4th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Readings: Jeremiah 1:4‑5,17‑19 1 Corinthians 12:31‑13:13 Luke 4:21‑30
            In this Sunday's liturgy we learn that despite Jeremiah and Jesus' being rejected by their own people, God's life giving word will still triumph over the powers of evil.  Let us give voice to our hope in the victory of God's kingdom as we sing this Sunday's psalm of trust: "I will sing of your salvation" (Ps 71).
            Jeremiah's account of his prophetic call stresses both his role in God's plan and the opposition he will meet in performing his task.  Even before Jeremiah was formed in the womb, the Lord had appointed him to be "a prophet to the nations."  But the Lord warns that he will have to fight against Judah's recalcitrant leaders and people who will stubbornly persist in sins of social injustice, idolatry, and political intrigue.   
                        For it is I this day
            who have made you a fortified city,
            a pillar of iron, a wall of brass,

            against the whole land:
                        against Judah's kings and princes,
            against its priests and people.  (Jer 1:17‑18)
Despite relentless opposition that will all but crush him, the Lord assures Jeremiah of his deliverance.
            They will fight against you, but not prevail over you,
            for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. (Jer 1:19)

            In the reading from 1 Corinthians Paul continues to treat the spiritual gifts.  He exhorts the Corinthians to set their hearts on the higher ones and then contrasts the more spectacular gifts (tongues, prophecy, knowledge, miracle working, charitable acts, and martyrdom) to love, the least impressive, but only necessary gift.  The person who has the others without love possesses "nothing."
            Paul uses the word agape for "love" to distinguish it from the traditional Greek notion of love, eros.  Eros aims at self fulfillment through union with the beloved, but agape, as Paul describes it, is unselfish love, concerned with the welfare of others to the point of giving up self fulfillment.  Paul characterizes agape with two positive adjectives, "patient" and "kind," and then follows with a series of negatives which contrast it with selfishness.  Agape is "not jealous or boastful," "not arrogant or rude," "not self‑seeking," "not irritable or resentful," "does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right."  He concludes his encomium by praising agape as a divine gift which endures into eternity.  "There is no limit to love's forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure."   The other gifts will pass away; only "faith, hope and love will last, and the greatest of these is love." 

            The Gospel for this Sunday continues from last week Luke's story of Jesus' first public appearance in the synagogue at Nazareth.  Recall that Jesus has just read the Isaiah passage about the one who is anointed by God's spirit "to preach good news to the poor," "to proclaim release of the captives,"  "recovering of sight to the blind," "to set at liberty those who are oppressed," and "to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."  Now Jesus announces solemnly to the people of his hometown, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
            Their response reminds us of Jeremiah's fate in the first reading and foreshadows the ultimate outcome of the gospel message in Luke‑Acts.  Nazareth rejects Jesus as the mere “son of Joseph,” and he in turn chastises their resistance by a series of proverbial sayings:
            “You will doubtless quote me the proverb,
            ‘Physician, heal yourself,' and say,
            ‘Do here in your own country the things we have
            heard you have done in Capernaum.'  . . .
            ‘No prophet gains acceptance in his native place.’”
Jesus then recalls that in the past the prophets Elijah and Elisha were sent to Gentiles like the widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon and Naaman, the Syrian leper.  When "all in the synagogue" rise up against him and attempt to throw him from a hill, Jesus passes through their midst.  This pattern will be repeated in Jesus’ Jerusalem ministry where he will be rejected for his preaching in the temple and crucified only to arise and ascend into his glory (19:45‑24:53).  Despite this rejection, God's saving word will triumph.  In his parting words in the gospel, Jesus commissions his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they “are clothed with power from on high” to be witnesses who will  preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name to all the nations (24:44‑49).

