As Ordinary Time unfolds, we hear once more WHO Jesus is. He is the one who was promised in the prophecy of Isaiah to take care of the poor, the oppressed, the physically and spiritually blind, and to proclaim a new kind of freedom:
‘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.’
Every time we gather to hear the word of God, every time we open the Bible and read even one sentence, we are witnesses to the reality that God keeps promises, and that in Jesus every hope we have for self and for world is fulfilled in what we hear – especially in the Gospel. As the body of Christ (see Saint Paul in the second reading for today), having been transformed in our hearing of the Word, we take what God has given us and bring the best of it to the community of believers in order to give life and love to Church. As we move forward in Ordinary Time, listen carefully to what Jesus says, watch what He does, and live what He teaches. Read the Gospel by yourself or with the ones you love BEFORE Sunday, and let it rest on you and work in you. Then hear what God in the Sacred Scripture has to say to YOU. During the week following, read again and see what happens. Repeat often.
We are sometimes poor (lacking in what we need to do what we are supposed to do for God and others); we are sometimes imprisoned (by guilt, fear, anxiety, addiction); we are sometimes unable to see (what God is giving us, especially the gift of those who are difficult to love); we are sometimes unable to notice that Jesus has come to give us a “year” (a life) of joy, freedom, hope, and unconditional love (“a year acceptable to the Lord”). Jesus brings us the true freedom we never thought we could have. Pray with Him like you’ve never prayed before, and pray with Him in the Gospel. Wait ‘til you see what you hear!
May your Ordinary Time be extraordinary!
