The Gospel Reading of the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle C, Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21, comes with three parts: the preface to Luke’s Gospel (Luke 1:1-4) and the narrative of the initiation of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee (Luke 4:14-15), and Jesus’ proclaiming the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy on the jubilee brought by the Christ, indicating himself as the Christ (Luke 4:16-21).
In the preface (Luke 1:1-4), Luke tells that his Gospel was crafted upon thorough and careful research on Christ and his disciples. His two main sources are believed to be Mark’s Gospel and Quelle (Q source), which is a collection of Jesus’ sayings. In addition, Luke also learned about Jesus and his disciples through Paul, as he was his companion (i.e. Luke 16:10). Furthermore, given the fact that Luke gives far more details about Mary than other Gospel writers, it is believed that he met and interviewed Mary, bringing her view on her Son, Jesus, and his disciples, when Paul and he were in Jerusalem, between Paul’s second and third mission journeys. And he dedicates his Gospel to most excellent Theophilus (Luke 1:3).
Who is Theophilus?
Some believe that he is a certain high-ranking Roman official. Others believe that he represents those who are considered to be friends of God, loving His Word. If you love God and love His Word, then, this Gospel is certainly dedicated to you.
In order to appreciate the second and the third parts of the Gospel Reading (Luke 1:14-15, 16-21), we first need to review what Jesus was doing before reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth.
Jesus was in Judea, when he was baptized by John the Baptist (Luke 3:21-22) and fasted for 40 days and was tempted by the devil (Luke 4:1-13). After this, he returned to Galilee to kick off his public ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14a). As he taught in the area synagogues, people praised him, while the news of his presence spread throughout Galilee (Luke 4:14b-15).
Then, Jesus came to his hometown, Nazareth, and came into the synagogue on the sabbath day and read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, as handed by the synagogue attendant (Luke 4:16-17). And he read:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord (Luke 4:18-19).
The passage cited by Jesus was:
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord (Isaiah 61:1-2a).
Upon reading, Jesus proclaimed:
Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing (Luke 4:21).
As he began his ministry, by citing the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2a and declaring its fulfillment, Jesus publicly identified himself as the anointed one, namely, the Christ (Messiah), to the Good News (Gospel) to the עֲנָוִ֗ים (anawim), who are the poor, the afflicted, the meek, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to free the oppressed, to heal those who are struggling with disorders.
The Spirit of the Lord, namely, the Holy Spirit, was upon Jesus, as the Holy Spirit descended upon him in a bodily form like a dove, when he was baptized and praying (Luke 3:21-22). Peter explains that this was how Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit:
You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all, what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him (Acts 10:36-38).
Therefore, the one with the Holy Spirit is, because he is anointed with the Holy Spirit by Yahweh is Jesus. Now he has come to the synagogue in Nazareth, to start fulfilling the prophecy on the Christ (Messiah), who is with the Holy Spirit as anointed by Yahweh with the Holy Spirit, to bring the Good News, liberty and freedom, and healing, to the world. This marks the initiation of unfolding salvation by the Christ (Messiah) and the proclamation of a year acceptable to the Lord (a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by God). And the proclamation of a year acceptable to the Lord, a year of favor from the Lord, by Jesus (Luke 4:19; Isaiah 61:2a) is the announcement of a special jubilee. In this jubilee, Jesus’ salvific ministry, characterized with the proclamation of the Good News, bringing freedom, liberty, and healing, begins to unfold.
For the Israelites, a jubilee year follows the seventh sabbath year, namely, comes in every 50 years (Leviticus 25:1-12). The word “jubilee” comes from the Hebrew word, “יובל(yobel)”, which has a connotation to announcement by blowing a trumpet (lamb’s horn), for “yobel” is related to “yabel”, which means lamb’s horn trumpet. Derived from the Hebrew word, “yobel”, jubilee in Greek is Ἰωβήλ(lobel), and in Latin is jubilaeus. Because the world “jubilee” is derived from the Hebrew word, “yobel”, it does not share the same etymological roots with the word, “jubilation”, as it is dived from the Latin word, “jubilation”, which means “rejoicing”. Nevertheless, jubilee is an occasion of rejoicing as it is a period of resetting our lives in our relation to God through reconciliation, recovering lost freedom/liberty, returning to the ancestors’ land and families, recovering sold lands, through God’s providence (Leviticus 25:8-55).
Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, we have lost the original freedom upon losing Eden (Genesis 3:1-24) and become enslaved by sins. This has resulted in disordered Creation, evil-infested world. To recover the original order in Creation, the original innocence of humanity, through salvation, God sent His Son out of His love for us (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9), incarnated to let him dwell among us (John 1:14) in the human flesh of Jesus through Mary’s womb, by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:30-33, 35).