Jesus Rejected in the Temple -Tissot

January 27: 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Readings: Nehemiah 8:2‑10   1 Corinthians 12:12‑30    Luke 1:1‑4; 4:14‑21
            This Sunday's readings continue the theme, introduced last week, of rejoicing in the fulfillment of God's promises through the gift of the Torah and the coming of Jesus.  As we hear the good news of God's saving revelation in the Law and Jesus, let us gratefully sing the refrain of the responsorial psalm: "Your words, Lord are spirit and life" (Ps 19).
            The first reading from the Book of Nehemiah recounts Ezra's proclamation of the Torah in Jerusalem to the Jewish exiles who had returned from Babylon.  During the reign of the Persian emperor Artaxeres (c. 465‑423 B.C.), Ezra, the priest and scribe, came from Babylon with a written copy of the Torah that was to become the basis for the reform of Jewish life in the post-exilic period.  Ezra's influence was so great that he is often called "the second Moses" and "the father of Judaism," the proper term for the religion of the people of Judea after their return from Babylonian exile.
            Virtually every detail of the account indicates the importance of Torah for Jewish life.  In order that the whole assembly may hear the words of the Torah, Ezra reads the book while standing on a wooden platform.  He carefully opens the scroll "so that all the people may see it."  Out of reverence, the people rise as the book is opened and, as Ezra blesses them, they respond “Amen, amen!”  When the Torah is being read, they "prostrate themselves before the Lord, their faces to the ground."  So that the assembly may fully understand the law of God, Ezra reads "plainly" and interprets it, a process that was continued in the Targums and rabbinical tradition.  Finally, we can sense the joy that the Jewish community takes in the gift of the Torah.   Although they first weep because their ancestors have not lived up to the Torah's demands, Ezra commands them to rejoice and celebrate the Lord's revelation with a holy festival, rich foods and sweet drinks.
            The Epistle reading is a continuation of Paul's exhortation to the Corinthians to use their many spiritual gifts for the good of the whole community rather than the promotion of personal honor.  Paul uses the metaphor of the body of Christ to express the interdependence and unity of all members of the community.  Whether they are Jews or Greeks, slave or free, they all belong to the one body.  In contrast to the status conscious Roman world of the first century A.D., God has so constructed the body of the  Church that the lowly members are given the greater honor, and therefore there is to be no dissension in the Church.  All members are to be concerned with the one another and share in each person's sufferings and joys.  In the conclusion of this section Paul does rank the offices in the Church (apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in tongues), but he ends by noting that no one performs all of these.      

            In the Gospel Luke solemnly presents Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promise of universal salvation given in the Jewish Scriptures.  The first section of the reading is Luke's formal preface to the whole gospel in which he informs his patron Theophilus that he is writing "a narrative of the events which have been fulfilled in our midst."  Jesus' reading of the Scripture scroll in the synagogue at Nazareth is Luke's programmatic introduction to the Galilean ministry and the first public proclamation of the adult Jesus in the gospel.  Jesus' mission is firmly rooted in the traditions of his own people's Scriptures.  He enters "the synagogue on the Sabbath as he was in  the habit of doing" and reads from the scroll of the prophet  Isaiah which speaks of a Messiah anointed by the Lord's spirit to bring glad tidings to those who are in need of salvation.
"The spirit of the Lord is upon me;
therefore he has anointed me.
            He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
            to proclaim liberty to captives,
recovery of sight to the blind
            and release to prisoners,
            to announce a year of favor from the Lord" (Lk 4:18‑19;
            see Isa 61:1‑2; 58:6)
When Jesus finishes, he rolls up the scroll, gives it to the  assistant, sits down and announces solemnly, “Today this  Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (4:21).  This text will provide the format for Jesus’ ministry in Luke.  The poor and the outcast will find in Jesus their savior.
          As we continue to read Luke's gospel in the C cycle, the joyful good news and the revolutionary character of Jesus' mission will become more and more evident.

January 20th /Second Sunday Ordinary Time

                                  2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Readings: Isaiah 62:1‑5   1 Corinthians 12:4‑11  John 2:1‑12

            During these first Sundays of Ordinary Time, the Church rejoices in Jesus' presence which brings the long-awaited Messianic Age.  Today's readings use wedding imagery to celebrate God's wondrous coming in Jesus.  The refrain of our responsorial psalm commands us to share this joyous news with the world: "Proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations" (Ps 96).
            The first reading from the Book of the prophet Isaiah promises the restoration of Jerusalem which, because of its sins, had been leveled by the Babylonian armies.  Like a husband taking back a faithless spouse, the Lord will rebuild his beloved city.   He will change Jerusalem's names from "Forsaken" and "Desolate" to "My Delight" and "Espoused."  Because the Lord "delights" in his spouse, he forgives the sins of the past.
                        As a young man marries a virgin,
                        your Builder shall marry you;
                        and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride,
                        so shall your God rejoice in you.  (Isa 62:4‑5)
            For the next several weeks, the Epistle reading will be from the latter chapters of First Corinthians where Paul treats the problems of disunity caused by both misunderstandings of the spiritual gifts given to the Christian community and a refusal to accept the literal reality of Jesus' bodily resurrection.      
            Apparently, some Corinthian Christians were using the possession of spiritual gifts, especially tongues, as a basis for claiming superiority over those who lacked the gift.  Paul approaches the problem from several angles‑‑ all of them designed to exhort the church to unity through a considerate love that builds up the community.  In today's reading he reminds the Corinthians that, "for the common good," one and the same Spirit gives a variety of gifts: the utterance of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues.

