Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday of the Word of God [1]

 
Catechism Links [2]
CCC 714: Old Testament expectation of the Messiah and the Spirit
CCC 1965-1974: New Law and Gospel
CCC 106, 108, 515: God inspires human authors of Scripture, and readers
CCC 787-795: the Church as the Body of Christ

“Jesus Teaching in the Synagogue”
by James Tissot, 1886-96

 
Readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time [3]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [4]
 
Readings and Commentary: [5]
 
Reading I: Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
 
Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly,
which consisted of men, women,
and those children old enough to understand.
Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate,
he read out of the book from daybreak till midday,
in the presence of the men, the women,
and those children old enough to understand;
and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law.
Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform
that had been made for the occasion.
He opened the scroll
so that all the people might see it
— for he was standing higher up than any of the people —;
and, as he opened it, all the people rose.
Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God,
and all the people, their hands raised high, answered,
"Amen, amen!"
Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD,
their faces to the ground.
Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God,
interpreting it so that all could understand what was read.
Then Nehemiah, that is, His Excellency, and Ezra the priest-scribe
and the Levites who were instructing the people
said to all the people:
"Today is holy to the LORD your God.
Do not be sad, and do not weep"—
for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.
He said further: "Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks,
and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared;
for today is holy to our LORD.
Do not be saddened this day,
for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!"
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Commentary on Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
 
This selection deals with Ezra, whose book precedes Nehemiah in the current canon of the Bible. Both prophets were active at the time of the restoration of Jerusalem. That is the time following the Babylonian exile during which the Jewish people were returned to their historical land and the nation of Israel was reestablished.
 
In this passage we hear Ezra, who of the two was more responsible for reintroducing the Law of Moses as the constitution of the reformed state, proclaiming the law. Then comes Nehemiah, the administrator, telling the people who were overcome with emotion at hearing God’s word once more, that it is a time for rejoicing because they are once more united under God’s law.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15
 
R. (John 6:63c) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
 
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
 
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
 
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
 
Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
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Commentary on Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15
 
Psalm 19 is a song of praise. It rejoices in the laws and precepts set down by God and asks the Lord to find favor in those who follow them. This part of Psalm 19 is a formulaic profession of faith. It begins with the Law of God, then the rules based upon the Law, and finally on faith in God. Essentially this litany says if you follow God’s law in all its fullness, salvation is yours.
 
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Reading II
First Option: 1 Corinthians 12:12-30
 
Brothers and sisters:
As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
 
Now the body is not a single part, but many.
If a foot should say,
“Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body, “
it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.
Or if an ear should say,
“Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body, “
 
it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?
If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?
But as it is, God placed the parts,
each one of them, in the body as he intended.
If they were all one part, where would the body be?
But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you, “
nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.”
Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker
are all the more necessary,
and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable
we surround with greater honor,
and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety,
whereas our more presentable parts do not need this.
But God has so constructed the body
as to give greater honor to a part that is without it,
so that there may be no division in the body,
but that the parts may have the same concern for one another.
If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it;
if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.
 
Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.
Some people God has designated in the church
to be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers;
then, mighty deeds;
then gifts of healing, assistance, administration,
and varieties of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?
Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing?
Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
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Commentary on 1 Cor 12:12-30
 
In this selection we are given the great Pauline analogy of the body as church. First, he goes into detail enumerating the parts of the body and distinguishing their functions. He then proposes that the body needs the diversity of parts and could not function effectively without all of them.
 
St. Paul then goes through the same process with functions within the Church, again enumerating the functions: “first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues.” His message is clear, the Church needs all of these functions and even though some get more attention, all are prized.
 
CCC: 1 Cor 12:13 694, 790, 798, 1227, 1267, 1396; 1 Cor 12:26-27 953; 1 Cor 12:26 1469; 1 Cor 12:27 1265; 1 Cor 12:28 1508; 1 Cor 12:30 1508
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OR
Shorter Form
1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27
 
Brothers and sisters:
As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
 
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
Now the body is not a single part, but many.
You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.
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Commentary on 1 Cor 12:12-14, 27
 
This passage is a short summary of St. Paul’s teaching on unity of purpose of the members in the Church. He points out that in baptism we are all adopted into the same family, becoming the Body of Christ. While each has a separate purpose and ability, all are one in Christ.
 
CCC: 1 Cor 12:13 694, 790, 798, 1227, 1267, 1396; 1 Cor 12:26-27 953; 1 Cor 12:26-27 953; 1 Cor 12:27 1265
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Gospel: Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21
 
Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events
that have been fulfilled among us,
just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning
and ministers of the word have handed them down to us,
I too have decided,
after investigating everything accurately anew,
to write it down in an orderly sequence for you,
most excellent Theophilus,
so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings
you have received.
 
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
 
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
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Commentary on Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21
 
The Gospel selection today is actually two different passages from Luke’s Gospel. In this passage from the first chapter, we start with the introduction to Luke’s Gospel as he writes of his purpose to Theophilus. This formal introduction is of the style used to introduce historical documents, indicating that the work is written with an eye to historical accuracy.
 
Skipping ahead to the fourth chapter, we pick up the story of Jesus following his baptism and temptation in the desert. These will be dealt with in more detail during the Lenten season. Luke’s Gospel refers, in a summary way, to Jesus' early ministry in Galilee (the works we have been hearing about in Mark’s Gospel during the weekday texts).
 
