God's Word - Jesus the Messiah

Homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - The Sunday of the Word of God

Isaiah is one of the greatest prophets in Israel’s history. I would venture to say that he is second only to Elijah. Fortunately for us, unlike Elijah, Isaiah and his disciples actually wrote down his various oracles, proclamations, and poems. The key to understanding the prophet is found in chapter six of this long book which relates in great detail how God called him to be His prophet. Isaiah received this call in 742 B.C.E., the year that King Uzziah died, in the Temple of Jerusalem where he served as a priest. During a vision, the majesty, holiness and glory of the Lord took possession of Isaiah’s spirit and, at the same time, gave him a new awareness of human pettiness and sinfulness. The enormous abyss between God’s sovereign holiness and human sinfulness overwhelmed the prophet. Only the purifying coal of the seraphim could cleanse his lips and prepare him for acceptance of the call: “Here I am, send me!”

Isaiah was principally a Messianic prophet. Through his preaching he fueled the longing of Israel’s faithful for the promised One. Long after Isaiah died, his disciples or scribes continued to write in his name. The passage which we hear from St. Luke’s Gospel today is taken from the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah and speaks of the anointed one who fulfills the promise first made in the Book of Genesis and which reoccurs throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. After the infancy narrative which is found at the beginning of this Gospel, St. Luke portrays the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry as it took place in the synagogue of Jesus’ home town of Nazareth. Jesus reads the Messianic oracle and proclaims that it is fulfilled in him.

This assertion undoubtedly falls on the ears of Jesus’ audience in different ways. For those who had risen to power through collaboration with the Roman occupation, the announcement of the arrival of the Messiah would have been met with great anxiety. Were they about to lose their positions of importance as teachers of the Law of Moses? For those who were loyal to King Herod, commonly known as Herodians, was someone going to challenge their king and take his throne? For the peasants who were subjugated both by the Roman occupation and by the heavy burdens placed upon them by the scribes and Pharisees, would they find a champion in this young preacher? For the anawim, the remnant, those who still kept their covenant relationship with the God of Sinai, would this young prophet lead them to a renewal of the Jewish faith?

Great expectations came with the anyone who claimed to be a messiah. The word messiah actually comes from this passage of Isaiah as he proclaims that he was anointed by the Spirit of the Lord. Messiah means “the anointed one.” Isaiah goes on to describe the works of the Messiah. The Messiah will give sight to the blind, will bring good news to the poor, will proclaim liberty to captives and a year of favor acceptable to the Lord. While St. Luke will take great pains to show Jesus doing all of these things, it is this last idea that may have struck the hearts of those who heard Jesus that day. “The Year of Favor” is a concept that comes from the twenty-fifth chapter of Leviticus. It describes the so-called jubilee year as an economic, cultural, environmental and communal reset, when the land and people rest, and all those who are in slavery are set free to return to their communities. The Jubilee laws are essentially concerned with social relationships, economic security, stability and the wellbeing of the community. They seek to ensure that people live in ways that reflect good relationships with God, with each other, and with creation. All debts were cancelled. Any land which had been sold to repay a debt was returned to its original owner. In addition, all sins were forgiven.

It was a radical concept to be sure. It was designed to prevent anyone from losing their patrimony. It was a way to ensure that subsequent generations would not suffer because of the foolishness or rash behavior of their ancestors. Unfortunately, though it is explained in great detail in Leviticus, it never ever happened. As one might expect, because of the economic prescriptions of the Jubilee laws, those who held the resources were not about to return them to their original owners. So when Jesus tells the people of Nazareth that he has been sent to proclaim the year acceptable to the Lord, it would have endeared him to the poor but made him an immediate threat to the rich.

Today we celebrate the third annual Sunday of the Word of God, an observance which was begun by Pope Francis to accentuate the centrality of the Scriptures in our faith. Just as we believe that Jesus is really present in the consecrated bread and wine of the Eucharist, the Church also teaches that Jesus is truly present in God’s Word. The Gospel of St. John goes so far as to say that Jesus IS the preexistent Logos, the Word of God, who took flesh and became human and dwells among us. As we celebrate this Sunday, we pray with and for those in our community who regularly proclaim God’s Word for us. We bless the Bibles and Testaments that carry God’s Word on their pages. We give thanks to God for the gift of self-revelation, the means through which God has been revealed to us. We praise God for the gift of the Messiah.