In this Sunday's Gospel John presents Jesus' first public sign: the changing of water into choice wine at the wedding feast of Cana.  This story is John's account of the arrival of the Messianic Age with the coming of Jesus (see Mk 2:18‑22; Matt 9:14‑17; Lk 5:33‑39). Although Jesus is reluctant to act because his hour of glory (his death, resurrection and ascension) has not yet come, at the insistence of his mother, he helps to relieve the embarrassing situation of the family who has run out of wine for their wedding guests.  This simple act of consideration and kindness is transformed into a marvelous sign of the joyous arrival of the Messianic Age with its wedding feasting and abundant wine (see our first reading).  In the process, the old order, represented by the six stone water jars "prescribed for Jewish ceremonial washings," becomes the vehicle for the revelation of the Messiah's presence among his people.
            God's mode of revelation reverses our normal, human expectations.  When the head waiter tastes the water made wine, he remarks to the bridegroom:
                        “People usually serve the choice wine first;
                        then when the guests have been drinking awhile,
                        a lesser vintage.  What you have done is keep
                        the choice wine until now.”
Jesus, the Messiah, has arrived at the end of a long waiting period.  The best has been saved for last; the good wine has come after centuries of expectation.  But this sign speaks only to those who have eyes to see beyond the surface of things.  We are told "his disciples believed in him."  They see through the act of kindness to the glory of the One acting.  They are prepared to move from waiting for the arrival of God's Savior to the recognition of his presence in their midst.  May the Lord give us the same vision.

BAPTISM OF THE LORD

The Baptism of the Lord C
Readings: Isaiah 42:1‑4,6‑7  Acts 10:34‑38  Luke 3:15‑16, 21‑22
            The feast of the Baptism of the Lord marks a transition between the Christmas season during which we celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation and the beginning of Ordinary Time when we re-experience the saving mission of Jesus by commemorating his public actions and teachings as recorded in the gospels.  During this year's C cycle we will use Luke's Gospel, and so today we are presented with Luke's account of Jesus' baptism.  Today's feast reveals Jesus as God's prayerful Son and servant who has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to bring the "good news of peace" to the children of Israel and the nations of the world.  With confidence in God’s blessings, we pray in the words of the responsorial psalm: "The Lord will bless his people" (Ps 29).
            In the first reading from the Book of Isaiah, Israel's vocation as the Lord's humble "servant" is to bring forth justice to the nations.  In contrast to the grandiose political expectations of many in Israel, the prophet, who is living in exile in Babylon, sees Israel fulfilling its task through a gentle teaching mission.
                        He (my servant) shall bring forth justice to the nations,
                                    not crying out, not shouting,
                                    not making his voice heard in the street.
                                    A bruised reed he shall not break,
                                    and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
                                    until he establishes justice on the earth;
                                    the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
            No longer can the exiles consider their destiny in narrow nationalistic terms.  They must now understand themselves "as a covenant of the people,/ a light for the nations."  We Christians believe Jesus, the crucified Messiah, is the ultimate fulfillment of this gentle servant figure who will be "a light for the nations."
            In the second reading from Acts, Peter's sermon at the baptism of Cornelius also alludes to the universalism implicit in Jesus' ministry which began with John's baptism when he was anointed with "the Holy Spirit and power."  Cornelius is the  first Gentile convert to Christianity in Acts; he was a devout  Roman centurion who was already praying to the God of the Jews and giving alms to them (Acts 10:1‑8).  As is usual in Acts, the initiative for this important new step in the spreading of the gospel comes from God.  In a vision an angel of God tells Cornelius: "Your prayers and almsgiving have ascended as a memorial offering before God.  Now send some men to Joppa and summon one Simon who is called Peter."  In the meantime Peter also learns in a vision that God has abolished the Jewish kosher  laws by declaring that all foods are clean, so that he goes with  Cornelius' emissaries when they invite him (Acts 10:17‑29).   When Peter hears of Cornelius' vision, he affirms all that God has done in these events.

