Homily: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C
I
remember very distinctly the experience of the first Mass that we celebrated
with my parishioners at the Cathedral after three months of being locked out of
the church. Everything was very weird. Those who came sat far apart from each other,
everyone was wearing masks, and I had to process in from the side of the altar
instead of through the congregation, down the center aisle. Nevertheless, when I began Mass with the Sign
of the Cross and greeted the people in the usual way—“The Lord be with you” …
“And with your spirit”—there was a powerful flood of emotion. I said out loud that “it was so good to hear that response” as tears came to my
eyes and I could see the tears in the eyes of many who were present. We had been separated from each other and the
Mass—exiled, if you will—but now we were restored and we couldn’t hold back our
emotions.
In
our first reading today, what we hear ought to sound familiar. That is because what is described there is a
liturgical gathering: something not very different from what we do in the first
part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word.
And the setting for that ancient liturgy was like when we gathered for
Mass for the first time after the lockdown.
You see, this was one of the first liturgical gatherings of the Jewish
community after they had returned from exile in Babylon: where they had been
deprived of the temple worship for seventy years and where the teaching of the
Torah—that is, the Old Testament Law of the Covenant—was all but lost. Thus, most of the people had only ever heard
the law described to them—as it was
handed down to them by their parents and grandparents—but had never actually
heard the law itself read to them. And so, when Ezra read from the scroll of the
Law itself, the people seemingly overreact: they weep.
Now,
there is no description in the reading itself about why they wept when they
heard the law read to them. Therefore, we
have to use our imagination. Perhaps
they were now acutely aware of having failed to follow the Law and so wept in
sorrow for having offended God for so long.
Perhaps, however, they were a little more like we were when we returned
to Mass after the months of lockdown: overwhelmed by tears of joy because what
they had longed for had been restored to them.
Fast
forward now to the Gospel reading, where we read about another liturgical
gathering. The setting for this one,
however, is much more like the one we are celebrating today: for it was the
regular Sabbath day gathering in the synagogue at Nazareth. The experience this particular Sabbath,
however, would be much different. Jesus,
who had been away preaching and working miracles in other towns and areas, now
returned to Galilee, and his hometown of Nazareth, where stories of what he was
accomplishing quickly spread. And so,
when he came to the synagogue, all eyes were on him. While all, I’m sure, expected to hear the
preaching for which he was becoming famous, what they received was much more
astonishing.
Jesus,
after having read a portion of the Scriptures referring to the Messiah, sits
down and tells them plainly: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your
hearing.” In other words, what he’s
saying to them is: “I am the Messiah.”
Now, today’s reading doesn’t give us the reaction of the people in the
synagogue and so we’re left to imagine it for ourselves. Perhaps their reaction was like those who were
gathered at that ancient liturgy in Jerusalem, where they heard the Law of the
Lord read to them for the first time, or like we were when we returned to Mass
after the lockdown: in other words, that their reaction was that of someone who
experiences the fulfillment of a long-hoped-for desire. Indeed, the next verse reads “And all spoke
highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his
mouth.” They were amazed: probably because they had experienced the fulfillment of
all that they had been missing. ///
Friends,
today the Church invites us to celebrate the Word of God in a special way. The Word of God is God revealed to us in the
Scriptures: the sacred writings, inspired by God, which preserve for us the
record of how God has made himself known throughout history. We are invited to celebrate it today as a
reminder that the Word of God is “living and active and sharper than any
two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12). Because
it reveals God to us, who is alive, it is living and, thus, can still form and
inform us today. And so, as we engage
this celebration, and inspired by the Scriptures that we have read today, I
want to highlight the importance of the proclamation of the Word of God in an
assembly of people, like here at Mass.
In
our modern times, we’ve become accustomed to the idea that reading is something
that we do by ourselves and in silence. A
printed copy of just about any book is easy for anyone to obtain and so we’re
used to the idea that we can each read things for ourselves. Nevertheless, there is still something very
powerful about being in a group of people in which we all hear something read
to us. The shared experience does
something to us: it informs us, of course, but it also unites us physically and
emotionally. Part of our celebration
today is a reminder of how important it is that we gather together to hear the
word of God proclaimed. When we do (like
here at the Mass), we are more deeply united physically and emotionally: both
to God (who makes himself present to us in the Word) and to one another.
Bishop
Doherty’s pastoral plan, Uniting in Heart, is about rediscovering and
reinforcing this unity as Catholics in this diocese for the sake of our
mission: which is to bring everyone around us into that unity. To see this fulfilled, however, we have to
immerse ourselves continuously in the Word of God and allow it to form us into
the disciples that God has called us to be.
Therefore,
I challenge you to find a way daily to engage the word of God with others. For example, in your family or with a group
of friends, gather together daily and read aloud a passage of the Sacred
Scriptures to each other, reflecting on what it means and about what it
connects to in your lives. Perhaps you
could do this by listening to the “Bible in a Year” podcast in a group (again,
with your family or with a group of friends).
The point of this is to hear
the word of God each day in an experience shared with others so that it can
unite you with others (thus strengthening community) as well as form and shape
the way you think, feel, and act (thus strengthening discipleship). Through this work, we will grow into the
fullness of the Body of Christ that Saint Paul envisioned and we will see God’s
kingdom manifest itself among us.
May
our thanksgiving in this Eucharist inspire us to engage in this good work. And may the grace that pours out upon us from
this Eucharist strengthen us to fulfill it.
Given at St. Joseph Parish: Delphi, IN – January 23rd,
2022
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