HOMILY OF 3RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: YEAR C
HOMILY OF 3RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: YEAR C
HOMILY THEME: WE OUGHT TO HOLD THE WORD OF GOD IN HIGH ESTEEM
BY: Friar Tochukwu Okonkwo, OFM Cap.
Nehemiah 8:2-6, 8-10, 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21
The Church marks her 6th Sunday of the celebration of the Word of God today. Pope Francis instituted this celebration to emphasise the significance and centrality of the Sacred Scripture. The theme of this year’s edition is from the Psalm “I hope in your word” (Ps. 119:147).
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Today’s first reading (Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10) shows what befell Israel after their return from the Babylonian exile. Ezra, the priest, is seen trying to reconstruct and restore religious observances for the Israelites. He tries to help them fix their love, hope, and trust in God again by listening to the Book of the Law. He leads them through a renewal of their covenant with God.
In the second reading (1 Cor. 12:12-30), St Paul talks about how various parts of the body collaboratively help in the functioning of a human being. He stresses the importance of charisms in proclaiming the word of God.
Today, the gospel (Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21) combines the prologue and the beginning of Jesus’s public ministry.
The prologue shows Luke’s purpose in writing—to provide an orderly account—and his sources—eyewitnesses and ministers of God’s word.
The second part shows Jesus in the synagogue of Nazareth, his hometown, inaugurating his public ministry. He read his mission statement, i.e., his manifesto per se, from the prophecy of Isaiah. His mission is to preach the good news to the poor, set the downtrodden free, give sight to the blind, etc. And to reveal his identity as the long-awaited Messiah, he would add that this prophecy is fulfilled today in your hearing.
Notably, in Judaism, synagogues existed in every town, and there was only one temple to emphasize God’s oneness. The synagogue was a place where people listened to God’s word weekly, while the temple was where sacrifices were offered yearly.
Interestingly, the Catholic Church enjoys these two during the celebration of every mass. During the liturgy of the word, we honour what was done in the synagogues while the Eucharist is a sacrifice of the New Covenant to take precedence over the sacrifice in the temple of old.
LESSONS FOR TODAY:
1. Embracing unity in diversity as a gift: The second reading invites us to foster a spirit of unity and collaboration in our various communities. A group’s strength lies in collaboration.
2. What is your manifesto or purpose in life? How can you contribute to helping to bring hope, healing, kindness and justice to your neighbour and especially to your household? Jesus is interested in the weak and people relegated to the margins of society. How much effort are you putting into helping this manifesto of Jesus?
3. The Holy Scriptures should be looked at holistically: Some only think that the Scriptures scare people and enforce guilt because they only read them casually. They excuse themselves from reading or meditating on them forgetting that they also reveal God’s faithful love, his promise in Jesus, his mercy, give dictates of right living and containing so many other inexhaustible riches.
4. The celebration of today calls us to a more serious dedication to reading the Bible: How dedicated are you to reading the Bible? The Bible is a love letter from God. In a world filled with so many distractions and much noise, the word of God must be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path Ps 119:105. The Pope challenges us to ask God for the grace to turn off the TV and cell phones, and to be able to create some time for the Bible.
During the day we have recourse to our devices several times but seldom think of sparing some moments daily to read the Bible, to listen to God’s gentle whispers in our hearts. We ought to cultivate this habit.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: How much time do I dedicate to my gadgets in a day? Do I have some spare time for God and his word during each day? Or am I too busy with other things?
The Psalmist (Ps. 19) of today acknowledges that his words are spirit and life, it takes courage and faith to accept his words especially when they go contrary to our sinful inclinations. However, this calls us to renew our minds and to enthrone God’s words in our lives to feel its life-transforming effects.
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