                                    “I begin to see how true it is that God shows no
                                    partiality.  Rather, the man of any nation who
                                    fears God and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.”
            Luke's account of Jesus' baptism highlights his superiority to John.  When the people, "full of anticipation," ask John whether he might be the Messiah, he answers by prophesying about Jesus' ministry which will bring the Holy Spirit and the final Messianic age.
                                    "I am baptizing you in water, but there is one to come
                                    who is mightier than I.  I am not fit to loosen his
                                    sandal strap.  He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire."
Because John belongs to the time of preparation, Luke does not even mention John's presence at the baptism.  In fact in the verses omitted from today's reading Luke narrates John's arrest and imprisonment before the baptism (see Lk 3:17‑20).
            In the actual account of the baptism, Luke stresses the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus and the heavenly voice which speaks to him as the unique Son and Servant of God in language reminiscent of the Isaiah reading.  “You are my beloved Son./  On you my favor rests.”  A special feature of Luke's account is that Jesus is "at prayer" when the Holy Spirit descends upon him.  Jesus' saving ministry begins with prayer and the descent of the Holy Spirit, and it will end in prayer on the cross with the words, “Father into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk 23:46; Ps 31:6).  Jesus' frequent prayer at crucial points throughout Luke's gospel (see 5:16; 6:12; 9:18; 9:28‑29; 11:1‑2; 22:32; 22:39‑48; 23:34,46) will serve as a model for the  disciples who will also be at prayer when they receive the Holy Spirit for their mission on Pentecost (see Acts 1:14; 2:1‑13).       

EPIPHANY OF THE LORD A B C

Epiphany A B C
Readings: Isaiah 60:1‑6   Ephesians 3:2‑3,5‑6  Matthew 2:1‑12
Beginning with the call of Abraham, God's plan for salvation history extends his blessing from Israel to all the nations (Gen 12:1‑3).  Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, the manifestation of God's salvation to all peoples.  In the words of the responsorial psalm, we pray: "Lord, every nation on earth will adore you" (Ps 72:11).
The Isaiah reading looks forward to the time when nations will walk by the light of God's blessing shed upon Jerusalem.   Speaking to exiles recently returned from Babylon, the prophet  commands them to see their efforts to rebuild Jerusalem's walls and Temple as the beginnings of the epiphany of the Lord's light and glory piercing through the darkness of the whole earth.
                                    Nations shall walk by your light,
                                    and kings by your shining radiance. . . .
                                    For the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
                                    the wealth of nations shall be brought to you . . .
                                    All from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense,
                                    and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.  (Is 60:3,5‑6)
Ephesians announces the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy by proclaiming “that the Gentiles are now coheirs with the Jews, members of the same body and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the preaching of the gospel."  Paul had to fight for the Gentiles’ right to be part of the new Messianic community without the duty of becoming observant Jews.  According to Paul, Jesus' death and resurrection is the saving event, long anticipated by the prophets, which has opened the way for the Gentiles to become members of the people of God.  This good news also calls Christians to a new way of living together in a love, rooted in Christ's own love for us.  Our epiphany prayer for one another should be Paul's.
                                    I kneel before the Father, from whom every family
                                    in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant
                                    you in accord with the riches of his glory to be
                                    strengthened with power through his Spirit in the
                                    inner-self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts
                                    through faith; that you may be rooted and grounded
                                    in love, may have strength to comprehend with all
                                    the holy ones what is the breadth and length and
                                    height and depth, and to know the love of Christ
                                    that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled
                                    with all the fullness of God.  (Eph 3:14‑19)

