WORD: TAUGHT, FULFILLED, AND TRANSMITTED

Reflections on the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Nehemiah 8:2-10, 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, Luke 1:1-4;4:14-21

Pope Francis, in his 2019 Apostolic Letter, Motu proprio Aperuit illis, established that “the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God”. Today’s readings invite us to reflect on three important facets of the Word.

1. The Word is Taught:

The inauguration of Jesus’ public ministry is powerfully animated by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is clothed by the power of the Holy Spirit in his baptism (Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10, Luke 3:22). Soon, the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1, Mark 1:12, Luke 4:1). And finally, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit”. Jesus is fully charged with the Spirit and is now ready to confront any demon, heal any disease, stop storms, or move mountains. But what does Jesus do first with such great power? “He taught in the synagogues”. The foundational act of the inauguration of Jesus’ public ministry was not a miracle but his teaching. Unlike John the Baptist, who preached in the wilderness on the banks of the Jordan, Jesus chose to follow tradition. He teaches in a remote and obscure synagogue in Nazareth of Galilee. What seems ordinary and banal is quite extraordinary. As Luke tells us, “He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all”.

What was so extraordinary about his teaching? Jesus’ teaching of the Word was not legalistic but prophetic, not repetitive but lively, and not insipid but powerful. When Jesus saw a great crowd that was hungry, tired and lost like sheep without a shepherd in Mark 6:34, what did he do? Did he immediately go about feeding them miraculously? No, “He began to teach them many things”. Do we realise that the teachings of Jesus are equally powerful and important as his miracles? Jesus preached the Word in a way that made sense to the people, changed their lives, and enabled them to feel God’s presence and Kingdom present among them. His teaching was different “for he taught them as one having authority and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7:29). The Word must take the central place in our life and worship not the preacher.

2. The Word is Fulfilled:

The concluding lines of today’s gospel are dramatic. After proclaiming a personalised version of Isaiah 61:1, Jesus rolls up the scroll, hands it back to the attendant, and sits down. The eyes of all in the synagogue are fixed upon him and he then proclaims, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”. Jesus did not proclaim the prophecy of doom but the Good News of the Year of the Lord. It is interesting to note that Jesus omits the part “to proclaim… the day of vengeance of our God” from the original passage of Isaiah 61:2. Thus, Luc wishes to show that the message of Jesus is not oriented towards condemnation but God's grace. The Word of God is not meant for fear-mongering but to inspire hope and action. Pope John XXIII, in his opening address of Vatican II, warned the Church about “prophets of doom” who were “always forecasting worse disasters, as though the end of the world were at hand”.

By proclaiming that the Word is fulfilled in their hearing, Jesus intends to demonstrate that the Word is brought to life in his ministry. We cannot fool ourselves with hearing and teaching the Word but we need to fulfill it in our concrete lives by putting them into practice. As James would teach us, “But be doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves” (James 1:22). Jesus’ Word liberates the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed. Does the Word become flesh in the different aspects of our Christian life, such as charity, generosity, work for justice, social commitment and openness to the manifestations of the Spirit? The Lord’s year, which was proclaimed as a future possibility by the Old Testament prophets, becomes a historical and visible reality in Jesus’ ministry. This proclamation is no more wishful dreaming. The time of fulfilment is here and it calls for pro-active engagement.

3. The Word is Transmitted:

The Word, taught and fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry, becomes immortalised in the act of transmission. Luke begins today’s gospel with a brief introduction to his audience (Theophilus). He insists that he transmits the ‘narrative of events’ as a historian, through rigorous work that places the events concerning Jesus and the emergence of the early Church in the general history of humanity. He is not a direct witness, but he has methodically consulted all the available sources. His testimony is not through philosophical arguments or metaphysical theses. Instead, he transmits his faith experience through his gospel, which organises narratives coherently to create meaning for all generations to come.

At a time when aggressive tweets, divisive trolls, and hateful comments seek to spread Bad news in our media, Luke’s gospel testimony calls us to a different universe of Good News that is centred on love, truth, and harmony. We have received the Word through the faithful transmission of our forefathers and foremothers of faith. It is now our time to bring the Word to life by interpreting it in the context of our daily lives. Swiss theologian Karl Barth, tells us that God’s Word is expressed in three ways; as the written Word, the taught Word, and the incarnate Word. The written and transmitted Word becomes incarnated when preached and practised in our daily life situations. Scripture has to become alive again in our life experiences so that we may transmit them to future generations.

May the Word, transmitted through the witness of the Church, take the central place in our lives, and fulfill our search for meaning and purpose.