It’s the Inauguration
of Jesus
Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR
Homily
for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Someone,
sometime ago said You know, if we have
just one Gospel instead of four, it would have been much easier to understand
Jesus because everything we read in that one Gospel would have been the gospel
truth. But we have four Gospels that often differ from one another, and this
sometimes leaves us confused. But I
believe that having just one Gospel would have made things more confusing and
more difficult because we would think that there is only one way of
understanding Jesus and how he relates to us. We have Four Gospels- Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John, and each of them sometimes tells us different story of
Jesus and his mission. Having Four Gospels tells us that no one story can
exhaust the whole truth of what Jesus is.
As finite beings, we can only tell the story of God from a limited point
of view.
The Catholic
Church has three-year cycle: Year A, Year B, and Year C. Currently, we are in
Year C. In Year A, we usually read from the Gospel of Matthew; Year B is Mark, and
in Year C, we read Luke. The Gospel of John is read from time to time within
any of these cycles but especially on Sundays of the Easter season. Today, we begin the reading of the Gospel of
Luke. Luke highlights more the Jesus of mercy who reaches out to the poor, the
outcasts, foreigners, the lonely, and women. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus
breaks several human laws that promote division and segregation among God’s
people.
Like I said
before, we begin the reading the Gospel of Luke today. In his introduction,
(1:1-4) Luke tells us why he wrote the gospel. He said he wrote in order to
explain to Theophilus, a Roman official, what Christianity was all about. Have
you ever tried to explain to someone what Christianity is all about? Some
people think that Christianity is all about right and wrong, sin and judgment,
heaven and hell. Such people see God as a heavenly policeman who is constantly
monitoring our actions, writing down all our sins in His book and waiting to
throw us into hellfire. But Luke sees it all differently. For him Christianity
has more to do with God's love and mercy than with punishment. For Luke,
Christianity is more about reaching out to the other and affirming their
humanity.
Now, in
telling Theophilus what the Christian faith was all about, Luke also educates
him of the core mission of Jesus Christ in the world. Luke narrates how Jesus
went into the Synagogue and was handed over a scroll from where he read: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. (4:18-19) By
the way, this text can only be found in the Gospel of Luke.
Beloved in
Christ, that is the mission of Jesus Christ in the world according to St. Luke.
That is the Lord’s Manifesto. People who begin a revolution often times begin
with a declaration of their manifesto. According to Luke, Jesus has come to
start a revolution of love, mercy, compassion, hospitality and acceptance in
the world. He wants to unite the world. He wants to heal the world.
In these few
words, Luke tells us how he understands Jesus’ mission in the world, and that is:
“to bring good news to the poor, to
proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
The Gospel of
Matthew emphasizes “the poor in spirit” but Luke speaks of “the poor.” Jesus in
Luke’s Gospel is concerned not only with the spiritual aspects of human life
but also with the material and social aspects. In Luke’s Gospel, the Lord in
abundant love and mercy reaches out to all in need. So, those who bear the name
of Christ and who are called by his name ought to live according to Christ's
manifesto. It is our mission therefore as individuals and as a community to
bring Good News to the poor in our society. Today's gospel challenges us to
stretch forward our hands in practical solidarity with those who are materially
disadvantaged around us. As Christians we should not only be interested with
saving people's souls, we should also be interested with saving their bodies,
their health, their homes and their jobs. The Good News is not only for the
soul, it is also for the body. Jesus redeemed the whole human person- soul and
body.
No comments:
Post a Comment