January 27, 2013

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Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 69

Reading 1
Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly,
which consisted of men, women,
and those children old enough to understand.

The books of the Prophets Nehemiah and Ezra are complementary.  Both Prophets speak about the same period.

In this section, Nehemiah has begun a rebuilding of the destroyed Jerusalem.  A remnant of the Jewish people have been brought together to begin to live according to the Law of Moses.  The prophet Ezra has begun to read to them the Law of Moses in order to begin to educate the people on the traditions which they have forgotten.

Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate,
he read out of the book from daybreak till midday,
in the presence of the men, the women,
and those children old enough to understand;
and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law.

The Jewish people listened attentively to the reading of the book of the Law.

Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform
that had been made for the occasion.

Ezra was standing on a stage so that he could be seen and heard by all.

He opened the scroll
so that all the people might see it
— for he was standing higher up than any of the people —;
and, as he opened it, all the people rose.

I believe the scroll here mentioned is the same thing as the "book" of the law.  Scrolls were the original books before they were bound into pages, they were simply rolled.

All the people stood out of respect for the Word of God.

Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God,
and all the people, their hands raised high, answered,
“Amen, amen!”

Ezra praised God and all the people rejoiced with hands high in the air and approved verbally by saying, "Amen!  Amen!"

Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD,
their faces to the ground.

Then they kneeled down with their faces on the ground and humbled themselves before God in an act of worship.

Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God,
interpreting it so that all could understand what was read.

Ezra read the law out loud and explained it as he went so that all could understand.

Then Nehemiah, that is, His Excellency, and Ezra the priest-scribe
and the Levites who were instructing the people
said to all the people:

The Nehemiah, who had been appointed the Governor and the man who was in charge of restoring Jerusalem spoke to the people.

“Today is holy to the LORD your God.
Do not be sad, and do not weep”—
for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.

The people had begun to weep because of the emotions they felt as the law was being read.  But Nehemiah instructed them to rejoice in their God.

He said further: “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 must be your strength!”

He instructed them to go and feast in celebration of God's grace towards them. 

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15

R. (cf John 6:63c) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.

R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.

R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.

R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart
find favor before you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

What a beautiful poem in celebration of the Wisdom of God which is revealed to us today through the Church:

Ephesians 3:10

King James Version (KJV)

10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Reading 2 from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians
1 Cor 12:12-30

Brothers and sisters:
As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.

Excellent segway.  We are the Church and the Church is the body of Christ.

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

In Baptism we become members of the Body of Christ by the action of the Holy Spirit.

Now the body is not a single part, but many.

A human body consists of many parts.

If a foot should say,
“Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,
“it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.
Or if an ear should say,
“Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body, “
it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.
If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?
If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

Every part, every member of the body is important and must work with the other parts and members of the body.

But as it is, God placed the parts,
each one of them, in the body as he intended.
If they were all one part, where would the body be?
But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you, “
nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.”

God designed the body to work as He intended.  Every part has its job to do.  And all have a different job which must be done in together in order for the body to be healthy.

Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker
are all the more necessary,
and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable
we surround with greater honor,
and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety,
whereas our more presentable parts do not need this.

In fact, those parts of the body which we consider weaker are the stronger.  It reminds me of the saying, "a chain is only as strong as its weakest link".  The weakest part is the strongest because it must be protected by the stronger parts.

The same goes for those we consider less honorable and less presentable.  They must be treated with greater care and honored the more, because we need to do so.  Whereas other parts which need no greater care, we neglect.

But God has so constructed the body
as to give greater honor to a part that is without it,
so that there may be no division in the body,
but that the parts may have the same concern for one another.
If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it;
if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

The previous verses were a metaphor comparing the human body to the Church.  I consider these verses to be a subtle change from a metaphor to a veiled reference.  In other words, he is now speaking of the Church, not the human body.  The Church is constructed so that there is no division in it.  So that all members and parts are concerned with one another and if one suffers, all suffer.  If one is honored, all rejoice.

To be more explicit, he is referring to the:
1.  Church glorified, the Saints in heaven.
2.  Church suffering, the Saints in purgatory.
3.  Church battling, the Saints on earth.

There is no division between us.

Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.

Now there is an explicit change to speaking about the Church battling.  Us.  Those of us in the Church today, here on earth.  We are all members of Christ's body.

Some people God has designated in the church
to be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers;
then, mighty deeds;
then gifts of healing, assistance, administration,
and varieties of tongues.
Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?
Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing?
Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

We each have our role to play and our work to do.

Or the alternate reading which is merely a subset of that which we just read.   So I'll simply reproduce without comment.

1 Cor 12:12-14, 27

Brothers and sisters:
As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.
Now the body is not a single part, but many.
You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke
Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events
that have been fulfilled among us,
just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning
and ministers of the word have handed them down to us,
I too have decided,
after investigating everything accurately anew,
to write it down in an orderly sequence for you,
most excellent Theophilus,
so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings
you have received.

St. Luke was an educated man, a Physician, and a Greek.  Having converted to the Christian faith, he wanted to set down the historical events of the Gospel in order so that "Theophilus" or "Lover of God" would benefit from hearing the story of Christ's life and deeds.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.

St. Luke's first chapters are probably the most detailed birth narratives in Scripture.  But here we skip to the point where Christ has grown up and is going to the Synagogue in accordance to the Law.

He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
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 captivesand recovery of sight to the blind,to let the oppressed go free,and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Jesus stood up and read a part of the Old Testament from the Holy Book of the Prophet Isaiah.  This verse is a prophecy of the coming of the Messiah.

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus reveals to the people that the Messiah is here and is speaking to them.