by Fr. Tommy Lane
Reading the Bible, Sacred Scripture, is the common theme of the first reading and the Gospel today. In our first reading from Nehemiah (Neh 8), the priest Ezra read the Law to the people, that is, the first five books of the Old Testament, and in the Gospel, Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4).
Ezra’s reading of the Old Testament was long, from dawn until noon. He probably read much of the first five books of the Old Testament. Why? The people had returned from exile in Babylon, from something like a lockdown. During that time, they had not been able to worship properly and now Ezra gathered them to worship God and read Sacred Scripture. Ezra translated what he read because most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and during the exile the people had adopted the Aramaic language just like we adopted English as our language for historical reasons. When we hear the readings at Mass, we are also listening to a translation of the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament. The reaction of the people to Ezra reading Sacred Scripture is interesting. They were in tears because they had not heard the word of God properly for decades and realized they had not been living in a way that reflected who they were in God’s eyes. The reading of Sacred Scripture lit up their conscience and let them see where they really stood before God. Then Ezra and Nehemiah encouraged them not to be sad but to celebrate with good food because it was a good day when they had just heard the word of God properly and learned what God’s will for them was.
In the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll to find the part of Isaiah that perfectly described his mission.
The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings
to the poor. . . (Luke 4:18)
Then Jesus said that Scripture passage was fulfilled in him that day. The word of God in Isaiah was not just for previous centuries but was for the time of Jesus also. That reminds us that the word of God in Sacred Scripture is also for our time and relevant to us. In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to us now. Jesus left us the Eucharist so that he would be continually with us, and God left us Sacred Scripture as another way of God being with us. God is with us in Sacred Scripture and Jesus is with us in the Eucharist. Sacred Scripture is God reaching out to us, revealing himself to us in his words to us just as God revealed himself to us in Jesus.
The Bible is not something to be gathering dust on a shelf but should really be in a prominent place in the home reminding us of its importance and reminding us to read a little from it often, every day if possible. For someone starting to read the Bible, picking one of the four Gospels might be the easiest. Mark is the shortest Gospel. Luke has some beautiful and favorite passages such as the prodigal son and the good Samaritan. John also has beautiful passages such as the raising of Lazarus and Jesus meeting the woman at the well. It would be good to find your favorite passages that you can come back to meditate on often for new insights. As we read and read Scripture, it will not just be words on a page, but become part of us. St. Augustine said concerning the Eucharist, “become what you receive,” and we could say the same about Sacred Scripture, “become what you read.”
To help us listen to as much Scripture as possible, the Sunday Mass readings follow a three-year cycle. So apart from feasts like Christmas, you will not hear the same readings again for another three years. So, every three years we cover the most important parts of the Bible. Just to pick the Gospels as an example: we read Matthew in year A as we call it, we read Mark in year B as we call it, and we read Luke in year C as we call it, which is this year. We read John during almost half the Sundays of Lent, all the Sundays of Easter, the second Sunday in Ordinary Time every year, during five Sundays near the end of the summer during Mark’s year (17th - 21st Sunday Year B), and again on the thirty-fourth Sunday of Year B. So, we get to hear as much as possible of the most important parts of the four Gospels during Sundays every three years. There is always a link of some kind between the first reading and the Gospel, and the Psalm is a prayerful response to the first reading. There is also a cycle of readings for daily Masses, but it is different.
Pope Francis refers to this third Sunday every year as the Sunday of the Word of God and asks us to reflect on the importance of Sacred Scripture in our lives. When Ezra read the first five books of the Old Testament, his listeners were deeply moved. Jesus said the words of Isaiah were fulfilled in him. The word of God in Sacred Scripture is also for our time and relevant to us. In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to us now. Jesus left us the Eucharist so that he would be continually with us, and God left us Sacred Scripture as another way of God being with us. Sacred Scripture is God reaching out to us, revealing himself to us in his words to us just as God revealed himself to us in Jesus. St. Augustine said concerning the Eucharist, “become what you receive,” and we could say the same about Sacred Scripture, “become what you read.”
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2022
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Third Sunday of Year C
Your Word is a Lamp for my Steps and a Light for my Path
Related Homilies: They have the Scriptures, let them listen to them!
Second Reading: Paul in Corinth
Sunday of the Word of God