January 24: Reflections On the Scripture Readings for This Sunday's Mass

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To help you prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings and reflections for this coming Sunday’s Scripture readings. This Sunday in the Gospel Reading, we hear about the beginning of Jesus’ visit to the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth.

Here are the Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website.

My own weekly study (along with Don Schwager’s meditation) can be found here under “Current Study.”

Reflections on the Sunday Scriptures to share with the younger ones in your family by Emily and Jeff Cavins can be found at Family Night .

Here also are links to audio reflections on the Gospel reading by Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Robert Barron.

The Navarre Bible Commentary for each reading can be viewed here.

Further study resources for the Readings can be found here and here.

Here are trio of recorded weekly Bible studies:
– St. Martha Catholic Church Adult Faith Formation – Franciscan Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother – Sunday Gospel Scripture Study

Discussion and charitible comments are always welcome. Have a blessed and holy Lord’s day!

 

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In his audio reflections above, Dr. Scott Hahn suggests reading Isaiah chapter 61 in it’s entireity as background for both the First Reading and the Gospel:

1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion–to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. 4 They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. 5 Aliens shall stand and feed your flocks, foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; 6 but you shall be called the priests of the LORD, men shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their riches you shall glory. 7 Instead of your shame you shall have a double portion, instead of dishonor you shall rejoice in your lot; therefore in your land you shall possess a double portion; yours shall be everlasting joy. 8 For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed. 10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Bible commentators point out that many times when we see an excerpt from the Old Testament quoted in the New, the listeners (including us) are supposed to understand that excerpt in the context of the entire passage from which it came. What do you think might have been running through the minds of Jesus’ original hearers, who were awaiting the Messiah, when they reflected on Isaiah 61, and Jesus’ application of it to himself?

 

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The context of the First Reading (Nehemiah 8: 2-4; 5-6; 8-10) is around 500 BC, after the Jews have returned to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile in Babylon. Nehemiah, the governor appointed by King Cyrus of the Persians (the conquerors of the Babylonians), has completed overseeing the task assigned of him of rebuilding the walls of the city. Ezra, the scribe (or ‘priest’),

The Navarre Bible Commentary notes that this reading:

…highlights the importance of the Law in the new stage of the history of the chosen people (as the writer sees it, this stage begins with the reconstruction of their national and religious life spearheaded by Ezra the priest and Nehemiah the layman). We do not know the exact year when the events dealt with here occurred, nor the exact content of the Law proclaimed on this occasion. It is possible that a substantial part of the present Pentateuch was read out.

The reading and explanation of the Law did not take place inside the temple; the people gathered around the stage specially set up in front of that building. From the time of Solomon up to the fall of Jerusalem, religious activity centered on the temple liturgy. From the exile onwards it was built around the Law by means of the institution of the synagogue. Because they could not go up to the House of the Lord, exiles used to meet in private houses or in the open air to listen to the reading of legal and prophetical texts. The formal meeting described here, held in a square beside the city wall, shows that in this new stage, with Ezra to the fore, the Law of the Lord was coming to occupy pride of place in the religious life of the people, and that it was already more important than the offering of victims for the purpose of sacrifice.

When they hear the commandments of the Law read out, the people weep because they have not been keeping some of them and they are afraid that God will punish them on that account. But Ezra and the Levites make them see that what they have to do is to start again, on that day, for it is a “holy” day. It was the festival day of the new civil year (cf. Lev 23:24-25; Num 29:1-6).

 

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Nehemiah, the governor appointed by King Cyrus of the Persians (the conquerors of the Babylonians), has completed overseeing the task assigned of him of rebuilding the walls of the city.

Correction to my post above: it was the Persian king **Artaxerxes **who commissioned Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem. *Cyrus *was the earlier Persian king who issued the edict allowing the Jews to return to Judea.

The introduction to the Navarre Bible Commentary on Nehemiah (an excerpt of which can be read here) has a lot of useful and interesting backround on the events described in this book. For example:

These books cover the main historical events subsequent to Cyrus’ decree and Nehemiah’s second mission, particularly the religious restoration in Israel after the exile. Cyrus had authorized the return to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Temple, which was in ruins after Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion. Flavius Josephus recounts how the Jews showed Cyrus the text of the prophecy of Isaiah (44:28; 45:1) where Cyrus’ name appeared and the king was so impressed that he immediately decreed the return of the exiles.

In the last analysis the Jews owed their liberation to the special intervention of God, who guides all human events; but he certainly availed of the Persians’ preference for “the gods of heaven” in fact, even official Persian documents identified Yahweh with the supreme God, the God of heaven, whom the Persian kings adored and regarded as their own.

