Introduction to the Liturgy of the Day

We gather together today to worship the Lord, as faithful people have done throughout history. Two noteworthy examples are described in our readings. When Ezra the priest read the Torah in the streets of Jerusalem after the Jewish people had returned from exile, it brought people to tears. When Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah in his hometown synagogue, he revealed that he himself was the fulfillment of that passage. As we worship today on this ordinary day in Ordinary Time, let us consider the blessing of being able to listen to the word of God and to partake in this Eucharistic feast.
 

Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word

“Today is holy to our LORD,” Ezra proclaims toward the end of today’s first reading, for the people were able to gather together to worship for the first time in over fifty years. What joy it must have inspired! In the Gospel, Jesus announces that the prophecies of glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives, and freedom for the oppressed are fulfilled in his presence. What an astonishing claim! Let us listen to scripture, realizing that we are inheritors of this profound legacy of God’s word.
 

Reflections

• For fifty years the Jewish people had been exiled in Babylon. Most of the people gathered around Ezra that day had never worshiped in Jerusalem before, never worshiped in so large a gathering, never worshiped in public. They are hearing God’s word proclaimed openly for the first time in their lives. Even the older folks could barely recall what it was like before their exile. Many had certainly wondered if this day would ever come. We may have felt the same way sometimes over the last two years. For weeks, or months, or over a year we did not join in communal worship. We rejoiced when we were able to return. Imagine the tears of joy shed by the faithful people of Judah when they were able to assemble freely for the first time in decades.

• In the longer form of the second reading, Saint Paul builds his analogy of the body, ending by pointing out that “if one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26). We are all members of the body of Christ, of the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.” If one of us suffers, the entire Church suffers. Many suffer from chronic illness, or poverty, or racism, or emotional trauma, or physical limitations. Many are not able to reach their full potential. In an even wider sense, since we are all children of God, the human family is united as one as well. And so we are called to care for the least of our brothers and sisters, be they next door or at the other end of the world; we are one family.

• Alone among the evangelists, Luke sets this account at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He alone also reveals the scripture passage that Jesus reads in his hometown synagogue (Isaiah 61:1–2), which sets the tone for his ministry. “A year acceptable to the Lord” (Luke 4:19) refers to a once-every-fifty-years event, during which debts were forgiven, slaves freed, and land reverted to its original owners or heirs. The transformative ministry of Jesus went on to fulfill this ultimate reversal of circumstances.
 

Question of the Week

In what ways am I poor, oppressed or held captive?  How does the Lord’s promise speak to me? How can I bring glad tidings to those who are poor and oppressed?

-from Pastoral Patterns