Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life”

“Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life”

The word of the Lord, given to us in the Scriptures, can be life-giving and life-changing if we have receptive minds and hearts.  We can pray with and reflect on God’s word in the privacy of our home at any time, but two of today’s readings show the Scriptures being read in a liturgical assembly of worship and proclamation.

Nehemiah records the scene in which the priest, Ezra, reads and explains the book of the law (the Torah) to the assembled men, women and children old enough to understand. The people have been exiled during the Babylonian captivity and they respond with fervour as they hear God’s word  proclaimed  by Ezra.  They weep as they recognise their sinfulness but they’re urged to rejoice for this day is holy to the Lord and “rejoicing in the Lord must be (their) strength”.  Perhaps for this large assembly of exiles returned to the holy land, this occasion of listening to God’s word was a life-changing experience, reminding them of God’s enduring, faithful love.

Luke’s  Gospel passage today reminds us that Jesus, having been baptised and filled with the Spirit, returned to his hometown of Nazareth and went to the synagogue to worship on the Sabbath.  Being offered a scroll of the prophet Isaiah, Jesus reads the section that he believes  is to be fulfilled in his own mission.  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor ...”   Jesus takes these words to himself and recognises his own emerging call  ... 
“today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”. 

The challenge for each one of us is to do the same ~ to listen intently, to listen with the heart, to the word of God and apply it  to our own life.  God can speak to me in a variety of ways each day, through the wonders of nature, through other people in  their  joys and sorrows, through the Sacraments and especially through Scripture, for truly, “your words, Lord, are Spirit and life”.

In our frenzied, multi-media world, we can easily be overwhelmed with the multiplicity of information and entertainment. As this new year gets under way may we resolve continually to strive for more space and reflection in our lives to recognise God’s loving presence and receive  his  word with reverence, gratitude and an openness to its challenges.

Do I truly believe that “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me”?

Does any social justice issue of captivity, oppression or poverty touch me in any way?

Could I take some local initiative and join, or form, a new group that reflects on God’s living and life-giving word?

A mantra this week could be
“Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life”.

Denise Sullivan OP