Matthew's story of the adoration of the magi foreshadows that the Gentiles will receive the gospel but also that Jesus' own people will paradoxically reject it.  Many of the details of the Epiphany story‑‑ the character of Herod, the mysterious star, the magi‑‑ have their background in the traditions of the Old Testament.
Herod's character is modeled on previous wicked kings who attempt to thwart God's promises, only to bring them to fulfillment.  Like the Pharaoh in versions of the Exodus story, Herod becomes "greatly troubled" by the birth of "the newborn king of the Jews" and attempts to kill the child by ordering the massacre of the infant boys in Bethlehem.  As a result Jesus, as God's son, must descend into Egypt, like his ancestors, and then be called out in fulfillment of Hosea's prophecy: "Out of Egypt I have called my son" (Hos 11:1; Mt 2:13‑23).
The star that the magi follow is also associated with an Old Testament story about another king who tried unsuccessfully to frustrate God's plan.  When the Moabite king Balak confronts the Israelites in their march through the wilderness, he summons Balaam, a pagan seer (a magus), to curse them, but he can only pronounce blessing on God's people (see Numbers 22‑24).   Among the blessings is the foreshadowing of a Messiah arising like "a star" out of Jacob.
                                    There shall come a man out of Israel's seed,/
                                    and he shall rule many nations/. . . .
                                    I see him, but not now;/
                                    I behold him, but not close;/
                                    a star shall rise from Jacob,/
                                    and a man (scepter) shall come forth from Israel.
                                    (Num 24:7,17‑‑partially from Greek Septuagint)    
In contrast to Herod, the magi are sincere Gentiles who cooperate with God's plan and, in fulfillment of the Isaiah text, come to "walk by (Israel's) light."  Although they only have the astrological revelation provided by nature, the magi humbly come to Israel seeking fuller knowledge of where the child is to be born so that they may do him homage.  When they learn from the Scriptures that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, they continue their journey, again guided by the star.  And when they see the child with Mary his mother, they respond with joy and in homage offer their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Hearing the Word
A Commentary on the Roman Lectionary
for Sundays and Festive Days
Introduction
            One of the great gifts of the Holy Spirit to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) was the reform and promotion of the liturgy mandated by the Council’s first document, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium).  It proclaimed that “the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the church is directed; it is also the fount from which all her power flows” (SC, n. 10).  The goal of the reform of the Sacred Liturgy was that “the Christian people . . . should understand (the sacred texts) with ease and take part in them fully, actively, and as a community” (SC, n. 21).  The Council fathers recognized that “Sacred Scripture is of the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy” and that “it is essential to promote that warm and lively appreciation of the Sacred Scripture to which the venerable tradition of Eastern and Western rites gives testimony” (SC, n. 24).  To achieve this goal the Council mandated the creation of a new Lectionary in which “The treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly so that a richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God’s word” and “a more representative part of the Sacred Scripture will be read to the people in the course of a prescribed number of years” (SC, n. 51).
            To provide the faithful with a fuller experience of the Word of God The Lectionary of the New Roman Missal used several principles in composing of the Order of Readings for Mass for Sundays and festive days.  Each liturgy has three readings and a responsorial psalm. The first is from the Old Testament or the Acts of the Apostles during the Easter season. The psalm is a prayerful sung response to the first reading and sets the tone for the whole Liturgy of the Word. The second is from an apostolic writing, either an apostolic letter or the Book of Revelation.  The third and climatic reading is from the Gospels which is proclaimed by the deacon or priest and done with special reverence including a sung acclamation before the proclamation and the standing of the assembly during the reading.  This arrangement highlights the unity of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments which culminates in Christ and the paschal mystery of his death and resurrection.
The Lectionary has a three-year cycle featuring a different Gospel each year: Matthew (A Cycle), Mark (B Cycle), and Luke (C Cycle).  John’s Gospel is read largely in Lent and during the Easter Season.  The principles governing the Order of Reading for Sundays and festive days are two: “harmony” and “semi-continuous reading.”  During Ordinary Time the Gospels are read semi-continuously and the Old Testament texts are harmonized with the Gospel texts. The second readings from the apostolic letters are read in a semi-continuous fashion over several weeks.  During the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter the readings have a distinctive character which will be highlighted in the Commentary.
               This Commentary is designed for four audiences: (1) the faithful so that they may learn beforehand about the Sacred Scriptures they will hear proclaimed in the liturgy and respond more fully to that word in faith; (2) those who exercise the ministry of lector so that they may understand the readings in context and perceive in faith the central point of the revealed message; (3) music ministers and cantors so they may be aided in their selection of music and leading of the singing of the responsorial psalm; and (4) deacons and priests who have the responsibility of preparing homilies to lead the faithful to an affective knowledge of Scripture and the wondrous works of God.