 

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Incidents surrounding the rebuilding of the temple were factors in the animosity we see later in the New Testament between the Jews and the Samaritans. As the Navarre points out:

Although the Jews returned immediately after the king’s decree and started to rebuild the Temple, the building works were soon stopped due to fierce opposition from the Samaritans. What particularly rankled the Samaritans was that they were not allowed to join in the building. The work was not re-started until 520, under Darius I, and it was completed four years later thanks to the intervention of Zerubbabel and the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 6:14). However, although the Temple was finished, forty years passed without the walls of Jerusalem being rebuilt–again due to Samaritan opposition.

This refers to an incident found in Ezra 4:

1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerub’babel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you; for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of E’sar-had’don king of Assyria who brought us here.” 3 But Zerub’babel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and made them afraid to build, 5 and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 6 And in the reign of Ahasu-e’rus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 And in the days of Ar-ta-xerx’es, Bishlam and Mith’redath and Tab’eel and the rest of their associates wrote to Ar-ta-xerx’es king of Persia; the letter was written in Aramaic and translated. 8 Rehum the commander and Shim’shai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Ar-ta-xerx’es the king as follows-- 9 then wrote Rehum the commander, Shim’shai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnap’par deported and settled in the cities of Sama’ria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, and now 11 this is a copy of the letter that they Sent–“to Ar-ta-xerx’es the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12 be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city; they are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Now be it known to the king that, if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace and it is not fitting for us to witness the king’s dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. 16 We make known to the king that, if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.”

Both the books of Ezra and Nehemiah relate that, after Jerusalem and the temple were rebuilt, the Jews who had remained in the land during the Exile were compelled to give up their Samaritan wives. There were other clashes as well. After the victory of the Maccabees, the Samaritan Temple at Mount Gerizim was destroyed by the Jewish Hasmonean ruler John Hyracanus around 128 B.C.E., having existed about 200 years. Only a few stone remnants of it exist today.

(See “Samaritan”, New World Encyclopedia.

 

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May I take this opportunity to thank you for your work and sharing on the Scripture Study site? I read it every week when I am preparing for the adult study I lead in our parish. . . . it’s a super resource.

 

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May I take this opportunity to thank you for your work and sharing on the Scripture Study site? I read it every week when I am preparing for the adult study I lead in our parish. . . . it’s a super resource.

Thanks NH – I appreciate the kind words and encouragement.

 

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Many people have a hard time figuring out where the writings of the Prophets (especially the “Minor Prophets”–the 12 small prophetical books) fit into salvation history as a whole. Two of the Minor Prophets** --Haggai and Zechariah-- **are from the time period of the First Reading (that of Nehemiah, Ezra, and the rebuilding of the Temple). They both are both adressed to the inhabitants of of Jerusalem of that time exhorting them to not be discouraged, but to set themselves to work building the temple. Zechariah also has some apocalyptic elements, and is an important source of prophecies about the coming Messiah, fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

 

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Finally, an important connection between the First Reading and the Gospel reading is the theme of the proclamation of God’s Word in the assembly of the people. The people of Nehemiah’s time wept with repentence when they heard God’s Word becaue they knew they feel short of the commands of God. When Jesus, the fulfillment and epitome of God’s Word to man appears in the the synagogue, we will see (next week) how many of the people of his time recieved that same Word. The obvious question to ask is: How do WE recieve God’s Word when we hear it? Is our reaction more like Ezra’s listeners—or like Jesus’ in the synagogue at Nazareth?

Here are some more questions for personal reflection on this reading:

*1. How important was the reading of Sacred Scripture in your own conversion (or re-conversion)? Which had the greater impact on you: private Scripture study, good preaching and catechesis, or a small prayer group and/or Bible study?

1. When you “saw the light,” did you weep and mourn? Celebrate with joy? Did you then give to the poor or reach out to others at the margins of society? How else did you spread the Word?
2. What acts of God do you celebrate with regularity and joy as one of his pilgrim people?
3. What activities found in Nehemiah 8 be foundational to the renewal of your parish? If you belong to one, how could your small prayer group or Bible study group help in one such activity?*

(Questions adapted from The Catholic Serendipity Bible for Personal and Small Group Study, New American Bible; Zondervan, 1999)

 

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This Sunday’s Second Reading (continuing from last Sunday) is from St. Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians. In the way of introduction to this letter, last Sunday’s Catholic Matters, gives this brief background:

Corinth was a Roman colony, materially prosperous but morally corrupt, when St. Paul came to preach the gospel there in the year 50 A.D. He made some converts among the Jews and many among the Gentiles during his two years stay there. He left for Ephesus in 52 and from there he wrote this letter to his converts correcting some abuses of which he had heard and adding further explanations to the message he had already preached to them. In the eight verses read to you [last Sunday], St. Paul is referring to the marvelous gifts God gave to the new converts. These were common at that time and most helpful for the spread of the faith; they ceased when the Church was solidly established. As St. Augustine says—“one waters a newly-planted tree but when it has taken root it is watered no longer.”

