The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Jesus reads in the Synagogue

In the seminary, my area of concentration … my major … if you could call it that … was Sacred Scripture. Many times during my four years of graduate theology, we were challenged to find the deeper meaning of the Scripture passage we were studying by going to the original language and translating the text. Our homiletics professor often told us to take the Sunday readings and translate them into language practical for those who were listening to the homily. And as Catholics who attend Mass on Sundays and occasionally during the week, our challenge, during and after the Liturgy of the Word, is to translate the text ... in other words, to put it into context in your life. Many of us, I believe, find it interesting to read our Bibles … but disconcerting or unsettling to let them have an impact on our lives. We find it pleasant to study the prophetic texts but disagreeable to let the texts move us to action which will bring us closer to the Lord. We find it agreeable or pleasant to peruse Saint Paul’s letters but disagreeable or unpleasant to let those letters stir us to activity. Unfortunately, all too often, for too many of us, especially, I think, if we’re reading along in our liturgy aids, but not really listening, the text remains dead ... they are just words. We need to fully realize that part of our challenge each week is to translate the text … we need to allow it to have an impact on our lives.

---

Entrance Antiphon: Ps 96(95):1, 6 – “O sing a new song to the Lord; sing to the Lord, all the earth. In His presence are majesty and splendor, strength, and honor in His holy place.”

First Reading: Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 – “They read from the book of the Law and they understood what was read.”

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15 ­– “Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.”

Second Reading: 1 Cor 12:12-30 – “You are Christ’s body and individually parts of it.”

Alleluia: Lk 4:18 – Alleluia, alleluia. “The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, and to proclaim liberty to captives.” Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel: Lk 1:1-4, 4:14-21 – “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled.”

Communion Antiphon: Ps 34(33):6 – “I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

---

Ezra, the priest of the First Reading, did much more than read the text of the Pentateuch … the first five books of the Old Testament. He translated the text … he let it have an impact on himself and ultimately on his community. Reading the text thus became an opportunity to renew the people’s relationship with their God by means of the covenant … and so to reorient his own life and the lives of his people. In the Word, the people experienced that transforming power whereby they could be moved to action and thus pledge their allegiance to their God. The author of the First Reading, Nehemiah, clearly shows that our challenge is to translate the text.

The Responsorial Psalm contributes to this theme by describing the marvels of the Word of God. Here the word “Torah” is translated as “law of the Lord,” but maybe it would be good to consider it being “wise instruction,” rather than “law.” Verses 8-10 reveal particular characteristics of this wise instruction-namely, it is “clear,” it is “pure,” and it is “true.” The psalm also mentions the effects of some of these characteristics … for example, “enlightening the eye,” “enduring forever,” and “just.” In the conclusion the psalmist prays that the Lord will accept this composition as a sacrificial offering. The Word, therefore, is not a dead letter, but the expression of a personal relationship between the psalmist and God. “My rock” captures the sense of solidity and security between the two and “my redeemer” depicts the Lord as a family member who will assist other family members in serious problems or dire straits. Translating the text in our daily life will strengthen these mutual family bonds.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus read the text of the Prophet Isaiah against His own background and the needs of His people. It was a question of making the text come to life in the person of Jesus. He announced a program whereby He would bring good tidings to the poor and proclaim liberty to captives. For Saint Luke, the rest of his Gospel is the carrying out of that program. According to Jesus in the Gospel, our challenge, along with that of Saint Luke, is to translate the text.

So how may we translate this text in our own time and place? All those who labor to address the needs of the poor translate the prophetic texts. Those who see their destiny as linked to the plight of the community translate the Pauline texts. Husbands and wives who constantly seek to promote their mutual covenantal relationship translate the meaning of “one body” in Genesis 2:24. Those who regard others as members of Jesus’ extended family translate the force of John 13:34: “Love one another.” All such people allow the text to have an impact on their lives. They concur that our challenge is to translate the text.

To be sure, the Eucharist takes place after the reading of the scriptural texts, and it thus functions as a translation of the Word put into action. The community that hears those words is urged to translate them into the living out of their daily lives. To hear the texts means ultimately to live the texts. In this setting of the Eucharist our challenge is to translate the text. Our challenge each and every week is to move beyond the walls of this building and live out the teachings of Jesus Christ in the greater world.