Luke 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21
The Word of alive: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012625.cfm
Almighty ever-living God,
direct our actions according to your good pleasure,
that in the name of your beloved Son
we may abound in good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
(Collect of Mass)
Presidents, Prime Ministers, the Pope and other leaders of nations or Religions will offer at certain times, solemn important speeches that set a tone for the present and the future. In this Country, the President at the time of his/her inauguration will speak to the Nation they now lead and will establish a vision for America with lofty goals and promises. Whether that address to the Nation is memorable or inspiring I suppose ultimately depends on those who hear it and more so, on the actual way in which the new President carries out those promises for the common good. People will listen intently to their words and analyze what they mean.
Every January 1st, to set a tone for the
year, the Pope will offer his solemn “Urbi et Orbi” address to the City of Rome
and the world to offer a hopeful message of peace and unity. Often certain
hotspots around the globe are named and the warring nations are challenged to
work towards greater peace and justice in the name of God.
This Sunday we hear another inaugural address of sorts
- in this case, from Jesus himself. Luke, not a Jew nor a witness of Jesus,
nonetheless the author of this Gospel, makes an effort to tell us that the
events we are about to read are absolutely verified as true. He had patiently
gone to various eyewitnesses of Jesus and recorded their memories; likely even
to Mary for her recollections. What the Christians of his time had been hearing
about Jesus is certain. We can place our
faith confidently in what we have come to believe about Jesus’ mission in the
world.
So, there is no doubt that Jesus own reputation had
already preceded him when he came to his hometown of Nazareth as we hear in the
Gospel this Sunday. His very familiar synagogue assembly included possibly his
mother among the women gathered. They knew him well and knew his mother Mary
and presumed father, Joseph. So, as he is given the great honor to read the
words from Isaiah and present a commentary (homily) on them, the crowd “looked
intently at him” to hear what he would say. With conviction, Jesus did more
than just read words as others before him had done. He boldly assumed to himself the content of
what he had read far beyond what any Rabbi or prophet before him had done or
would even imagine doing.
His word is solid; his word is deeply personal, and
his word has a power of its own. The scroll scroll of Isaiah handed to Jesus
and the passage which he choose, is deeply significant for his entire mission. The promise of Isaiah was that one would come
whose life would be marked by “glad tidings to the poor, liberty to
captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and
proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” This person, believed to be the long-awaited
Messiah, would come to establish a new kingdom, a new relationship directly
from God that would rearrange history.
Yet when Jesus boldly stated: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled
in your hearing” we are left in a sense hanging by a thread. We were told earlier that his teaching was “.
. . praised by all.”
Today, Jesus clearly implies, “the Messiah has come,
and I am he and the promise of Isaiah, is fulfilled in me.” He proclaims his
mission statement, his whole purpose for preaching, teaching and healing is to
indicate God’s presence among his people as one who had come to liberate
mankind from sin and darkness and to rescue us from eternal death. To reclaim
us as his own and ensure the promise of eternal life.
But the operative word Jesus assumed was: “Today.” At
this moment in time, in this synagogue, in this town of Nazareth, in this world
around us, God’s kingdom has arrived.
Jesus of Nazareth has been anointed as the one who will bring this
about! Jesus is not just another prophet, rabbi, teacher or guru. He is the Son of the living God sent from the
Father among us and his word, and his person is to be received with joy and
humility.
This "mission statement" in the words of
Isaiah that Jesus read described how the words of Isaiah were now being
fulfilled in Jesus himself. That he has
been filled with the “Spirit of the Lord . . .” and he will be the one who will
bring hope to the poor, freedom to captives, will heal the blind, untie the
limitations that have bound people in sin and oppression, and will establish a
“year” in which the Lord will finally take charge of the world’s direction.
As the audience sat likely stunned by Jesus’ implication, there may have been an awkward moment of silence as his words sank in to their hearts and minds. Next week we will hear the reaction of those gathered in the synagogue who rather quickly absorbed the implications of his bold connection.
The first reading from Nehemiah and the reading of the
sacred law by Ezra the scribe with rapt attention from the crowds further
enhances this message. The crowds – “.
. . bowed down and prostrated themselves before the Lord, their faces to the
ground” is an impressive reverence for that sacred word. The lost and wandering Jews forgot who they
were. Ezra, in proclaiming the words of
the sacred Law, renewed their vision and their identity. In the word that was read to them, they
learned anew who had called them, formed them, and who desires a new
relationship. The word of God has a transformative power.
And for us today who hear this passage, it is intended
to have the same effect on us. We too should be called to attention. Our response is not one of “same old, same
old” but as if we hear it for the first time as did the crowd in the
synagogue. But what was at the heart of
Jesus’ words today; the core of his “inaugural address?” All are chosen by God
and in and through Christ Jesus, we form a new connection with each other as
his Body the Church. Our whole purpose of existence is bottom line, to share the
Gospel of Christ with everyone with special attention to the downtrodden and
estranged from God. To use the talents that God gave us for the sake of the
Gospel. No one person has all necessary
talents but we all have at least some talent that we can contribute.
Yet, considering all the challenges in the modern world that is a daunting task and we well know that it is not consistent with what we often hear and see on our evening news. But imagine the time of the early Christians living under a hostile pagan government with despotic and power-hungry rulers whose single word was law with Christians being targeted for bloody persecutions at times.
By comparison our lives today have far more advantages to carry on the mission of Christ. In the end, the word of God is indeed transformative. One cannot simply walk away with no reaction. At the very least we may call the scriptures little more than "good advice," or "wise insight." But it is the living and moving word of God among us. It is alive and as we hear it proclaimed, it begins to work in us.
The same Spirit which compelled Jesus into the desert,
anointed him for the mission his Father had entrusted, which descended on the
Apostles, and breathes life into the Church, the Body of Christ, has come upon
us in our Baptism. The very essence of
our Christian lives is to discern our mission as a part in the mission of
Christ. May be become all healers,
peacemakers, servants after the example of Jesus’ himself.
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