“...for today is holy to our LORD. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD is your strength!” (Nehemiah 8:10)
Reflections on the readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (January 23, 2022): NEH 8:2-4,5-6,8-10; PS 19:8,9,10,15; 1 COR 12:12-30; LK 1:1-4; 4:14-21
MISSIO offers “Preaching Mission,” as a homily help, providing connections to mission from the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
Jesus Christ brought healing, hope, and glad tidings to the poor and to all people.
In today’s first reading, we hear what happened when the prophet Ezra proclaimed God’s word to the Israelites. It was after their return to Jerusalem and the surrounding area after the Babylonian Captivity. They yearned to rebuild their lives and identity as a people. The whole community that had suffered so much wept when Ezra read them the law of God. They also acknowledged their own sins and how dependent they were on God’s mercy and fidelity. The Jewish nation went from weeping to celebrating, knowing that they are still His chosen people. And like generations of Jewish people before and after that time, they awaited the coming of the Messiah.
St. Luke introduces his Gospel by addressing people, like himself, who had never met Jesus or heard Him speak. The evangelist wants them to know that Christ is the Savior of all people of all times. He assures them -- and us -- of the reliability of those who have passed along the truth about Jesus’ life and ministry. Luke wants them to trust the teachings he is about to share. The rest of the reading recounts how, at the start of our Lord’s mission, He spoke in many synagogues and was acclaimed by all. Then He headed to His hometown, Nazareth, and did the same thing. “(Jesus) 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. … He said to them, ‘Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:17-19,21). The people stared at Him. Surely, many wanted to believe Him. But would they? And in that time and that place, would we? If we lived in Nazareth with our neighbor Jesus, Son of a carpenter, would we eagerly embrace His message that He was fulfilling God’s promise? In time, He did exactly what He had said. Jesus Christ brought healing, hope, and glad tidings to the poor and to all people. Our Redeemer had come.