Jesus comes to the synagogue and reads from Isaiah (Isaiah 61;1-3). The passage refers to the coming of the Messiah and the mission of the Son of God to the poor and marginalized. He then tells those listening: "Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." The Gospel tells us that Jesus fulfills Isaiah’s prophetic vision of the coming Messiah.
 
CCC: Lk 4:16-22 1286; Lk 4:16-21 436; Lk 4:18-19 695, 714; Lk 4:18 544, 2443; Lk 4:19 1168
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Reflection:
 
There have been many times in our lives when we have reached out in silent prayer asking: “Lord, what should I do?” We may have been disappointed when a voice did not come down for heaven with explicit instructions in answer to that prayer.  There may have been others when we asked a different, very short question: “God, why?”  Almost without exception, the answer may not have come to us.  Our conversations with God in prayer depend, for the most part, on us articulating our needs, desires, or questions to our Heavenly Father through his Son, Jesus, and then for the briefest moment listening for an answer.  Our faith informs us that God always answers prayers, just not always in the ways we expect. 

So how do we get answers to all those prays we fling heavenward? First, we must look at the prayer we have launched.  Is it realistic that God would grant such a request? (E.g., God, I am in straits – I need money in a hurry. Do we really expect the Lord to make a pile of money appear in that instant?) Next, we must ask ourselves how God might answer and to do this we must have some knowledge of how God has behaved toward prayer in the past.  We must also recognize that our time is not God’s time so the immediacy of the answer might disappoint us.  How do we know God?  We know him through our own experience with him and we know him through the Word of God – Sacred Scripture.  On this Sunday of the Word of God, we recall how important it is to get to know our Lord and Savior through his Word.
 
Have you ever considered for a moment how utterly alone those who do not believe in God must feel? Yes, while they are young and vital, they can ignore the huge gulf of emptiness that surrounds their spirits. They are empty because they do not perceive what is there. Like a person who is color-blind, they cannot feel the loving presence that is God who wants only their happiness and love. It is when they see the lonely path they have traveled coming to an end that most call out in despair for a face or a hand they have rejected.
 
While some of these atheistic people are in that situation because they have never been told that God exists (if you want a test some time, try evangelizing a young person from mainland China where atheism is the norm), others have found faith elusive and as a result have rejected God, sometimes in a benign way and sometimes violently.
 
Our Father has tried through the years to reach out to these self-excommunicated individuals in various ways. He invites all people to look at and marvel at his creation in all its richness and diversity. He has inspired some of those who were able to perceive his will over the ages to codify and record what God has revealed to them. This written record of God’s presence and intent has become for us a principal means by which we come to know God and his will for us.
 
The prophet Nehemiah was one of these special persons whom God selected to call his children to faith and happiness. Part of his story was presented as the first Scripture passage, and in it we find him calling all who can understand to feel the love God has for them and the love God asks in return.
 
St. Paul, the great evangelist and another one chosen by God to reveal his will to us, recognizes the unifying effect that the love of God in Christ must have on those who understand that God is alive and active with his people. He sees the marvelous diversity of the gifts God bestowed on his people and sees how those gifts may cooperate, forming the living body of Christ on earth.
 
And finally, in St. Luke’s Gospel, revelation is presented in a way that pulls all of God’s historical revelatory efforts to its climax, as Christ announces that he has come to fulfill what the sacred authors have long predicted, that God would come among them and show himself to them in a real way.
 
We marvel at God’s love for us, that he would so persistently work for our salvation and happiness. Through the Word of God, he asks that we, who have been graced with understanding and wisdom, do not hide that understanding, keeping it as a personal treasure. Rather he asks that we share it freely with those who have not yet been able to accept the love of God or the reality of his gift to us.
 
Pax

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[1] "At the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, I proposed setting aside 'a Sunday given over entirely to the word of God, so as to appreciate the inexhaustible riches contained in that constant dialogue between the Lord and his people'. Devoting a specific Sunday of the liturgical year to the word of God can enable the Church to experience anew how the risen Lord opens up for us the treasury of his word and enables us to proclaim its unfathomable riches before the world….
  "Consequently, I hereby declare that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the word of God. This Sunday of the Word of God will thus be a fitting part of that time of the year when we are encouraged to strengthen our bonds with the Jewish people and to pray for Christian unity. This is more than a temporal coincidence: the celebration of the Sunday of the Word of God has ecumenical value, since the Scriptures point out, for those who listen, the path to authentic and firm unity.
  "The various communities will find their own ways to mark this Sunday with a certain solemnity. It is important, however, that in the Eucharistic celebration the sacred text be enthroned, in order to focus the attention of the assembly on the normative value of God’s word. On this Sunday, it would be particularly appropriate to highlight the proclamation of the word of the Lord and to emphasize in the homily the honor that it is due. Bishops could celebrate the Rite of Installation of Lectors or a similar commissioning of readers, in order to bring out the importance of the proclamation of God’s word in the liturgy. In this regard, renewed efforts should be made to provide members of the faithful with the training needed to be genuine proclaimers of the word, as is already the practice in the case of acolytes or extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. Pastors can also find ways of giving a Bible, or one of its books, to the entire assembly as a way of showing the importance of learning how to read, appreciate and pray daily with sacred Scripture, especially through the practice of lectio divina."
 
The Apostolic Letter "Aperuit Illis" of Pope Francis
Given in Rome, at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, on 30 September 2019, the liturgical Memorial of Saint Jerome, on the inauguration of the 1600th anniversary of his death.
[2] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[3] The picture is “Jesus Teaching in the Synagogue” by James Tissot, 1886-96.
[4] S.S. Commemoratio
[5] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.