OT III [C]  Neh 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10; I Cor 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

The Scriptures for today focus our attention on the importance and power of the Word of God and its challenge for us today.   In today’s First Reading, the priest Ezra, as part of a liturgical assembly in honor of the dedication of the newly rebuilt Temple in Israel, reads the law for hours to the people to help them to renew the covenant and understand how to live it. Listening to the Word they realized the many ways in which they failed to keep God’s Commandments in their lives. Hence, with tears of repentance in their eyes and joy in their hearts, the people responded with a great "Amen!"   

Today’s gospel describes how Jesus participated in the Sabbath prayer of the synagogue in his native place in Nazareth with a band of his disciples. The synagogue Liturgy of the Word was based on seven readings. The first four were from the Law (the Torah or the Pentateuch) followed by explanations given by the rabbi who was the teacher of the Law. The second set of readings, taken from the prophets, could be read and interpreted by any circumcised male over thirty years of age.  It was in this second capacity that Jesus read and preached on the passage from Isaiah (61:1-2a).  Naturally, the people of his native place were curious to hear from this carpenter-turned-prophet who had grown up among them, and who had worked miracles throughout Galilee. 

Jesus rooted and grounded his mission and ministry in the written word of Isaiah, particularly in the passage in which the Spirit sends the prophet to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberation to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and freedom for the oppressed—language that reflects the Biblical year of Jubilee. These words had long since been seen as applying to the coming Messiah. To the great amazement and disbelief of his own townsmen, Jesus declared that Isaiah’s prophecy was being fulfilled in him at that very moment because the prophet was foretelling and describing Jesus’ mission and ministry. Jesus’ mission would be to give liberation to everyone who would listen to his “Good News,” accept it and put it into practice.

As members of Christ’s Mystical Body, we share in the freeing, saving mission of Jesus.   However, even after we have chosen to believe in him, to accept his teachings and to live them out in our lives, we are still in bondage.   We are captives of sin, and only Christ can set us free. We are often blinded by our evil habits, addictions and need for financial security.  Pride and prejudice can make us blind to the needs of the less-fortunate, prompting us to fear and avoid them, rather than to love and help them. We can also be blind to the presence of God within ourselves and others.  We are often not free to listen to a lonely, heart-broken neighbor.  We can be prisoners of materialism and consumerism, chained to pleasure, power, money and control of everyone and everything in our world.

There was a beautiful article about Mother Theresa in Time magazine. She was asked about the materialism of the West. "The more you have, the more you are occupied," she contends. "But the less you have, the more free you are. Poverty for us is a freedom. It is a joyful freedom. There is no television here, no this, no that. This is the only fan in the whole house...and it is for the guests. But we are happy. I find the rich poorer," she continues. "Sometimes they are more lonely inside...The hunger for love is much more difficult to fill than the hunger for bread...The real poor knows what is joy." When asked about her plans for the future, she replied, "I just take one day. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not come. We have only today to love Jesus."

Jesus told his disciples that you will know the Truth and the truth will set you free. What is this truth? It is the word of Jesus. It is the Bible. The word of God is a two-edged sword (Heb.4:12). It helps us to fight the evil coming out against us on the one hand and also chip away the bad tendencies in us on the other. The Word of God is called "sacramental,” in the sense that when it is spoken, read or heard, God becomes present in our midst.  Therefore, we need to make Bible reading and study a part of our daily Christian life.  Bible reading enables us to know Jesus more and to love him better. That is why we should set apart a time in the morning and in the evening to read a part of the Bible, giving priority to the Gospels and the Epistles. This reading should be an integral part of the evening family prayer. Children should be encouraged to read the Bible with the adults explaining to them what they read. We need to read the Scriptures as books inspired by God that teach us about God and how we should live our lives. And need to pray to God to give us inspiration so that we may understand the text and apply its lessons fruitfully to our lives. Let’s make a decision today to honor and live the word of God in our families.