3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time C & Sunday of the Word of God - Jan. 26, 2025
Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30;
Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21
Theme:
The Word of God Must be in the Center of our Lives.
A. A Brief Exegetical Analysis of Luke
1:1-4; 4:14-21
1.
Historical and Literary Contexts
The first part of our Gospel
passage (1:1-4) is the prologue, in which the evangelist, acknowledging his
debt to earlier eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, claims that his text is
a complete and accurate account intended to provide his readers, the “lovers of
God” symbolized by “Theophilus” (friend of God,) with certainty about earlier
teachings they have received.[1] The
second part (4:14-21) is about the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee and
his native place, Nazareth. This passage immediately follows the story of
Jesus' Temptation by the Devil. It precedes the last part of the story that the
lectionary omitted (vv. 22-30), which talks about Jesus’ rejection by his
people in Nazareth.
2.
Form, Structure, and Movement
Our Gospel is a narrative
story with prophecy. It has two parts. In the first part, the evangelist
explains how and why he wrote his book (1:1-4). In the second part, the
narrator recounts Jesus’ preaching in Galilee (4:14-15) and his native place,
Nazareth (4:16-21).
3.
Detailed Analysis
1:1-4. These first four
verses of Luke’s Gospel constitute a prologue. Luke is the only Synoptic
evangelist to commence his book with a literary prologue. He wrote it in
imitation of Hellenistic Greek writers. He relates his story about Jesus to
contemporaneous Greek and Roman literature[2].
In v. 2, Luke admits that he is not an eyewitness. He is a second or
third-generation Christian. I, too, have decided: even though he was not
an eyewitness, Luke decided, like the eyewitnesses, to write down the events
about Jesus. Investigating everything accurately anew… in orderly sequence: Luke
claims his writing to be the fruit of an accurate and complete investigation,
and he told it in an orderly manner. Theophilus: From Greek origin, Theos
means God, and Philos means lover. The name Theophilos represents
all those who love God. So, Luke wrote his Gospel to all God’s lovers.
4:14-15. Jesus
returned to Galilee: It is unclear where Jesus was before he returned to
Galilee. From the passage that precedes our text, Jesus’ Temptation by the
Devil, we can deduce that he came from the desert (see 4:1-2). In the power
of the Spirit: This is the Holy Spirit that descended upon him at his
baptism (see 3:21-22), filled him, and led him into the desert for forty days
to be tempted by the devil (see 4:1-2). News of him spread throughout the whole
region: This is one of Luke’s themes (see 4:37; 5:15; 7:17.) He taught
in their synagogues and was praised by all: The praising of Jesus by the
Galileans here contrasts his rejection by his own people of Nazareth (see
4:16-30.)
4:16-21. Nazareth is
Jesus’ native place. [Jesus] went according to his custom into the
synagogue on the Sabbath day: As a true Jew, Jesus participated in the
synagogue’s worship services on Sabbath days. The early Christians continued
this tradition as well. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the
prophet Isaiah: Luke is the only evangelist who presents Jesus reading a
passage from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 58:6; 61:1-2). According to their
tradition, the synagogue leader chose one suitable person from the community or
among the guests to read the Scripture during the worship. On this particular
day, Luke reports that Jesus was chosen to do the reading.[3] Jesus reads Isaiah’s passage and applies it
to himself. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me:
Jesus alludes to the Holy Spirit he received on his baptism day (see 3:21-22)
and affirms that he is God’s anointed one. To bring glad tidings to the
poor: The Lucan Jesus has a particular attention to the economically and
socially poor (see 6:20, 24; 12:16-21; 14:12-14; 16:19-26; 19:8.) Note that
Luke associates the poor with the oppressed, afflicted, downtrodden, forgotten,
and neglected (see 4:18; 6:20-22; 7:22; 14:12-14.) poor, captives, blind,
oppressed: While Isaiah cites vindication to the afflicted, the
brokenhearted, captives, and prisoners (Isaiah 61:1-2), Luke changes the
recipients of the good news to the poor, blind, and oppressed, which enlarges
the circle of those mentioned in Isaiah.[4]
“Today, this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” (v. 21).
This specific Jesus’ preaching inaugurates the fulfillment’s time of the Old
Testament prophecies.
4.
Synthesis
Our text has two parts.
The first part (1:1-4) is the prologue, in which the evangelist specifies the
recipient of his book, Theophilus, who represents all those who love God,
acknowledges that he is not an eyewitness of Jesus’ events but affirms that his
writing is the fruit of an accurate and complete investigation. He also attests
that all of Jesus’ events in his book are told in an orderly manner so that his
readers realize the certainty of the teachings they have received. The second
part (4:14-21) focuses on the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee,
especially in Nazareth, his native place. As it is his tradition, Jesus attends
the synagogue’s worship service on the Sabbath day. He is chosen to read the
Scripture. He reads the passage of Isaiah 61:1-2, which he applies to himself.
He said that the Holy Spirit is upon him, and he is the anointed one of God
with the mission of bringing glad tidings to the poor, proclaiming liberty to
captives and recovery of sight to the blind, letting the oppressed go free, and
proclaiming a year acceptable to the Lord. Jesus affirms that this particular
preaching inaugurates the fulfillment’s time of the Old Testament prophecies.
B. Pastoral Implication
1. Liturgical Context
One couple invited their
parish priest for dinner and wanted him to bless their new and unique Bible.
