We come to Church for many reasons. To receive Jesus in the Eucharist. To come together as a community as the Body of Christ. And also, to hear of the Word of God.
Hearing is a gift from God that we are given that provides us many capabilities. We can communicate with others. It can protects us from danger. We can learn new things. We are entertained. It can be relaxing. Hearing is a form of recreation as we listen to music, stories, and shows. Many of us listen to the radio, computer, and phone for recreation. Recreation is something we need in our lives I looked up the definition of recreation which is to create a new, refresh and restore. I like to think of hearing the Word of God as the ultimate form of recreation, because it creates a new. Because when God speaks, he creates.
The closing words of the Jesus in the Gospel today was: “Today this Scripture Passage is fulfilled in your hearing”. This is the beginning of Jesus public ministry in the Gospel of Luke.
Jesus was announcing the Kingdom of God had arrived. We are now in Ordinary time which will focus on learning about who Jesus is and how to be his disciple. His announcement to the people in the synagogue in Nazareth was extremely good news. Jesus reads from the Prophet Isaiah which states that he will Bring glad tidings to the poor. Liberty to captives. Sight to the blind. Let the oppressed go free. Proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”
This was the announcement of a Jubilee Year, something that occurred every 50 years in Jewish tradition as proclaimed by God. During a Jubilee year slaves were set free. Land that was taken by others was returned to their original owners. Debts were forgiven. Those who were oppressed were vindicated. This should have been joyful news to those who heard those words from Jesus that he was fulfilling the Scripture. This was a familiar scripture passage to the Jewish people that heard it. They were awaiting for a Messiah to rescue them from oppression. Did the people who heard the word receive it with joy and gratitude? Some may have, but many did not. We’ll hear more about that next week.
As we follow Jesus throughout the year we’ll hear about his miracles, healing, and casting out demons. Jesus means what he says. When we come to Mass each week we will have an opportunity for recreation as we hear the Word of God. If we listen carefully to the Word of God receive it with joy and gratitude, reflect on it, and let it penetrate our heart we can help recreate our world. Jesus came in the Spirit of the Lord and was anointed to bring glad tidings to the poor. We share in the same Spirit of the Lord in our Baptism and can help bring the Kingdom of God in sharing in Jesus ministry of priest, prophet, and king. We are baptized into the Body of Christ, and each of us has a part to play.
How can we do this? In letting the oppressed go free, especially the unborn, by standing up to protect life from conception. By proclaiming liberty to captives, especially those enslaved by sin, by sharing God’s mercy and forgiveness by inviting others to a relationship with Jesus. By opening up the eyes to those blind to injustices of poverty, human trafficking, and euthanasia that threatens the dignity of the human person. So many of the injustices in the culture we live in can be changed if we hear the Word of God, understand it, and take action to bring about the Kingdom of God.
In order to do this we need to hear the Word of God and let it change us. We can of course hear the Word of God at Mass, but we have many opportunities to hear the Word before we come to Mass. The more we hear it, the more it will become familiar with it. When I was younger I did not spend much time with the Word of God. When my wife and I were first married we visited her grandparents, Grandpa and Grandma Munson, in Decatur, IL. I had on met them once or twice previously. After visiting for a few minutes together, Linda went to help her grandma in the kitchen to make dinner. I visited with Grandpa Munson and he asked me if I liked to read stories that were filled with all kinds of excitement: murders, wars, infidelity, family strife, and love affairs. I told him of course I did. We went inside and he took me to a bookcase and pulled out the Holy Bible. He told me to read this and I would read all he told me, but I would also learn about loving God who was always there to offer his mercy and forgiveness. That was the start of me starting to read the Bible.
There are so many opportunities we have to hear to the Word of God today. We can access to it on our phones, computers, and TV in so many ways. We can read the readings or listen to a video reflection on the US Bishops Web site. The parish has subscribed to a service called Formed from Augustine Institute that all parish members have access to. It has a great weekly reflection on the Sunday readings called “Opening the Word”. There’s also a free app from Augustine Institute called Amen that you can download to your phone and listen to the daily readings. And if you don’t like technology most Catholic Bibles have a list of the readings for each Sunday. By taking time to hear the Word of God at Mass before Sunday, you’ll be able to receive it with gratitude and joy.
We can take action to help the oppressed go free, the blind see, and bring liberty to the captives, by understating the injustices in our world and where the Church stands on them. A great resource for this is the Archbishop’s Pastoral Letter, “We are One in Christ”, which is located on the Archdiocese website. By hearing what injustices exist in our world, especially or local diocese, and acting upon them to build up the Body of Christ. If we receive God’s word with joy, understand it, and act upon it, we can help recreate the world to bring about a year acceptable to the Lord.
