Reflection for Sunday January 23, Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Gospel: Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.  

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. 

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

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Reflection:

The story is told about a group of young people that asked a learned man of faith about Jesus and the Catholic faith. He answered them and was able to satisfactorily address their questions. But when pressed to share some more of his wisdom he politely refused to do so. He told them that they should also read and study so that they would learn too.  

But what this learned man of faith doesn’t know was  the group who’ve asked him to share more of his wisdom were uneducated (they don’t know how to read and write). If only this learned man of faith were generous enough to share his time and wisdom. He could have blessed and watered barren minds thirsting to know more about Jesus and the universal faith. He could have been an instrument of evangelization and propagation of the faith. But he chose to be selfish so he kept to himself what was supposed to be generously shared. 

In the gospel we read about Saint Luke who is very generous about his knowledge of the faith. He wrote everything about the teachings accurately and then he shared it with Theophilus.  

In the second part of the gospel we also read about Jesus who was just through with His mission. Instead of resting for a while He went directly into the synagogue for the Sabbath day. There He passionately read the scroll about the prophet Isaiah that says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord (Luke 4:18-19).”  

in the first reading we also read about the Priest Ezra who generously read about the laws of God to all people from daybreak till midday. While reading it he touched hearts and minds thus it moved his audience to tears. The crowd was touched by the Holy Spirit because the priest Ezra passionately shared the book about God.  

We may not be that learned or knowledgeable about Jesus and our catholic faith but in our own little way we certainly know something that others don’t. Why don’t we also share what we know about Jesus and His message of salvation? There are many ways and means now of sharing our faith. For example, If we are not used to preaching before an audience let us use the many platforms available in the internet. Let us do it and let us not allow discouragement and fear to paralyze us because the Holy Spirit will be there to guide and help us.  

Let us take this extra step for Jesus because we will certainly touch hearts, empower minds and change lives too! – Marino J. Dasmarinas