THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORD OF GOD

III SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Nehemiah 8:2-6,8-10

Reading the Old Testament, we find that, little by little, worship was concentrated in the Temple built in Jerusalem, where an elaborated system of sacrifices was followed according to strict and detailed rules. The Temple became like the heart of the Nation and the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who served at the temple, had a big say on the policies that affected the lives of the people. However, the Temple was destroyed by the troops of Nebuchadnezzar and most of the population was taken to Babylon as prisoners of war. This was a traumatic experience, which forced the people to search for their own soul and to find new ways of affirming their faith. In Babylon, having no temple and no sacrifices, the Word of God became the only available support of their faith. And so a great effort was dedicated to gathering together the different traditions and the different books. When they were allowed to return, the Scriptures went on being the mainstay of everything else. But not all of the exiles decide to return, and big Jewish communities remained in Babylon and then scattered all over the Persian and later on the Greek empires. In Egypt as well, mainly in Alexandria, there were big Jewish communities. And the synagogues appeared as a house of the community, for the study of the Scriptures and also as a place of worship, which, in the absence of sacrifices, had the reading of the Scriptures as the main form of worship.

The first reading, taken from the book of Nehemiah, describes a big assembly organised by Nehemiah, the governor, and by Ezra, the priest and scribe for the only purpose of reading the book of the Law (the Torah) in public. It was a big liturgical celebration of the Word, something like a big feast of the Bible, in which people are called upon to rejoice. And they were told: “This day is sacred to the Lord your God”.

During Jesus’ time, the synagogues could be found already in many places, like Nazareth (Lk 4:16) and, during the Sabbath, people went there to hear the Scriptures being read. It was in the synagogue that Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah and adopted Isaiah’s words as the programme for his ministry. Later on, the spread of Christianity would start at the synagogues and Paul would always visit the synagogue in order to preach the gospel. When the Christians were expelled from the synagogues, they kept the tradition of reading the Scriptures as an important part of their worship. And so in the Christian liturgy, the celebration of the Word is the first part of the Eucharistic celebration. In many parts of the world, there are many Christian communities who cannot have a priest for the Eucharist and so they gather every Sunday to receive the bread of the Word, making a celebration of the Word of God in a similar manner to that one made by Ezra and Nehemiah. By doing that, their faith is nourished, as they profess it while listening to God’s word, which gives guidance and instruction, calling to a renewed commitment to be true disciples of Jesus Christ.

THE WEDDING AT CANA

II SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - John 2:1-11

In the gospel of John, Jesus begins his ministry at a wedding to which he was invited with his disciples. It is as if, in the beginning, the Church is already present: Jesus is the centre of all attention, surrounded by the disciples whom he leads to faith. In the middle of this Church, we find Mary, the mother of Jesus, playing an important role as she pleads with Jesus, bringing forward his ministry of salvation. This passage of the gospel leads our attention in two directions: Jesus at the wedding and the role of Mary. The scene of the wedding brings to memory some passages of the Old Testament, where marriage is presented as a symbol of God’s relationship with his people. God is a true lover who cannot forget his beloved, in spite of her betrayal. When she runs away, he looks for her and seduces her with his love. According to Isaiah (in the first reading), God will call his people “My Delight”, “for the Lord takes delight in you and your land will have its wedding” and “as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you” (Is 62:4-5). At the wedding of Cana, Jesus comes to the forefront as if he is the Bridegroom, revealing his glory to the community of disciples. It is interesting that the passage does not pay attention to the wedding ceremony and concentrates only on the banquet, a banquet in which Jesus provides the best wine, indicating that he is fulfilling God’s Promise: When the time of salvation comes, “the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined” (Is 25:6). The wedding banquet at a Cana provides a foretaste of the salvation feast in which God’s people will enjoy life and peace. In the wedding at Cana,  we find already the active presence of salvation brought about by Jesus.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, played as well an important role. She was attentive to everything and, noticing the shortage of wine, she decided to do something about it. On her own, she could do nothing, but she knew who could, and approached him. It is interesting that she did not ask, that is, she did not make a formal request; she knew that it would be enough to point out the needs and the shortcomings of all those involved in the wedding celebration. Jesus would not and could not ignore the plight of the people. And Mary went to the servants giving them the only instruction that was needed: “Do whatever he tells you.” This is the same instruction that she gives today to each one of us and to the Church as a whole: “Do whatever he tells you.” This the only condition for the Lord to grant us joy to the full.