They prepared a $50 bill to give to the priest. The money was on the table
while they were eating. Just after dinner, the money disappeared. They were sure
the priest had stolen it because nobody else was in the house. Disappointed,
they decided to leave the Church. After three months, the pastor called the
wife to ask why they stopped coming to the Church. The wife told him, “You
stole the money we even prepared to give you.” The priest asked her, “Why have
you not asked me since then? I put that money underneath your new Bible lest
the soup sprinkle on it.” The wife was ashamed and embarrassed. When she returned
home, she found the money, as the priest said. This story is not because this
couple falsely accused their pastor but because, for three months, their new
Bible was not used. They never read it. If they did, they would have seen their
money.
In his Apostolic Letter,
Motu Proprio Aperuit Illis, published on September 30th, 2019,
Pope Francis establishes that every “Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be
devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the Word of God.” So,
today is the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Sunday of the Word of God
(Bible). The Church encourages you and me to read our Bibles regularly. Reading
the Bible for information’s sake becomes boring since many passages are already
known. We should instead read the Scripture prayerfully and meditatively. When
we read the Bible, we read God. When we touch our Bibles, we touch God; when we
listen to the Scripture readings, like now in this Mass, we listen to God; when
we study the Bible, we study God; and when we share the Word of God, we share
God. The Bible is the Word of God. Saint Jerome (who translated the entire
Bible from Greek to Latin) said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of
Christ.” We cannot pretend to know Jesus if we do not read and listen to the
Word of God. Let us become familiar with the Word of God.
The Scripture readings we
heard today teach us to apply the Word of God to our own situation, as Jesus
did in today’s Gospel, and respond to it like the Israelites in our first
reading. This will allow us to become one family, as Saint Paul exhorts us in
the second reading.
2.
What the Church Teaches us Today
Our Gospel passage has
two parts: the prologue (1:1-4) and the account of Jesus’ first public teaching
in the synagogues of Galilee and Nazareth, his native place (4:14-21). Each
part concerns the proclamation of the Word of God. In the prologue, the Evangelist
Luke tells Theophilus (this name means a lover of God) about his determination
to write a narrative of all that Jesus said and did among the people. He
reassures him that his decision is the fruit of a serious investigation so they
can know the teachings they have received with certainty (Luke 1:4). This first
part shows us how the sacred authors, in general, and Luke, in particular,
wrote the sacred books with determination and seriousness. This is to teach us
that we, too, should accord much value to reading the Bible. When was the last
time you/I opened and read your/my Bible? How much attention will you/I now pay
to the Word of God when we read it?
The second part (4:14-21)
focuses on the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, especially in Nazareth,
his native place. Luke informs us that it was Jesus’ tradition to attend the
synagogue’s worship services on the Sabbath days. In our text, he attends one
where he is chosen to read the Scripture. He reads the passage of Isaiah
61:1-2, and he applies Isaiah’s words to himself. He said that the Holy Spirit
is upon him, and he is the anointed one of God with the mission of bringing
glad tidings to the poor, proclaiming liberty to captives and recovery of sight
to the blind, letting the oppressed go free, and proclaiming a year acceptable
to the Lord. Jesus affirms that this particular preaching inaugurates the
fulfillment’s time of the Old Testament prophecies. There are two lessons to
learn here. The first lesson is about attending Church for Masses, especially
on Sundays. The evangelist says that Jesus participated in the Synagogue
service on the sabbath day according to his custom (4:16). Jesus found the
value of Sunday worship and regularly went to the Synagogue (Church) to pray.
Our first reading also tells us that the people of Israel gathered together
around Esdras and worshipped God. Our Holy Mother encourages us to attend
Masses regularly, especially on Sundays, and make it, like Jesus, our custom
and priority.
The second lesson
concerns our attention to the Word of God when we read and listen to it,
especially during Masses. In our Gospel and first readings, we note the vital
role of the Word of God, the inspiration with which Jesus and Esdras read and
explained the Sacred Scriptures, and the attitude of the people who listen to
the Word of God. How do we listen to the Word of God? What level of attention
do we give to it? Our Gospel passage tells us that all those listening to Jesus
did so with intense focus. Similarly, the first reading describes how the
reading and explanation of the Word of God moved the people to tears. This
demonstrates the deep attention these people gave when Esdras was reading and
delivering his homily. When God speaks to us through the scripture readings and
homilies, we are called to give him our utmost attention. This active listening
is key to understanding and applying the Word of God in our lives. We are also
encouraged to read the Word of God, share it, and, if possible, explain it to
the people around us. When we touch the
Bible, it is God we touch; when we read it, it is our Lord we read; and when we
listen to it, it is God we listen to. Therefore, the Word of God must be the center of our life.
As part of celebrating the Word of
God Sunday, I suggest that each family do “the Family Bible Corner” in our
homes. This is a special place in our house where an open Bible is displayed on
a suitably decorated small table with candles, a crucifix, a rosary, and
flowers. This “Family Bible Corner” will be the place for personal and family
prayer and Bible sharing. It reminds the family members and guests to put the
Word of God at the center of our lives.
May the liturgy of this
Mass enable us to regularly read the Word of God, listen to it, share it, and,
if possible, explain it with reverence and deep attention. Amen.
Happy Sunday of the Word of God!
Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD
Pastor at Holy Family Catholic Church
&
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator
[1]
NABRE, note to Luke 1:1-4.
[2]
NABRE, note to Luke 1:1-4.
[3] Michael Patella, “Luke,” in The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. Third Fully Revised Edition (Great Britain: T&T Clark Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2022), 1310.
[4]
Michael Patella, “Luke,” in The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the
Twenty-First Century. Third Fully Revised Edition, 1310.
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