23 January 2022
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
The act of receiving is prominent in today’s gospel passage drawn from St. Luke. We learn that the reason the Evangelist has committed to writing the life of Jesus is so that his friend, Theophilus “may realize the certainty of the teachings” he has received. As the passage continues, we learn that Jesus receives the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. The synagogue at Nazareth is full of a crowd watching and listening intently. Liberty to the captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed is the message within.
Something shocking happens next. Jesus tells them that the Scripture passage is fulfilled upon them receiving it. They are the fortunate recipients of the Good News foretold by Isaiah. We don’t hear it this Sunday, but many in the crowd take him for a liar. Who was he to be claiming all these things? What did he have to show to prove it?
But some received his message and saw it fulfilled. The Word would continue to be received and act in the lives of a countless cloud of witnesses up to our time today. Do we believe the Word received has been fulfilled, is being fulfilled and will be fulfilled in our hearing? May we be open to receiving the Good News and always seeking its further fulfillment.