Let us learn with Mary to listen wholeheartedly to God’s word and then do what his word tells us to do.

BAPTISED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD - Luke 3:15-16,21-22

In his baptism, Jesus assumed the role of the Servant of the Lord (the Servant of Yahweh) and he would exercise his ministry in that role. The figure of the Servant of the Lord comes from the prophet Isaiah, where is presented as “the chosen one”, the “one in whom my soul delights”. Being God’s delight, we immediately guess that he is much more than a servant. Since “I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations” (Is 42:1). And “I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations”. He was chosen to be the liberator and the Redeemer, in order “to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness”(Is 42:6-7).

When John appeared in the desert calling people to repentance, many thought that he was the promised one, the one coming to fulfil Isaiah’s words. However, John himself refused such a role, telling people that he was only baptising them with water and was not even worthy to untie the strap of the Messiah’s sandals. John came to prepare people and his baptism in water is no more than a sign of repentance and conversion. And  John announces the coming of someone mightier than him, who will baptise with the Holy Spirit (Lk 3:16).

And so it happened that, in solidarity with the sinful humanity, Jesus went to John and was baptised by him. As the Servant of the Lord, Jesus, the sinless one, carried our sins (Is 53:12). Just as his baptism was ending, while at prayer, the divine mystery of Jesus came to the front and became manifest: “the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Lk 3:22).

In the baptism, being anointed with the Holy Spirit and being proclaimed the “beloved Son”, in whom the Father finds his delight, the words of Isaiah came to fulfilment in Jesus. And being the “beloved Son”, Jesus baptises us with the Holy Spirit, so that in him we become children of God.

The feast of the baptism of the Lord must be an occasion to celebrate our own baptism and to reflect upon it. We were baptised with the baptism of Jesus, that is we were baptised with the Holy Spirit, who has marked us with his seal for eternal life

GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION IS FOR ALL

FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY - Matthew 2:1-12

In the feast of the Epiphany, we celebrate the universality of salvation. Jesus reveals himself and is recognised as the Saviour of the world, meaning that salvation is offered to all. The first reading, taken from the prophet Isaiah, already gives the idea that God has a plan for all humankind, affirming that all peoples will walk towards the Light that shines in Jerusalem.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul asserts that salvation is not the privilege of a group, of a nation or of a race. The same promise was made to all and all will “share the same inheritance” (Ep 3:6). According to Paul, there is no reason for any kind of bigotry or xenophobia, since “there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all” (Col 3:11). All may fill at home, “members of the household of God” (Ep 2:19).

In Matthew 2:1-12, the Magi stand for all the outsiders who want to come in and sing with all the elect God’s glory, thus partaking the same inheritance in Christ. Coming from the East, they might have belonged to the nations that were the great enemies of Israel. However, God is not bound by such old quarrels and enmities, since all nations belong to him. Those foreigners were moved by a great quest which they would not abandon until it had been fulfilled. In their pursue, they were moved by hope, so that they would not accept defeat or failure. They were on a long journey in search of a new king and they would not give up until they found him. And enlightened by the star which guided them, they knew that the newborn king was divine. Once they found him, they prostrated themselves before him in adoration (Mt 2:11).

In contrast with them, the people of Jerusalem, guided by their religious and political leaders, were so concerned with themselves that they saw in the child a threat to their power and influence. Their knowledge of the Scriptures and their religious practice made them conceited and unable to care about a child, even if he was an extraordinary and divine child. Closed in the past,  they had lost the vision of the promises, leaving them hopeless and bitter. Rejecting the Child, they planned his death and were willing to massacre the innocent to protect their interests. 

One day, Jesus would warn the leaders of the people, saying, "Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God” (Lk 13: 27-29).

Are we like the Magi, searching tirelessly for life and salvation, which is only found in Christ; or are we so full of ourselves that we see a threat to our way of life in everything that is different and that demands change?