Mary gave birth to the incarnated Christ, Jesus, in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7). On the day of his nativity, the angel of the Lord announced to the shepherds the birth of the Christ (Messiah), and they glorified and praised God for the birth of the incarnated Christ (Luke 2:8-20). Simeon recognized him as the Christ (Messiah) when Jesus was merely 40-day-old baby, dedicated to the Lord in the Temple (Luke 2:25-35). The Magi from the east, though they were Gentiles, saw him as the newborn divine king of the Jews to be sacrificed (Matthew 2:1-11). Then, when he was about 30, Jesus, the incarnated Christ, made public appearance, when John the Baptist was baptizing those who repented and desire to prepare themselves for the coming of Christ, and let John baptize him, to initiate his salvific ministry (Luke 3:1-23).
Now, in his hometown, Nazareth, Jesus publicly proclaimed a very special jubilee to bring the Good News, to freedom and liberty, and to healing (Luke 4:16-19; cf. Isaiah 61:1-2a), leading to humanity’s reconciliation with God, restoration of the original order of the Creation, including the original wholeness and purity of the humans, to be consummated with the redemption into our true home, New Jerusalem, as the bride of Christ (Revelation 19:6-22:5). However, for this salvific jubilee to complete, Jesus has to sacrifice for our atonement with God (i.e. Galatians 1:4; John 4:10; 2:2; 1 Peter 3:18), fulfilling Isaiah’s fourth servant song (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). It started with Jesus’ proclamation of the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy of the Christ to bring the Good News, liberty/freedom, and healing, for a jubilee (Luke 4:16-21; cf. Isaiah 61:1-2a).
There is a sense of jubilee also in the First Reading (Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10), especially through these words of Ezra the priest-scribe:
Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not lament, do not weep!
Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our Lord. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord is your strength! (Nehemiah 8:9-10).
Ezra proclaimed these words, upon reading and interpreting the Torah (Law) to the assembly, blessing the Lord and the people in the assembly, in front of the Water Gate in Jerusalem. They were very attentive as Ezra read and explained the Law.
Sin of Judah led to the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, resulting in the Babylonian exile (i.e. 2 Chronicles 36:15-21). But, God gave the captives in the Babylonian exile freedom to return to Jerusalem (i.e. 2 Chronicles 36:22-23). While Ezra led the second wave of the returnees, after the first wave, led by Zerrubbabel, Nehemiah led the third wave of returnees.
Though the Temple’s restoration was not yet completed, Ezra began his ministry by reading and interpreting the Law to those who were eager to commit to the Law, upon the return of the third wave of the returnees from Babylon.
Ezra and his assembly realized that the Law was essential not to sin and provoke God’s wrath. Recognizing their enthusiastic readiness to make a fresh start of the post-exilic life in Jerusalem, Ezra proclaimed a jubilee – as a renewal, reconciliation, and restoration. They were no longer in captivity but in freedom, as God redeemed them. Therefore, it was a jubilant occasion to proclaim a jubilee and feast on rich foods, as Ezra directed his assembly.
There is in juxtaposition between the passages from the Gospel Reading (Luke 4:14-21), Jesus reading from the scroll of Prophet Isaiah, announcing its fulfillment and proclaiming a salvific jubilee, as he just started his ministry, and the First Reading (Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10), Ezra reading and interpreting the Law and proclaiming a post-exilic jubilee.
A common denominator between these readings is a theme of the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 12:12-30), in which Paul addresses ecclesiology. In this, he defines the Church as one body of Christ, composed of many functioning parts. But these parts are diverse as they were different in sizes and functions. There is no “equality”. Paul argues that if they were all “equal”, then, they would not make a body. The differences do not mean which are superior and while were inferior. In Greek, the Church is Εκκλησία(Ekklesia), which means an assembly of people, an assembly of many parts.
Jesus read the Word from the scroll of Isaiah to the assembly in the synagogue and proclaimed a jubilee. Ezra read the Word from the Law (Torah) to the attentive assembly in front of the Water Gate in Jerusalem and proclaimed a jubilee.
In conclusion, besides the Holy Spirit, it is the Word of God that bring us together as one Church (Ekklesia), as one body of Christ with many different parts endowed with many gifts. This way, we can rejoice over a jubilee together as one body of Christ. And a jubilee is proclaimed through words, rather than a ram’s horn trumpet, as we move into the era of the New Covenant.
In the Roman Catholic Church, the year 2025 is the year of jubilee of hope, as People Francis has proclaimed it by his bull of indiction, “Spes Non Confundit”, which means, “faith does not disappoint”(Romans 5:5). Let us reset our lives joyfully so that we are in better terms with God.
No comments:
Post a Comment