3rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
1Corinthians 12: 12-14, 27
Luke 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21
is fulfilled in
your hearing.”
One time, I happened to visit a parishioner who was quite close to the church. It was just an ordinary visit, which I seldom did to a very few parishioners. But I was so astonished when at the middle of our conversation, he said to me with a face of honesty: “Father, I always have two newspapers everyday: one has the daily news of what is going on in the world. The other has the good news of the lord. It pays reading them both. The former use to have bad news. But after reading the passage of the good news, I would feel that those news at the dailies are not that bad at all…”
1.
Jesus knows so well the importance of the scripture to man’s life. He himself
sees it. He himself feels it. He himself shows it. This is one lesson we can
get from our gospel today. The use of scripture is an essential characteristic
of Christ’s life as messiah. What is written in the Old Testament is a
preparation for his coming. The prophecies of old point to a messiah who is to
come. This is why after unrolling the scroll and reading Isaiah’s prophecy,
Jesus ends up by saying: “Today, this scripture passage is fulfilled in your
hearing.”
Today’s gospel is just one of the several instances when Jesus uses the scripture. He does it in order to give either a scriptural meaning to his ministry or ministerial meaning to the scripture. This is the right attitude Jesus wants every believer to have towards the sacred scripture. The word of God must serve as a life-giving energy that animates our faith and gives meaning to our endeavor. The Word of God must find its flesh and blood in our day-to-day activity, just as every activity must get its flavor and inspiration from and in the Word of God. It is, as it were, putting context in content and content in context. The harmonious interplay of content and context makes our faith alive. Is it not because of this that the Word became flesh?
2. The other important point to meditate on is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Among the many things, which the whole scripture talks about, this is the precise text, which Jesus declares today as fulfilled. Looking closely, two aspects of such fulfillment are evident: first, on the part of Jesus as the Anointed. Second, on the part of the people to whom Jesus is sent as the Anointed One.
a.
“On the part of Jesus.” The passage, which Jesus reads begins with: “The
Spirit of the lord is upon me, because he has anointed me…” Isaiah is rich
on messianic prophecy. Jesus is familiar with it. According to tradition, he
regularly goes to the synagogue at Sabbath and later on often teaches in the
assemblies of Nazareth. Thus, this must have been one of the masterpieces of
Jesus’ own study of the scripture and the subject of his own meditation. He
applies this to himself and to his own life, for indeed it was for him that
this prophecy was written. He finds that his life as a man must be filled with
the spirit of the Lord, for he knows exactly that this was that same Spirit
that made him incarnate. This was also the Spirit that consecrated him at the
river Jordan. In other words, the Spirit that made the virgin conceive and the Spirit
that descended like a dove is the Spirit that now rests upon him and anoints
him. Indeed, “…this scripture is fulfilled…”
The anointing of Jesus is more of being a prophet than of being a king. True, a king may do liberative functions and lead his people to freedom. But such is not always the case. He may even turn out as enslaving the people. This is why the Old Testament theocracy even abhors political kingship (1Samuel 8: 4ff). Thus, although many of the Jews expect of a political Messiah, the One who is to come is someone by God as a prophet. This is the Anointed One of Isaiah.
b. “On the part of the people.” The other aspect of the scripture’s fulfillment finds its concrete expression on the people to whom and for whom the Prophet is anointed. Isaiah is precise and enumerates the purpose why the Prophet is in fact anointed:
“…to bring glad tidings to the poor…” The good news is for everybody but especially for the poor. As the glad tidings of the first Christmas come to the poor shepherds, the glad tidings of Isaiah’s Anointed One must also rest upon the poor God. This so because they are deserving. And they are deserving not because they are good but because they are poor. By virtue of their poverty, the anawim would cry out to God and put their complete trust on his saving grace. God, then, becomes their only hope. Indeed, nobody can help them out but God. So God could not just resist their cry. And in his goodness, he makes them worthy. In the final analysis, therefore, the worthiness of the poor to have the glad tidings proclaimed unto them is not so much in their inherent goodness as it is in the immense goodness of God. And if ever there is goodness in them, it is because of God’s goodness that makes them good. This is God’s preferential option for the poor.
“…to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free…” The captives, the blind and the oppressed are various forms of a poverty-stricken people. If they are not materially poor (although difficult to think), at least they are poor spiritually. Granting that one is born materially rich how could a captive and/or a blind enjoy his riches? Much less is the case of the oppressed. They are oppressed because they are poor. (Of course, we are not saying here that rich cannot be oppressed nor the poor cannot be oppressors.)
“…to
proclaim a year acceptable to the lord.” The acceptable year is the year of
favor. This is the time when properties disposed are returned to their original
owners. This is typically a Jewish tradition, which is ultimately based on the
belief that God is the owner of everything and thus, everybody must partake and
share of his “property.” Man’s ownership is more of a stewardship. Thus, if in
the course of time he loses his property because of poverty, this must be
returned to him at the Lord’s year of favor.
The year of favor is, therefore, an expression of God’s justice. And the proclamation of the year of favor is the proclamation of justice. This is the task, which Isaiah’s Anointed One has to do. This is the task, which Jesus does. The proclamation of justice is inseparable from his ministry. It is his ministry. But this is practically the ministry, which the church inherits from and shares with Christ. So, whenever the church proclaims justice and talks about the social issues of the time, she is just performing the ordinary prophetic function entrusted to her by Christ. This is not something new and must not cause us any surprise. What must surprise us – and even worry us – is when the church does not talk about it!