Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
Nehemiah 8:2–4a, 5–6, 8–10
Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15
1 Corinthians 12:12–30
Luke 1:1–4; 4:14–21
The celebration of the Word of God is familiar to all traditions who are “people of the book.” It is inspiring to observe the moment in Israel’s history, following their return from exile in Babylon, when all the people were gathered in the presence of Nehemiah, the civil official, and Ezra, the priest-scribe, to hear a proclamation of the law.
For all the world, we can recognize the solemnity of the Liturgy of the Word in our Catholic experience of the Mass. Likewise, it is with great awe that we listen to Luke’s account of the opening of Jesus’ ministry with a solemn reading of a passage from the Prophet Isaiah in the synagogue of Nazareth. Sacred Scriptures serve to dispose us to the reality of the Presence of God in the assembly of His people.
To grasp the truth of Scriptures, we must take note of the manner in which they came to be. There is first a lived experience of encounter with God. A telling of that experience is recorded in the minds and hearts of those who hear it, and then, at a later stage, when it is “reduced” to writing, it becomes sacred Scripture.
What is meant to follow is a re-presentation of the Word by a proclamation, which must be complemented by an interpretation, so that it may once more “come to life” in the persons who hear it.
Ezra and the other priests proclaim the Torah, and the people gathered are given an understanding. Spontaneously, this leads them to an emotional response. The Word breaks through into their hearts. They realize that their plight has come from a failure to live up to the law that they now understand.
“Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God, interpreting it so that all could understand what was read.” When the people assembled – the “men, women and children old enough to understand” – humble themselves to receive the Word, Ezra invites them to commune with God and one another, eating rich foods to acknowledge the holiness of this day. “Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength.”
Jesus returns to His hometown and invites His family and neighbors to experience the flow of the Word in His own Person. “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” The Scroll of Isaiah is a Scripture of ancient Israel that covers their whole journey from the Promised Land to exile and return.
The passage Jesus chooses to proclaim corresponds to the time of return, parallel to the text from Nehemiah. Just as Israel was invited to renew her receptivity to the law, the Prophetic Word is proclaimed anew, and Jesus’ hearers are invited to allow the prophecy to unfold, being fulfilled in their act of hearing.
As we hear the Scriptures proclaimed at Mass, we are summoned to become aware of the living Presence of the Lord in our midst. Following the example of the people gathered at the Water Gate listening to the law, we must acknowledge our own failure to be receptive and seek to open our hearts to the opportunity offered to us today.
The meal that we share, the rich food and choice wine, is nothing less than the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist that offers us Christ Himself as our food and drink. As St. Paul reminds the Corinthians, we are Christ’s Body, “and individually parts of it.” We are one. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, … and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.”
We pray that our lives may bring to fruition the proclamation of the Word. May the flow of God’s Spirit be evident as it is fulfilled in our hearing and by our witness.