HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Jan 27, 2013

4392

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Nehemiah (8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10)

Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, which consisted of men, women, and those children old enough to understand. Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate, he read out of the book from daybreak till midday, in the presence of the men, the women, and those children old enough to understand; and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law. Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the occasion. He opened the scroll so that all the people might see it, for he was standing higher up than any of the people, and, as he opened it, all the people rose. Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people, their hands raised high, answered, "Amen, amen!" Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the Lord, their faces to the ground. Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God, interpreting it so that all could understand what was read. Then Nehemiah, that is His Excellency, and Ezra the priest-scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people, said to all the people: "Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep" - for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. He said further: "Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our Lord. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength!"

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (19:8, 9, 10, 15)

(R) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the Lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. (R)

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye. (R)

The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true, all of them just. (R)

Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart find favor before you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (12:12-30)

Brothers and sisters: As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Now the body is not a single part, but many. If a foot should say, "Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body," it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. Or if an ear should say, "Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body," it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended. If they were all one part, where would the body be? But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need you," nor again the head to the feet, "I do not need you." Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

Now you are Christ's body, and individually parts of it. Some people God has designated in the church to be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

Gospel Acclamation

(R) Alleluia, alleluia!

The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives. (R)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (1:1-4; 4:14-21)

Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord." Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

One day a father walked into a room unannounced and caught a teenage boy hugging his daughter. "How dare you hug my daughter like that!" "I...I...I," stuttered the boy, "I was just carrying out the lesson we learned in Sunday school last week. When I saw your daughter today I was reminded of what the Bible says: Hold fast to what is good, and this is exactly what I am doing".

This story reminds us that a proper understanding of the scriptures is important for the application of God's Word. Today's first reading is from the Book of Nehemiah of the Old Testament. The Book is believed to have been written either by a priest called Ezra, or Nehemiah, a devout government official about five hundred years before Christ. The book recounts the story of the people of Israel rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem after their return from their Babylonian captivity. As we know, prior to their period of exile in Babylon, the Israelites had been disobedient and unfaithful to the law of God. They had exploited the poor, worshipped idols, and failed to respond to the warnings of the prophets to repent and mend their ways. Hence the judgment of God came in the form of foreign powers who took them into captivity. After 70 years, Cyrus, the King of Persia, who had conquered Babylon, allowed the Israelites to return home and reestablish their nation. When Nehemiah arrived at Jerusalem the temple had already been rebuilt but not the walls around the city. So he rebuilt the walls and the gates to protect the city from enemies. And then he left Jerusalem to visit the King of Persia. When he returned after 12 years, he was saddened to find the people doing exactly the same things their forefathers had done and which had caused them to be sent into exile. Hence he set about the task of restoring the city and rededicating its people to God. He encouraged the people to revive their faith in God and embrace true worship through prayer and love for the law of God.

In today's text we read that Nehemiah gathered all the people, "the men, women as well as those children old enough to understand" together at the gate outside the temple to hear Ezra read the Law of Moses, that is, the first five books of the Bible which the Jews call the Torah - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Ezra brought the Book, stood on a wooden platform, read it and interpreted it for the people. It is said Ezra read the law from "daybreak till midday", which is about 5-6 hours.

As Ezra opened the book all the people rose. When he was reading it all the people raised their hands high and answered, "Amen, Amen!" Then they bowed down; prostrated themselves before the Lord. The people, standing up, bowing down and prostrating on the ground, demonstrated their love and reverence for the Word of God. It is also said that, after they had heard the law, they wept. They wept because they understood the law of God. When they heard the law of God being read and interpreted, they realized that they had turned away from God and lost touch with Him.

Even though we are in a different time and place, this story, which is 2500 years old, is also our story. It teaches us several things for our own faith in God. First, we are called upon to love the Holy Bible. The Bible is not a book of suggestions and interesting stories to be used as a prop but it is the inspired Word of God. It is holy, just, pure and good. It leads us to God, and it also leads us to deep truths about ourselves. It provides us with the knowledge of good and evil. It tells us exactly what God desires of us. Second, if we love the scriptures then we must be willing to allocate time for the reading and hearing of the scriptures. How many of us are really interested to hear the scriptures being read and preached for more than 15 minutes, let alone half a day, like the people of Israel did when Ezra read the law of God? We need to make time to read and interpret the scriptures. Proclamation of the Word of God, whether it is in a classroom, at a private meeting or from a pulpit, involves much more than sharing knowledge, experiences or talking in generalities. The Word of God has to be understood. If we do not give time to hear the Word and the interpretation of the Word, then of course, we cannot hear the voice of God and there cannot be any transformation in us.

Third, we must not only love the Word of God and spend time on it but also revere it. Reverence for the scriptures must be both external (with gestures) and internal (in disposition). We live in times where God's Word is perhaps "respected" but not "revered". We seem to have lost true reverence or awe or fear for the Word of God. With the changes in the liturgy and worship, all deep respect for Him and His Word seems to have disappeared, and yet this is the ultimate purpose of salvation - to revere and obey Him. As Paul says if we do not exercise reverence, other spiritual graces cannot flourish without this foundation. Feeling and experiencing joy, peace and happiness can only come with reverence for the Word of God. Like the walls of Jerusalem were built to protect the temple and the city from enemies, let us use the Word of God to build a fortress around our family and personal life so that our body, mind and soul are guarded against anything evil.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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