Breaking Open the Word
By James Cavanagh
Jan.24: Third Sudnay in Ordinary Time
Scripture readings:
• Nehemiah 8:2-10
• Psalm 19:8-10, 15
• 1 Corinthians 12:12-30
• Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21
Overview: The books of Ezra and Nehemiah (originally one book) pick up where 2 Chronicles leaves off, after the destruction of Jerusalem and the deportation to Babylon. Ezra-Nehemiah tells the story about the return of the Jews from exile and the rebuilding of the city and Temple. After the physical work was done, the next task was to rebuild the nation spiritually. The reading from the book of the law of God by Ezra the priest was part of this ‘rebuilding’ effort. Standing on a wooden platform he “opened the book in the sight of all the people” and began to read. After hearing the word of God, Ezra explained its meaning to the people “interpreting it so that all could understand what was read.” In the second reading, Paul explains how the Church is the Body of Christ. As such, it has a sacred order, or hierarchy, in which “God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended.” The Church therefore, at its most basic level is not a human construct, but a divinity constituted society. Finally, the Gospel reading this week describes the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Like Ezra before him, he “unrolled the scroll” in the sight of all the people and read from the prophet Isaiah. After the manifestation of his divinity to the crowds at his baptism and the wedding in Cana, Jesus now reveals himself as the Messiah to his friends and relatives in the synagogue at Nazareth. After reading the word of God, he began to interpret its meaning, saying, “Today, this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Key verse: “Today, this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21).
“Catechism of the Catholic Church”: “The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of tradition, has been entrusted to the living, teaching office of the Church alone” (No. 85).
Pope Benedict XVI: “The homily is part of the liturgical action and is meant to foster a deeper understanding of the word of God, so that it can bear fruit in the lives of the faithful. During the course of the liturgical year it is appropriate to offer the faithful, prudently and on the basis of the three-year lectionary, ‘thematic’ homilies treating the great themes of the Christian faith, on the basis of what has been authoritatively proposed by the magisterium in the four ‘pillars’ of the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church
