January 27, 2019

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Nehemiah 8: 2-4, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Corinthians 12: 12-30; Luke 1: 1-4, 4: 14-21
Do I consider myself to always be right? I try to be open in listening to people and their thoughts
and ideas, but I have definite feelings on many topics. Am I always right in these—no—but I feel
pretty good about my choices for the most part. Do I consider myself a sinner? I do, there is no
question about that. My monthly reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation constantly reminds
me that I am in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness. It also reminds me and gives me a fresh
insight into the fact, that yes, we are all indeed sinners. Most importantly it reminds me of the truth
of our faith: I am a sinner…I am a loved sinner…I am a redeemed loved sinner; along with
everyone God has created. How am I living in God’s love? How am I living love to every person
who comes into my life? How am I loving all my brothers and sisters, every person God has
created?
In the first reading we hear what happened when the exiles returned from Babylon. Nehemiah had
been appointed the governor and Ezra had been appointed the priest by the Persian overlords. They
were given the task of rebuilding the Jewish community of faith. Nehemiah went about rebuilding
the city walls of Jerusalem for safety and security. Ezra was a “…scribe well versed in the law of Moses,
the Torah, {the first five books of the OT} which he sought to make the basic rule of life in the restored
community.” (From Introduction to the Book of Ezra in the Catholic Study Bible.) Ezra realized more had to be
done besides rebuilding Jerusalem, because true security for Judah requires faithful service to the
Lord God. So today Nehemiah assembles all the people and Ezra reads the law of Moses. We see a
very emotional response from the people. God hasn’t rejected them. God loves them and is helping
them live the life of being God’s people. This law that God gave to Moses is as important as
water…it is a source of life. Why did the people weep after hearing God’s law? No reason is given.
It seems that as they were listening they realized how far they had drifted away from God. These
spiritual failures in the past led to the collapse of the kingdom and to exile in Babylon. This is
serious stuff; they have fallen far from where they should be. They cried. Ezra and Nehemiah tell
the people to stop…they are to realize that God loves them…forgives them…is leading them closer
to Himself…and in Jesus, they will be redeemed. Some scholars describe this as an AHA moment.
There are times in each of our lives where we get unexpected revelations through unpleasant
moments about our sins. WOW moments to say that we are loved, we are important, we are special.
Almost anything can trigger these moments: past failure and their seriousness becomes disturbingly
clear. Maybe we’ve asked God, or a special person to let us know where we have failed, been
wrong, and our request has been frankly given in great detail. The bottom of the world? No! Has
our world collapsed? No! Maybe it has become the moment, the God moment, that we discover we
are loved…a loved, redeemed, sinner!
The Corinthians realized that they have been tremendously gifted by God. Unfortunately this made
them feel special, too special, putting them above those who received lesser spiritual gifts or no gifts.
I read in Living the Word that Paul may be “…drawing on a story of an elderly Roman senator who
was sent out to pacify the angry plebeians. The senator told the rioters a fable. Once upon a time
all the limbs of a body became disgusted with the service they had to render to the belly, so they
stopped feeding it. But soon all found themselves growing weak, and were obliged to own that all
would perish unless they cared for the belly. The senator told them that all ranks and stages depend
on one another, and unless they all worked together, they all would fall to confusion and decay.”
How apt this fable is for our modern times! Each Church member has some special gift from God.
All our gifts contribute to the unity of the Church because its members have been baptized into the
one Body of Christ. Am I living this? Am I respecting this?
Only Luke’s gospel opens with a introduction that clearly gives his motive for writing and he
addresses this to Theophilus, perhaps his patron. Then we jump to the fourth chapter where Luke is
giving a summary of what Jesus has been doing. Now He is in His home town and has been invited
to teach in the synagogue in Nazareth. Jesus opens the scroll of the Book of Isaiah the prophet and
reads a portion describing His mission, Isaiah 61. Usually what happened is that the ‘guest’ rabbi
would quote some famous rabbi who had interpreted this passage. This would highlight the rich
rabbinic tradition of Judaism. Jesus doesn’t do this. “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your
hearing.” Jesus is definitively asserting that He is the prophet that Isaiah is proclaiming in this
chapter. He is the one who is to come…He is the Messiah. This certainly was an AHA moment for
some in the crowd. I’m sure that His apostles understood this but they had a lot more to learn. They
had to refine their opinion of who and what the Messiah would be. It would not have anything to do
with restoring the kingship of Israel. It was about restoring the Kingship of God. God is the creator.
God rules. Am I listening? Am I following what God is teaching? Am I listening too much to
myself? Am I doing my part to share my Spirit-given gifts with those in my life? Am I a hoarder or
a believer and sharer? Am I a sinner who loves or am I looking at what I love to do for me?
Sunday Homily Helps shares these conclusions: “a) Are we sinners or saints? Answer: Yes b) when
we see how badly we’ve messed up, the occasion is holy, and we should celebrate. c) The kingdom
of God is at hand, right here, right now—but not yet.
d) Christ has conquered sin and death, yet the world is full of sin and spiritual death.
e) Three Persons in one God. A fully human man who was also God and who was born of a virgin
mother. A king who stumbled to His throne, a Savior who died but lives. When we are weak, we are
strong (2 Corinthians 12:12) When we are persecuted, we are blessed (1 Peter 4:14 and Matthew 5:10). f)
In faith, many things which ‘logically’ appear to be either/or turn out to be both/and.”
So I reflect on:
• What makes it difficult for me to see someone or some group as children of God?
• How do I continue to live Jesus’ words in concrete ways?
• When has my ministry resulted in repentance or a change? Was it hard?
• How do I experience Christ calling me now?
Sacred Space 2019 states:
“ A ‘year of favor’ was a season when God would visit His people; God would come and overturn a situation in
which His people had been at the mercy of enemies. He would relieve the oppressed, set free the imprisoned,
cure the disabled and those who had succumbed to illness. It would be a whole new age: God would lift His
people out of their distress.
Jesus tells His hearers that, with His own coming, God is visiting His people right now. And He’s visiting
every single one of His people, from that day to this.”