Fr. Manuel João, comboni missionary
Sunday Reflection
from the womb of my whale, ALS
Our cross is the pulpit of the Word

Living the Today of the Word of God

Year C – Ordinary Time – 3rd Sunday
Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled”

Today, we begin the continuous reading of the Gospel of Saint Luke, which will accompany us throughout this liturgical year on our journey as disciples of the Lord. Furthermore, this third Sunday of Ordinary Time is the “Sunday of the Word of God,” instituted by Pope Francis in 2019 to promote the knowledge and love of Sacred Scripture.

Today’s Gospel passage opens with Saint Luke’s introduction to his Gospel (Luke 1:1-4), dedicated to a certain Theophilus. Theophilus, whose name means “Lover of God” or “Loved by God,” can be seen as a symbol of each of us. Let us therefore receive these words as a personal dedication: “To you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the teachings you have received.”

The second part of the passage presents the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry: “At that time, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the entire region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all” (4:14-15). In this context, we hear of his return to his hometown and his homily in the synagogue at Nazareth (4:16-21). This episode presents to us the “first public word” of the adult Christ in Saint Luke’s Gospel.

The programmatic homily in the synagogue at Nazareth

Let us pause for a moment on Jesus’ discourse at Nazareth. He returned to his village after months of absence. The fame of his preaching, which had spread throughout the region of Galilee, had also reached Nazareth. As was his custom, on the Sabbath, the day of worship, he entered the synagogue. Everyone was present, curious to see him again and to hear his words. We too, today, are there to listen to him!

The celebration of the Word began with the recitation of the Shema Israel (“Hear, O Israel”) and some prayers of blessing, followed by the proclamation of two readings. The first was taken from the Torah, that is, the Pentateuch—the first five books of Moses and the most sacred part of the Scriptures, equivalent in importance to the Gospels for Christians. The Torah was divided into weekly portions, so as to be read in its entirety over three years. This reading formed the heart of the liturgy and was carried out by the priest or the head of the synagogue. The text was proclaimed in Hebrew and often accompanied by a translation into Aramaic to make it understandable to the people.

The second reading was taken from the Prophets, and Jesus was invited to deliver it. Anyone over the age of thirty was authorised to read it. Jesus stood up, and “the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.” It might have been the only scroll of the Prophets that a small and poor synagogue like the one at Nazareth could afford, as parchments were very expensive. Jesus “unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down”.

After the reading, a homily or exhortation would normally follow, delivered by a respected member of the community. On this occasion, Jesus was invited to do so. He sat down to teach, like a new Moses, and “the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him.” We too, as the Letter to the Hebrews suggests, “fix our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2).
The evangelist summarises his homily in a few, but extraordinary, words: “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Points for reflection

The Today of the Word of God

The text read by Jesus (Isaiah 61:1-2) speaks of an anonymous prophet sent by God to free his people. With the words, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled,” Jesus declares that he is that anonymous prophet, that he has been “anointed” by the Spirit (Messiah) and sent by the Father, particularly to four categories of people: the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed. Here, we seem to see a foretaste of the Beatitudes. His mission is to “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,” that is, a Jubilee!

In this year of favour, everyone is called to regain possession of their own “land,” that is, of themselves; to be freed from the chains caused by wrong choices; to move from the darkness of the blindness of selfishness to the light of a rediscovered fraternity; to be relieved from the oppression of so many unnecessary burdens in order to walk in freedom.

All of this happens TODAY, not tomorrow, not in a distant future, nor in an ethereal “beyond.” The Gospel of Saint Luke is filled with numerous “todays,” beginning with the first in Bethlehem addressed to the shepherds: “Today, in the city of David, a Saviour has been born to you” (Luke 2:11); and ending with the last, spoken in Jerusalem on the cross, addressed to one of the criminals crucified with Jesus: “Today, you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). The life of a Christian is lived between these two “todays.”

The Word of God must, therefore, be received today, like fresh bread given by the Father every day. By receiving the Word in today, we enter into God’s eternal present, capable of healing our past and opening us to the future. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews devotes two entire chapters (3 and 4) to exhorting us to live in the today of God’s Word: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts […] Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘today.’”

A new Today

In reading the text from Isaiah, Jesus omits a particularly important and significant phrase: “[The Lord has sent me to proclaim] the day of vengeance of our God.” Why?
“In the Old Testament, ‘the day of the Lord’ always has a dual consequence: it represents salvation for the poor and condemnation for those who place themselves outside of God’s plan. However, Jesus exercises his authority by suspending judgment and delaying it, as if he wanted to grant additional time of grace, a kairos, to offer everyone the opportunity to choose the direction of their lives” (Paolo Farinella). This additional time recalls the parable of the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6-9), where a new chance is given before the final cutting down.

The Letter to the Hebrews describes this time in an emblematic way: “God again sets a certain day, calling it ‘Today’” (Hebrews 4:7). It is up to each of us to decide whether or not to enter into this new today.

Fr. Manuel João Pereira Correia, MCCJ