Judging from the two letters to the Corinthians we have from St. Paul, the Church at Corinth had it’s share of problems including power struggles, cliqueishness, and even incest. Paul had heard of these problems (probably from someone reporting from the Corinthian Church) and was writing in an attempt to bring some order and orthodoxy to the situation.

One of the problems stemmed out of one of the blessings the Corinthians had recieved: that of the presence of a multitude of spiritual gifts given to them through the Holy Spirit. These gifts were meant for the edification and the building up of the Church as a whole. In Corinth, however, it seems that some people had begun to look at these gifts as personal ones as well as developing the attiude that some gifts were superior to others even to the point of thinking the lesser gifts were inconsequential. Paul writes to dispell this notion.

 

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As we are far removed from the first post, and you may not have your Bible handy, here is the Second Reading in it’s entirety (you may hear a shorter, truncated optional version of this in your parish this Sunday):
reading II

**1 Cor 12:12-30 or 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. 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? 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.”

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. 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.

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

 

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The Navarre Bible Commentary on this passage draws attention to two striking truths:

In Greek and Latin literature, society is often compared to a body: even
today we talk of “corporations”, a term which conveys the idea that all the citi-
zens of a particular city are responsible for the common good. St Paul, starting
with this metaphor, adds two important features: 1) he identifies the Church with
Christ: “so it is with Christ” (v. 12); and 2) he says that the Holy Spirit is its life-
principle: “by one Spirit we were all baptized . . ., and all made to drink of the
Spirit” (v. 13). The Magisterium summarizes this teaching by defining the Church
as the “mystical body of Christ”, an expression which “is derived from and is, as
it were, the fair flower of the repeated teaching of Sacred Scripture and the holy
Fathers” (Pius XII, “Mystici Corporis”).

“So it is with Christ”: “One would have expected him to say, so it is with the
Church, but he does not say that . . .]. For, just as the body and the head are
one man, so too Christ and the Church are one, and therefore instead of ‘the
Church’ he says 'Christ”’ (Chrysostom, “Hom. on 1 Cor”, 30, “ad loc.”). This iden-
tification of the Church with Christ is much more then a mere metaphor; it makes
the Church a society which is radically different from any other society…(emphasis added)

So in using the image of a body, St. Paul is not saying that the Church is ***like ***Christ’s body, in a mystical but very real way, the Church IS Christ’s Body–and all the implications that go with that. This is also right in line with Jesus comparing his own body and we as members of it, to a vine with it’s branches (see John 15). This concept significantly plays into many of the things the Church has always taught, for example, the Communion of Saints and the reality that unrepented and unconfessed mortal sin “cuts us off” from the Body of Christ and thus from salvation.

The second startling point about this passage is the image of the Holy Spirit being the animating life of this Body. As our souls animates our own bodies, in the same way it can be said of us in the the Church that, literally, “in him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

This is why the members of Christ’s Body (with all their various gifts) are to be looked upon with equal dignity and in the light of their own special assigned place within the Body. Not only that, but it follows that we should care for each other as we are careful for the health and safety of our physical bodies. Again quoting from the Navarre:

The unity of the mystical body, which derives from a single life-principle, the Holy Spirit, and tends towards a common same goal, that is, the building up of the Church, means that all its members, whatever their position, have the same basic dignity and the same importance. St Paul develops this thinking by a very effective literary device: he personifies the members of the human body and imagines the nobler members looking down on the lesser ones (vv. 21-24). This serves to reaffirm the truth of v. 25: “that the members may have the same care for one another”. The responsibility of each Christian derives from the very essence of the vocation he or she receives at Baptism and Confirmation: “In the Church there is a diversity of ministries,” St. Escriva explains, "but there is only one aim – the sanctification of men. And in this task all Christians participate in some way, through the character imprinted by the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. We must all feel responsible for the mission of the Church, which is the mission of Christ. He who does not have zeal for the salvation of souls, he who does not strive with all his strength to make the name and the teaching of Christ known and loved, will not understand the apostolicity of the Church.

