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, 2019

1644

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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

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

Today's gospel text consists of two parts taken from two separate chapters from the Gospel of Luke. The first part is a brief introduction to the Gospel of Luke (1:1-4). From this passage, we learn that Luke had addressed the Gospel to a specific person named Theophilus. But who was Theophilus?

The identity of Theophilus remains a mystery to biblical scholars. The name appears only two times in the Bible and, in both times, in the writings of Luke. There are many theories as to who he might have been.

Theophilus is a Greek name and, it means "friend of God" or "lover of God". Some people believe that Theophilus could have been a friend of Luke either in Palestine or in Rome or even Greece. Some think that he may have been a Jewish High Priest in Jerusalem. Others say that he was a Roman official in Jesus' day. Some more argue that he was a new convert who required instruction in Christian faith. Still others suggest that it was a name given to the earliest believers in Jesus or simply a title for all Christians. Regardless of whoever Theophilus was, and whatever his position or status, he was certainly someone who was interested in knowing about Jesus Christ.

As you can tell from the style of writing, Luke was a well-educated person. He was a Greek physician from Antioch in Syria, and he was a Christ-follower and a travelling companion of Paul, 2 Timothy (4:11); Colossians (4:14); Philemon (24). First, Luke indicates that he was one of the many people who had undertaken to provide an account of the events that were being fulfilled amongst his generation, Luke (1:1). Second, Luke acknowledges that he was not himself an eyewitness to the events he was about to record and, therefore, he received the information from those who were "eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word, Luke (1:2). Third, Luke assures Theophilus that, after having researched carefully, thoroughly and accurately all the events concerning Jesus Christ, he wrote down in an orderly fashion so that he might know the exact truth of what he had heard or had been taught.

And then the gospel text jumps from chapter 1 to the end of chapter 4; thus, it skips three chapters which describe the events leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist, and Jesus' early childhood, mission and preaching of John the Baptist, the baptism, genealogy and temptation of Jesus, Luke (1:5-2:52, 3:1-4:1-13). These passages were read during Advent and Christmas seasons.

The second part of today's gospel contains Jesus' inaugural ministry. Having overcome the temptation, Jesus returned with great power to his home province of Galilee, where He would base His ministry for three years. Jesus had been given the power of the Spirit without measure so He was able to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cast out devils, and do many wonderful works among the people in a way no one had ever done before, John (3:34). However, Luke does not enumerate what Jesus so far had said and done there. Rather, he writes about Jesus' visit to Nazareth. However, according to the gospel of John, Jesus had worked His first miracle of turning water into wine at a marriage in Cana, and then, according to the gospel of Mark, He had preached in the synagogue in Capernaum, driven out an unclean spirit, cured Simon's mother in-law, and healed many who had various diseases, and "was praised by all", John (2:1-12); Mark (1: 21-32); Luke (4:15b).

In the course of time, Jesus went to His hometown, Nazareth, where He had been raised. Other than a short stay in Bethlehem and also in Egypt after His birth, Jesus had lived most of His life in Nazareth. Hardly anything is known about Jesus' life between His childhood and the beginning of His ministry at about 30 years of age except that, at the age of 12 and during the Passover festival, He was found in the midst of the teachers in the Temple of Jerusalem after having gone missing for three days, that he went down to Nazareth with his parents and that he was obedient to them, and that He grew in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and all the people, Luke (2:41-49; 2:51a; 2:52).

Luke writes that, during His visit to Nazareth, Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath, which was said to be His custom. Even though He was the Son of God, like most Jews, He went to the synagogue every week for worship, prayer and study of the Law or the scriptures. Jesus was a faithful and observant Jew. Today, Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel, and it has about 30 churches and monasteries, as well as mosques and ancient synagogues. But in Jesus' time, Nazareth would have been a small Jewish village of probably not more than 300 people, and there would have been just one synagogue that served their needs. Growing up there, Jesus would have gone into that synagogue many times, and He would have known many of the people attending Sabbath services.

As Jesus went in, He was given the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, so that He could read and interpret it for the people. In Jesus' time, during Sabbath services, it was normal and as a sign of great respect, to invite a visiting Rabbi or a teacher to read the Torah. To Jesus' contemporaries, it is clear that Jesus was considered a teacher of considerable influence. Luke writes that Jesus opened the scroll and read these words: "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 the year acceptable to the Lord", Luke (4:17-19).

It is important to note here that Jesus' proclamation is not a single passage from Isaiah. It is primarily a combination of two texts, Isaiah (61:1-2a) and a part of Isaiah (58:6). The phrase "recovery of sight to the blind" appears to have been inspired by Isaiah (35:5 or 42:7). All in all, seven hundred years before Jesus, Isaiah prophetically had spoken for the Messiah who would come into the world and deliver people from sickness, suffering, and death. Now, by citing the words of Isaiah right at the start of His ministry, Jesus was essentially saying that He was that very Messiah who had been sent to accomplish five tasks during his earthly ministry:

Bring glad tidings to the poor - In the Bible, "poor" represents not only the economically impoverished but all those who are marginalized or excluded from human fellowship, the outcast, and those who are humble and without pride. Throughout His public ministry on earth, Jesus would emphasize God's care for the poor, Luke (3:10-11, 6:20, 16:22) and the responsibility of others to care for them, Luke (12:33, 14:13, 18:22). Sometimes He would also miraculously provide food for hungry crowds, Luke (9:10-17).
Preach liberty to the captives - Here, "captives" refers not only to people who are in a physical prison, but also a spiritual prison: those who are unable to free themselves from the clutches of sin and the fear of death. During his ministry, besides healing the people of their physical infirmities, Jesus would free them from their spiritual bondage and oppression of the devil as well, Luke (13:12-14); Acts (10:38).
Give sight to the blind - The Bible speaks about both physical blindness and spiritual blindness. However, physical blindness is often used as a metaphor for spiritual blindness. Spiritual blindness refers to "losing one's spiritual sight" or "vision": spiritually blind people are those who do not know or see God and who grope in the dark, then stray off the path that leads to life. Such people can cry out to God for help, but pride stops them from seeking the truth. In His ministry, Jesus would restore both physical and spiritual sight to lots of people, Luke (7:21; 18:35-43).
Let the oppressed go free - Oppression can be found everywhere - in our homes, communities, work places and nations, and it can be political, social, racial, economic, or physical. We might think "I am not really oppressed". But, as a matter of fact, we all turn oppression on one another without us even knowing, and we all experience it sometimes. However, Luke's use of the same Greek word aphesis for both "liberty to captives" and "oppressed go free" in today's text, and also for the "forgiveness of sins", and "debts" indicates that Jesus was referring to "spiritual oppression" or "demonic oppression" among the people, Luke (1:77); Luke (11:4).

It is the work of evil spirits that urge us to sin, to deny God's word, to feel spiritually dead, to give in to the enticements of this world, and to be in bondage to sinful things. The word aphesis literally means "to be shattered into pieces, to be broken-hearted, to be bruised". In other words, oppression shatters who we are, it's like being broken into pieces. Through His life, death and resurrection, Jesus would touch every broken area of life in a fallen world, including spiritual oppression, and would restore us so that we may live freely in His presence.
Announce the acceptable year of the Lord - The "year" does not refer to a calendar year of 365 days but to a period of time, when Israelite slaves were released after they returned the mortgaged land to its owner and had their debts forgiven, Leviticus (25:9-10). It was this "acceptable" year of the Lord to which Isaiah was referring, except that his application was spiritual, and not material, Isaiah (61). Specifically, Isaiah was referring to a period of time in which mankind would be redeemed by Jesus Christ, when all human beings would be restored and set free. In actual fact, the year began with the death of His Son on the cross and, since then, God is willing to accept people or to receive sinners coming to Him.

Finally, Jesus ended the reading by making an amazing statement: "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing". By Jesus' time, many Jews had settled again in the land of ancestors as foretold by the prophets. However, they still waited for the messiah. It had been many centuries since God promised a messiah to the Israelites, but now, the waiting was over. Jesus declared that all Isaiah had spoken of the Messiah was being fulfilled in Him on that day and from then on, He was going to fulfil all the messianic prophecies.

What is the message for us?

The main reason that so many of us struggle with our faith is that we lack knowledge of God. As believers, we do know about "salvation" and "baptism" but that's it; we do not truly know the God in whom we profess to have faith. This is because either we haven't been taught or we don't take the time to learn about God in the Bible or from other believers. As a result, many of us are unfortunately unable to teach others, even our children, the truth of Christian faith and to defend our beliefs. Besides, we often fall away and embrace practices that may harm and cost us our very souls. The Old Testament prophet Hosea reminds us that God's people "perish" for lack of knowledge of Him, Hosea (4:6).

As far as the knowledge of the Lord is concerned, Luke is truly a great example for us to follow. Just as Luke did, we must not stop with becoming a Christian believer, but also seek to know our Lord Jesus by the reading of God's word and confirming this with those who have pursued such knowledge wisely. "For faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God", Romans (10:7).

And at the same time, it is essential to understand that we have been anointed at baptism with grace, with gifts and spiritual privileges, by the Holy Spirit so as to courageously share the gospel of Jesus and guide others in faith, particularly our own children and new believers. In other words, our Christian responsibility does not stop with having our children and friends baptized, and introducing them to prayers, religious rituals and practices but also teaching them what God has placed in the Bible. We must tell them the story of Jesus accurately and also in an orderly manner, and what that story means for us so that they might know the "truth regarding Jesus Christ, and the truth will make them free", John (8:31).
All of Isaiah's prophetic promises that Luke records and that Jesus read in the synagogue at Nazareth were fulfilled among God's people, with Jesus being present. All those who were moved by faith to seek Jesus out received physical healing, spiritual insight, comfort, forgiveness, peace, freedom and joy from Him; whereas, people who declined to approach Him missed their opportunity. Throughout this whole liturgical year, we will be reading in the Gospel of Luke many stories related to these fulfilments. At the same time, it is essential that we believe the same passage is fulfilled in our lives as well: we can also be confident that we will receive the same blessings as people of Jesus' day. For God desires all of us to experience His goodness and glory in a variety of ways, but it only happens through faith and submission to Him.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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