Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Reading I
Neh 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!"

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15

R. (cf. John 6:63c) 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. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

Reading II
1 Cor 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?

or

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.
You are Christ's body, and individually parts of it.

Gospel
Lk 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."

 

 

Commentary

In the First Reading, the people gather in a public square in Jerusalem lead by the priest Ezra. Twice in the reading we are told that those gathered included the entire community (men, women, and children).  The writer also emphasizes that the community participated actively in this “religious service”:

 

 

The writer wants to make sure that we understand that the community knowingly and willingly accepted the Law of Moses, which was probably taken from what we know today as the Pentateuch (First 5 books of the Hebrew Scriptures). The writer also suggests that the reading of the law allowed the people to realize their failings since they responded with tears.

 

It is believed that the people of Corinth exalted spiritual gifts and thus placed respect for the body well below these. Paul corrects this by describing the Spirit as the unifying power that makes us all one. To drive home his point, Paul uses the analogy of the body, which we find in today’s Second Reading. The body represents both the unity and diversity of the Corinthian community.  Just like a body needs diversity in its members in order to function properly and each member is dependent upon the other, so it is with Christ. In baptism, we participate in Christ’s death and resurrection and in the Eucharist we are united to one another in his body. Through these two sacraments whatever distinction and division existed is eliminated and we are united.

 

Today’s Gospel account of Jesus returning to his hometown in Galilee is in essence a miniature of the entire Gospel:

 

 

Being an observant Jew, Jesus worships in the synagogue and this is where he begins his ministry. On this occasion of the Sabbath, one of the readings was taken from the Pentateuch and the other from the prophets.  Jesus proclaimed the prophetic reading from Isaiah (61:1-2), which promises the restoration of Israel . That “the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him”, is a sign of the anticipation of the people as they await Jesus’ interpretation of the scripture. The today that he speaks of is only the beginning of a time that will come to fulfillment at his death and resurrection. Then it will be the day of salvation.

 

 

Reflection

Having been born in Cuba , I have lived through the plight of the Cuban people who have been exiled from their country for over 50 years due to the twisted ideology of a communist government. Unlike my parents and the older generation Cubans living outside their homeland what I know of Cuba is what I have been taught through the words and experiences of my family and friends. Despite my lack of experiencing the “real Cuba ”, I am still overcome with emotion at the thought of one day returning with my parents, sisters, my wife, and children to the land where I was born and where I still have roots deeply buried within Cuban soil. Should that day ever come to pass, I have no doubt that a multitude of Cuban people will come together in a scene much like that from today’s reading from Nehemiah.

 

Today’s liturgy presents two separate scenes that are very different yet similar. In the First Reading, the people are rejoicing at having been restored. They were no longer exiled and no longer without direction. God had restored them. Today’s Gospel also presents a theme of restoration. The Lord will bring glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. In other words, today’s liturgy makes it clear that everything is made whole through God.

 

As Christians, we believe that we have been made whole in and through Jesus Christ, but sometimes it’s difficult to actually see this wholeness. There is no escaping the reality that our world is still full of hunger, poverty, disease, war, and ignorance. We don’t have to go very far to see this reality: the news constantly bombards us with images of the war in Iraq , poverty in Haiti , and entire families dying of disease and hunger. This reality leads us to question where God is in all of this and even doubt his very existence. To this the Apostle Paul tells us that God restores all things in Christ and through his body. He assures us that just as a body has many parts, so it is with Christ. Through God’s Spirit we are incorporated into the body of Christ and become one in him but each sharing in a different gift. It is through these gifts that we are given that we may change those things that have us question God’s existence. Through the Spirit we are made Christ’s hands so we may work for others, Christ’s shoulder’s so we may console, Christ’s heart that we may forgive, and given Christ’s words that we may proclaim the good news. God indeed restores all things as Jesus clearly assures those assembled in the synagogue that day. He begins the work in us through Christ and we need to do our best to bring it to fulfillment.

 

 

Biblical Sources

New American Bible; Brown, R. K., and Comfort, P. W. (trans.) and Douglas, J. D., (ed.) “The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament”; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Fensham, F. C., “The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah”; Williamson, H. G. M., “Ezra, Nehemiah”; Sánchez Caro, J. M., “Esdras, Nehemías y los orígenes del Judaismo”; Murphy-O’Connor, J., “St. Paul’s Corinth: Texts and Archaeology”; Theissen, G., “The Social Setting of Pauline Christianity: Essays on Corinth”; Fitzmyer, J. A., “The Gospel According to Luke”; LaVerdiere, E., “Luke”; Maddox, R., The Purpose of Luke-Acts” “The Collegeville Bible Commentary”; Brown, Raymond E., S.S., “Introduction to the New Testament”; Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy (ed.) “The New Jerome Biblical Commentary”.

 

Reflection by

Deacon Lazaro J. Ulloa

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