Just a word before we go...Third Sunday in Ordinary Time...January 26, 2025
In our first reading today, Nehemiah recounts how Ezra the priest was exhorting the Hebrew people returning from Babylonian exile to remember who they were and whose they were. Apparently the sermon went on for six hours, and Nehemiah’s reading of the Law reduced many in the crowd to tears. (I suspect that if our homilies went on for six hours, we also would be reduced to tears!). At this, the prophet soothed the people by telling them that this day was holy to the Lord, that they should rejoice in God, eat a festive meal and share it with those who had nothing.
St. Paul tells us that we are all part of the Body of Christ, according to the Spirit, that each part is necessary, and that “if one part suffers, all parts suffer with it.”
Luke’s Gospel pictures Jesus reading from Isaiah, proclaiming a Jubilee Year, a year acceptable to the Lord...a year of Good News, with glad tidings to the poor, liberty for captives, freedom for the oppressed, sight to the blind. Jesus ends with the astonishing announcement that the scripture, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me,” is fulfilled in him.
These readings call to mind the Jubilee Year of Hope that Pope Francis has declared for 2025, during which the People of God are to “participate fully in its proclamation of hope in God’s grace and in the signs that attest to its efficacy.” Pope Francis is reminding us of who we are and whose we are, that together we are the Body of Christ on earth, and as such, we are to continue the work of Jesus. We each have a role to play; as in St. Paul’s words, not all are teachers, etc. But all can be healers, offering words of comfort; all can feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, work for justice and peace. And in doing so, we all, led by the same Spirit, can promote the human flourishing that is God’s dream for the world. After all, as with Jesus, so too with us; the Spirit of God is upon us, because we have been anointed by our Baptism to continue the work of Jesus. So let us rejoice that we can be signs of the efficacy of God’s grace in this troubled world.