3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21
The Sunday Gospels during this Liturgical Year are taken from the Gospel of Saint Luke. Sometimes it appears that Luke is the most down to earth of the evangelists. He is certainly very real and relates to most of us with his understanding of the human condition. Luke was well educated, a doctor and a disciple of Saint Paul. In today’s gospel reading Luke is responding to the enquiries of Theophilus and bearing powerful witness to the veracity of the teachings that the early Church received.
Before Christmas, during the Advent liturgies, we read from Saint Luke describing the annunciation of Jesus, the preparation for his coming and his birth in Bethlehem. We are introduced to the very important personalities involved with the coming of the infant Messiah. Because of this Luke is known as the ‘Portrait Painter’ among the evangelists. His portraits of the various characters of the Gospel make them real for us. These are human beings who live, act and survive like all of us.
Luke’s portrayal of Jesus is the same. Jesus is the one who took on our human flesh. Jesus becomes one like us. Jesus is one who understands us, has compassion for us, heals us and brings us new life.
And so, after Luke introduces his gospel and deals with the birth of and early life of Jesus, he witnesses to us about the character of Jesus, as he wants us to know Him.
Jesus is given as a gift to us, to minister to us and save us. The gift of Jesus comes to fulfil the promise of the prophets. The gift, or rather the five gifts, portrayed in today’s gospel are known as the ‘Five Golden Rings’ (as in the gifts that ‘my true love sent to me’ on the ‘fifth day of Christmas’). They are; 1. ‘The Good News brought to the poor’: 2. ‘Liberty to captives’: 3. ‘Sight to the blind’: 4. ‘Freedom to the downtrodden’: 5.‘Proclamation of the Time of the Lord’.
This is Luke’s unique way of presenting his Gospel account. He uses the event in the synagogue to show he understands God’s plan of Salvation and how that plan is borne into reality by the person of Jesus. Luke also knows how to dramatise an event in order to underline its importance.
“He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them. ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’”
Every time we hear it does it not echo with the same drama and wonder? ‘This text is being fulfilled even as you listen’.
We pray for the grace to bear witness as Saint Luke does.