3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) 26th January 2025

A Reflection by: Fr Thomas Ramayil, SSP, SOCIETY OF ST PAUL. -- My dear sisters and brothers Hearty welcome to each one of you to the third Sunday of the ordinary time. The liturgy of the word of God, speaks to us 2 aspects of being a Christian (a disciple of Jesus the Christ) are laid before us today: being part of a community of believers and being attentive to the GOD's Word as revealed in scripture. These two aspects are summarized in our relationship to Jesus, the Head of the Body and the Word of GOD Incarnate. In the first reading we see prophet Nehemiah was a lay civil leader in the time after the Babylonian Exile. He was responsible for the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the city. During his time in office, the Word of GOD in a book of the Law (Deuteronomy?) was "discovered." Today's passage describes the occasion of the reading of this book of the Law to the people and their response. There are liturgical parallels in the passage that are continued in Temple, synagogue, and Christian worship services thereafter: the Word of GOD is proclaimed to an attentive group of believers, the people voice their recognition and acceptance of the Word of GOD; the presider interprets and applies the reading of the Word; and the people continue to celebrate as a community that has been molded by the Word of GOD. In the second reading St Paul moved by his concerns over the divisions within Corinthian church, St. Paul describes the faithful community as the Body of Christ. He uses the analogy of the parts of the body that work in conjunction with each other for the Good of the whole body. Each part has a specific function and purpose. No part (other than the Head) is more Important than the other, but each part compliments and enhances the other parts. There may be a ranking of the functions as far as the order in which things are done, but it does not make the secondary or later functions (or people who perform the functions) of less value. In today's Gospel Jesus returns to Nazareth where he has been brought up, the place which gives him the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. We know that Jesus left home to go and see John the Baptist, and we know that his whole life-style changed after his time with John. Jesus didn't stay in the wilderness to live a hermit's life with John: he received a prophetic anointing in his baptism to announce the new age of the kingdom of God. So he became a travelling preacher. By the time Jesus returns to his home town his reputation has arrived before him: when he goes into the synagogue on the sabbath as he usually did, this time he is invited to preach. He chooses a passage from Isaiah which gives a beautiful summary of the programme of his new mission: to announce good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed and to proclaim a year of favour which was a time when all debts were cancelled and all property returned to the rightful owners (cf. Lev. 25:8-55). Jesus points to himself as the fulfilment of ancient prophecy: to day the text becomes true in the hearing of his own townspeople. At first their reaction is approval of his words, but then they remind them selves of his identity and say "this is Joseph's son, surely." The neighbours don't allow Jesus' wisdom to interfere with their memories of him. When he presents himself to them for the first time as the prophetic preacher, they remind themselves of his address and pedigree. They won't allow Jesus to grow up so they lock him into the PAST and into a former identity. We all need a place to belong to and people we can call our own. Usually we call that "home" where you are accepted in love for who you are, but also encouraged to become the person you could be. Perhaps the last people to accept our changes are those who live with us: they're so used to the old ways they can't believe in real change. Jesus had to leave home to become the person his Father wanted him to be. He couldn't rely on his own folks to foster his new life and new mission. So, he established a community, a body of people, who would recognise as St Paul says their need of each other. That's us. We're home for each other, pledged to support the growing life of the Spirit in each of us. In this gathering here everyone should feel welcome, and everyone should have the freedom to grow. Welcome home. Let us pause for a while and ask three questions for our personal reflections and prayers. What has been my response to the word of God being proclaimed? Have I voiced my acceptance of word not only to by my Amen but also by my living out the word in my daily life? Do I have a sense of belonging to my home which is a church (the Body of Christ)