Weekly Bible Commentaries, Claretian Communications

Sunday, January 25, 2004

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings:
Nehemiah 8:2-6,8-10 – Ezra read the book before all the people

Responsorial Psalm: 18

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 – We have been baptized to form one body

Luke 1:1-4, 4:12-21 – The Spirit of the Lord is over me

In the book of Nehemiah, we are related the public and solemn reading of the book of the Law of God, which we Christians call the Pentateuch and the Jews prefer to call the “Torah” or the Law. We are at the end of the fifth century before Christ, the Jews have returned a few years before from their exile in Babylonia, and with great sacrifices have managed to reconstruct the temple, the city walls, and their own homes. They are faced with the hostility of many neighbors who are envious that the emperor allowed them to return. They urgently need some life rules, a kind of “constitution”, through which they could organize all personal, social and religious aspects of their lives. Ezra, a charismatic leader, respected by all and considered a Levite and scribe, that is a priest and a teacher, gives them this law, this constitution that they need, proclaiming solemnly before the gathered people, the holy Law of God. And we see how the people respond: committing themselves to fulfill and protect the Law, crying over their infidelities, and at the insistence of their leaders, celebrating a national feast: the feast of the promulgation of the divine Law. From this remote day onward, from 500 years before Jesus Christ until today, the Jews organize their lives according to the commands of the Torah or Pentateuch.

The text of Luke 4:14ff was a text without relevance in the practical daily life of the Christian community until only about 50 years ago, a text forgotten like many others that today do not seem important. It was Latin American theology that has pointed out the significance of this text to us. Luke places it at the beginning of the public life of Jesus. It may be that it not really happen at the beginning (John places other events at the beginning), but it was primary in significance. In other words, perhaps these matters did not occur exactly like they are recounted (and there is no way to find out historically), but Luke is right when he places this scene in his Gospel as a programmed beginning that contains the seed of the entire mission.

Jesus without a doubt many times had to interpret his own life with these prophetic texts of Isaiah. It seems obvious that Jesus saw his life as the fulfillment, as the prolongation of that prophetic announcement of “the Good News for the poor”. The mission of Jesus is to announce the Good News of Liberation. The Gospel (good news) is no more than a kind of liberation, a “liberation by the word”.

There are many and very direct ways of applying this message:

-The Christian mission today, continuing the mission of Jesus, has to be… this: “the continuation of Jesus’ mission”, in a literal and direct sense. To be a Christian, in effect, will be «to live and struggle for Jesus’ Cause», to feel oneself called to proclaim the Good News of Liberation, understanding it in its most strict literalness: the Good News has to be “good” and has to be “news”. You cannot substitute it by semantic changes to “catechism or “religious education”. Jesus didn’t come to de a D.R.E., the evangelization of Jesus was not the church catechetical ministry…

-Jesus’ mission does no pretend to be neutral, centrist, “for everyone without distinction”, not favoring the rich or the poor… as those who confuse the Church with a pioneering pious Red Cross would have it. The worse thing you could say about the Gospel would be that it is neutral, that it does not speak out for and opt for the poor. The worst ideology would be to make the Gospel of Jesus an ideology saying that is it indifferent to human, social, economic and political problems, because it only refers to “spiritual matters”.

-It would be to remember once again: Jesus is far from good works and social assistance… It is not a matter of “charity” for the poor, but rather of inaugurating a new holistic order, the only one that allows one to speak of real liberation… It is important to catch on to the fact that many times when they speak of the “preferential” option for the poor some are very clearly operating from a mentality of helping out very far from the spirit of Luke 4:14ff.

-The evangelizing word is either active and practical in the liberation praxis, or it is anti-evangelical. The evangelical word is not a word of abstract theory. It is a word that refers to reality and confronts it with God’s project. “To evangelize is to liberate by the word” (Nolan).
A word that does not enter into human history, tat is not pronounced, that keeps itself on top of history or in the clouds, that doe not move people and shake them up and promote solidarity (and make enemies)… is not an heir of the passion of God’s Son.

Albert NOLAN has some beautiful pages about the text of Luke today in his book “Jesus Before Christianity” (Orbis Books, Maryknoll NY, 25th anniversary edition in paperback), especially in Chapter 6 on “The ‘Kingdom’ of God”, pages 55-61.

José Ignacio and María LOPEZ VIGIL, in their 3-volume work “A Certain Jesús” dramatize this text of Luke in their chapter 22, giving us a rich pastoral resource of which we can build a fine Bible study session. Youth groups might well present it as a play or as a theatrical reading. The “discourse” that the authors creatively out in the mouth of Jesus has a very delicate theological elaboration. The interpretation they give to the phrase “Today this Scripture is fulfilled” (“Today we are beginning our march”) is very suggestive. For the use of this book in dramatizations throughout the liturgical year, see http://www.bible.claret.org/liturgy/daily/acj/. The Spanish speaking will find further help at: http://servicioskoinonia.org/untaljesus .

For one’s personal reflection:

The words of Isaiah that are applied to Jesus are not only meant for the Son of God but also for all the sons and daughters of God. Are they being fulfilled in me= Do I feel sent to being good news to the poor? Is my life good news for the poor?

For my discussion or Bible study group

What does it mean today to announce the Good News of liberation in a world where the poor are masses in the slums surrounding the great cities, an ocean of poverty with the tide rising, and are hopeless, tied down, resigned, alienated, dreaming daily of the soft easy life seen in the soap operas every afternoon?

What can those say about a realistic hope that is truly good news for the poor, those who are themselves deeply convinced that we are at “the end of history”, that neo-liberalism is the only alternative, that you can’t do anything, that we are in “the best world possible”, and that today’s problems are only “accidental”? (This is what, as a matter of fact, many think and some have even confessed it to one another… even many Christians and those involved in ministry). Read and discuss chapter 22 of “Jesus Before Christianity”.

For the Prayer of the Faithful

-For all the men and women of the world who are still awaiting the good news of their liberation: that there be also today prophets who will announce it to them, let us pray to the Lord.

-For all those who, consciously or unconsciously, think that history has come to it’s end, because they believe that there is nothing really new or different in this present (dis)order: that the Gospel open them to hope, let us pray to the Lord.

-For those who serve God’s people with the word, the pastoral ministers: preachers, catechists, educators, writers, theologians, professors: that their word will be like that of Jesus, committed and effective, incarnate and utopian, let us pray to the Lord.

-So that we enthusiastically and joyfully accept out mission as followers of Jesus, announcers of the Good News, and builders of a world of peace, universal reconciliation and hope, let us pray to the Lord.

-For all those who live without conflict, that we ask ourselves if that is because we are not accomplishing our mission to being the Good News to the poor, let us pray to the Lord.

Community Prayer

O God, who in so many different people and religions have called forth from the beginning of time, through the work of the Spirit, women and men capable of sensing your liberating love for the poor, and who in Jesus have given us a perfect model: we ask you to help us also “today” and day by day, to bring about the dream of the prophets, with a sense of being sent to announce the Good News to the poor and to all who need to convert themselves to the poor. We ask this through Jesus, your son and our brother. Amen.