these talents he brought new life to the dying Jewish community in Jerusalem in mid 5th century B.C. His memoirs indicate that he was also prone to self-glorification, as is often the case with political and sometimes even religious leaders. In the part of his memoirs constituting our first reading, the author narrates some of the activities of the priest /scribe Ezra. Both Nehemiah and Ezra were commissioned by the Persian king to move from Persia to Jerusalem to see what could be done to save the Jewish community that had been struggling for a century since the return from exile in 538 B.C. We may see Nehemiah as the civic leader: Ezra as the spiritual leader.
Ezra gathers the Jews of Jerusalem into a grand assembly for his public reading of the Book of the Law, (the Torah or parts of it). The author insists twice that the gathering consisted of “men, women, and children old enough to understand.” He unrolled the scroll, (no book-forms yet), so that all could see. The people rose. Ezra opened with praise of God, to which the people replied, “Amen! Amen!” All bowed and prostrated themselves on the ground “before the Lord,” perhaps to honor the words of the Torah. Nehemiah with Ezra proclaimed the day of the public reading of the Torah as “holy to the Lord your God.” After this “liturgy” the people were sent home to party, “eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks.” The public reading and the people’s Amen, Amen, can be understood as establishing the Torah as the official constitution of the Jewish community. The connection of this reading with today’s gospel? Ezra unrolls the scroll of the Torah and reads from it publicly, while in today’s gospel Jesus unrolls the scroll of Isaiah and reads from it publicly. One notices similarities between the liturgy of Ezra and our own liturgies of the Word.
The Responsorial Psalm, 19, picks up the theme of honor given to the words of the Law or words of the Lord. “The law (Torah) of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.” Typical of Hebrew poetry is the repetition of the first phrase in similar but different words in a second phrase. Therefore the Psalmist adds, “The decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.” The Psalmist is so overwhelmed by the words of the Torah that he continues in the same theme, “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye.” The People’s Response fits the Psalmist’s enthusiasm, “Your words are Spirit and life.” From the first reading and these Psalm verses Christians may learn the appropriate mentality or attitude toward the Scriptures.
The second reading continues last week’s second reading from 1 Corinthians. Last week Paul taught his Greek Christians about the charisms or spiritual gifts granted to the Christian Community by the Holy Spirit. Since all the different gifts are the gift of the same Spirit, they should produce unity rather than the divisions Paul implies are happening in the Church of Corinth. This leads him into a comparison of the community with a human body. All the parts of the body are different, but they work together to make the body effective and productive. If all the parts do not function in the roles for which they were designed, such a body will be sick. The conclusion: “But you are the body of Christ, and individually parts of it.” Paul lists the various charisms or spiritual gifts and how they are supposed to function as “God has designated in the Church.”
The gospel reading has two parts. The first part is the prologue, (preface, introduction), to the document that we call the Gospel of Luke. The author notes that “many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events taken place among us . . . .” We do not know who “the many” are, but one of them is the Gospel of Mark. We also know through the changes that Luke makes, when he copies from Mark, that he was not always satisfied with Mark’s efforts. This is why he decided to do it right, “to write it down in an orderly sequence . . . .” He did his research, perhaps traveling through the various Christian Communities before composing his gospel. The gospel is dedicated to Theophilus, a Christian of Greek origin. He May have been Luke’s sponsor or benefactor, providing the means, parchment and writing materials— a costly project. Luke’s purpose: “that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.” That purpose extends to us also.
Our gospel reading suddenly switches to chapter four, Jesus’ visit to Nazareth, his hometown.
Luke loves to point out that Jesus was a faithful Jew, who went to synagogue on Shabbat. That is the setting of Luke’s story. We know that it was the custom to ask a well-known visitor to do a reading and comment on it. That Jesus was well known is pointed out by Luke previously, “News of him spread throughout the whole region,” because he had been teaching in other synagogues of Galilee. Jesus stood up to read. They handed him the scroll of Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and read Isaiah 61:1-2. A homily was awaited. Luke’s flair for drama comes into action, “The eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.” Then the unexpected. Luke depicts Jesus saying, “Today this Scripture (from Isaiah) has been fulfilled.” What Jesus read from Isaiah is Luke’s “platform or mission statement” for his gospel — a gospel of good news for the poor, the handicapped, the imprisoned, etc. The assemblers of liturgical passages for the Lectionary must have had Luke’s flair for drama, since they leave us in suspense as to just how the words from Isaiah were fulfilled “today.” The suspense will be resolved in next Sunday’s gospel.