 

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Finally, for the Second Reading, here are some “Questions for Application” taken from the Ignatius Study Bible; The First and Second Letters of St. Paul to the Corinthians (Ignatius Press, 2004):

12:22-26. What need does the Church have of her weaker members? What need does she have for the lesser charisms? How ought you to respond when a parish member is criticized for a problem–or praised for an acheivement?

12:29-31: How should you view a Christian who appears to do well in one area of life but seems to have no talent in another? How do you view leaders who are strong in one area (“a great preacher”) but weak in another (“not good with people”)? What is Paul saying about such differences here?

 

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Finally, we come to the Gospel Reading, taken from Luke 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.

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. 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 captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. *

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.”

The first thing to note is that the first four verses of the this week’s Gospel is taken from Chapter 1 of Luke, while the remainder is taken from Chapter 4–thus skipping over the Infancy Narratives, Jesus’ baptism, and his temptation by Satan in the desert. I’m not certain why it was done this way, but I suspect the opening to Luke’s Gospel was included in this Sunday’s reading because we are at the beginning of a new liturgical year where from now until next Advent we will mostly be reading from the Gospel of Luke.

The events in the second part of this Sunday’s Gospel occured after Jesus had already begun his ministry, since in the verses following this reading (which we will hear next Sunday) we hear Jesus saying:* “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.” *

 

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Skipping over for now the introduction to Luke’s Gospel which forms the first part of our reading, I’d like to focus on the second part of the reading taken from Chapter 4, in which Jesus visits the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. We can use the commentary from the Catholic Matters study aid as a base, with commentary from the Navarre in blue, and my own comments in green.

Jesus returned . . . into Galilee: After the baptism in the Jordan and the temptations in the desert, Christ went to Galilee where, according to the Synoptic Gospels, most of his public life was spent.

in the power of the Spirit: The power and Spirit of God had descended on him in the Jordan. He was the Messiah. He had received the power and spirit of the prophets of old. His divine sonship was yet hidden, all that the crowds who gathered to hear him saw was that he was a man of God, whose words and work proved he was sent by God. He was listened to and honored by all.

(continued below)

 

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(continued from previous post)

came to Nazareth: The village of his birth as Luke has already told us.
Interestingly, archaeologists have recently discovered indisputable evidence that Nazareth existed since at least the time of Jesus. Up until this time, since there was no mention of Nazareth in the Old Testament or archaeological evidence for the town prior to the 4th or 5th century, some modern scholars were of the opinion that Nazareth was not a real place, being built only after the Christian era began. One again, however, science has proved the biblical record true.

And he stood up to read: It was the custom of the Rabbi of the Synagogue to ask a visitor to read the lesson of the day. Christ began his preaching in the synagogues of Galilee, and at first was well received by the Jews.
16-30. For the Jews the Sabbath was a day of rest and prayer, as God commanded (Exodus 20:8-11). On that day they would gather together to be instructed
in Sacred Scripture. At the beginning of this meeting they all recited the “Shema”,a summary of the precepts of the Lord, and the “eighteen blessings”. Then a passage was read from the Book of the Law–the Pentateuch–and another from the Prophets. The president invited one of those present who was well versed in the Scriptures to address the gathering. Sometimes someone would volunteer and request the honor of being allowed to give this address–as must have happened on this occasion. Jesus avails Himself of this opportunity to instruct the people (cf. Luke 4:16ff), as will His Apostles later on (cf. Acts 13:5, 14, 42, 44; 14:1; etc.). The Sabbath meeting concluded with the priestly blessing, recited by the president or by a priest if there was one present, to which the people answered “Amen” (cf. Numbers 6:22ff).
The synagogue tradition apparently did not exist before the time of the Babylonian Exile. It was then, during the time when the Jews were away from Jerusalem and Solomon’s temple had been destroyed, that the Jews developed this way to keep the Law and Jewish traditions alive. In the First Reading from Nehemiah, we see something of a hint of this as the reading of the Law and worship by the people takes place *outside *the temple. We see in Jesus’ time, it was also practiced, even though the temple had been rebuilt. After the second temple is destroyed in AD 70, the Jews reverted back to the synagogue system, which they practice to this day.

spirit of the Lord is upon me: Most likely the reading for that Sabbath happened to be this messianic prophecy of second-Isaiah, or perhaps Christ chose this very prophecy. The words of Isaiah refer to the Messiah and the messianic liberation of all the people. The Messiah would be moved and enlightened by God. He would work miracles of healing and preach deliverance for all. He would bring the great Jubilee, when all God’s people would rejoice and receive God’s favors.
18-19. The words of Isaiah which Christ read out on this occasion describe very graphically the reason why God has sent His Son into the world – to redeem
men from sin, to liberate them from slavery to the devil and from eternal death. It is true that in the course of His public ministry Christ, in His mercy, worked many cures, cast out devils, etc. But He did not cure all the sick people in the world, nor did He eliminate all forms of distress in this life, because pain, which entered the world through sin, has a permanent redemptive value when associated with the sufferings of Christ. Therefore, Christ worked miracles not so much to release the people concerned from suffering, as to demonstrate that He had a God-given mission to bring everyone to eternal salvation.

1. The Fathers of the Church see in this verse a reference to the three persons of the Holy Trinity: the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) of the Lord (the Father) is upon Me (the Son); cf. Origen, “Homily 32”. The Holy Spirit dwelt in Christ’s soul from the very moment of the Incarnation and descended visibly upon Him in the form of a dove when He was baptized by John (cf. Luke 3:21-22).

“Because He has anointed Me”: this is a reference to the anointing Jesus received at the moment of His Incarnation, principally through the grace of the hypostatic union. “This anointing of Jesus Christ was not an anointing of the body as in the case of the ancient kings, priests and prophets; rather it was entirely spiritual and divine, because the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him substantially” (“St. Pius X Catechism”, 77). From this hypostatic union the fullness of all graces derives. To show this, Jesus Christ is said to have been anointed by the Holy Spirit Himself–not just to have received the graces and gifts of the Spirit, like the saints.

1. “The acceptable year”: this is a reference to the jubilee year of the Jews, which the Law of God (Leviticus 25:8) lays down as occurring every fifty years, symbolizing the era of redemption and liberation which the Messiah would usher in. The era inaugurated by Christ, the era of the New Law extending to the end of the world, is “the acceptable year”, the time of mercy and redemption, which will be obtained definitively in Heaven.

The Catholic Church’s custom of the “Holy Year” is also designed to proclaim and remind people of the redemption brought by Christ, and of the full form it will take in the future life.

(continued below)

 

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Today this Scripture: Christ now tells his neighbors of Nazareth that he is the Messiah of whom the prophet spoke. The prophecy is fulfilled—he, the promised Messiah, has come.
20-22. Christ’s words in verse 21 show us the authenticity with which He
preached and explained the Scriptures: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus teaches that this prophecy, like the other main prophecies in the Old Testament, refers to Him and finds its fulfillment in Him (cf. Luke 24:44ff). Thus, the Old Testament can be rightly understood only in the light of the New – as the risen Christ showed the Apostles when He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (cf. Luke 24:45), an understanding which the Holy Spirit perfected on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:4).

Next week, we will see the reaction of the people to Jesus’ words in the synagogue at his home town of Nazareth.

 

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Finally, here are some questions for reflection and discussion on the Gospel Reading taken from my Scripture study which is linked on the first post of this thread and below in my signature:

What do you learn from verses 1-4 about Luke? About the reason he wrote his Gospel? About his sources? Who might these sources have been? Why is it important to seek out reliable and authoritative sources for learning our about our Faith?

Compare verses 14 and 18 with Luke 3:21 and Luke 4:1. What is the common element in each of these verses? What does it tell you about the source of Jesus’ power?

What is significant about the time, the place, and the posture taken by Jesus in this story (verses 16 and 21-22) for his reading from the prophet Isaiah?

What is Jesus’ five-fold mission (verses 18-19)? How did Jesus fulfill it then? How is he fulfilling it now? How do we take part in Jesus’ mission (see Second Reading)?

In the First Reading, what were some of the reactions of the people has they heard the Law read and explained to them? What is our reaction to hearing God’s Word proclaimed?

What expectations stirred in the people as a result of Jesus’ claim (verses 21-22)? Based on this reading, what expectations about Jesus fill your heart?

 

[Fidelis]

Sorry about the poor formatting on the last few posts—I must have been pretty tired last night!

 

[cheeto1]

What do you think might have been running through the minds of Jesus’ original hearers, who were awaiting the Messiah, when they reflected on Isaiah 61, and Jesus’ application of it to himself?

Well, when Jesus asked the apostles “who do people say I am?” they replied that
some say John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Seeing as this was the first public thing He said, I imagine they may have thought He was Isaiah.
Maybe that’s why His family thought He was out of His mind too. I don’t think they
even thought of the idea that He could be the Messiah, even though they were on
the lookout. Even when Peter gave his famous answer, Jesus said it was the Holy
Spirit who revealed it. Isn’t it funny how earlier on, the only ones who knew who He
was were demons?

Good question… what do you think they thought?