Ordinary 3

by Lanie LeBlanc, OP

        This Sunday's Gospel selection according to Luke tells us why Jesus was sent into the world.  Jesus reads the well-known passage from the prophet Isaiah and tells those assembled in the synagogue that He is the fulfillment of this passage.  He was sent, anointed by the Spirit of the Lord, "to bring glad tidings to the poor, 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".  In one way or another, this is the Good News that we hear proclaimed each and every time we read or hear Scripture.  For most Christians, that is each Sunday.  We hear it, try to apply it to our own lives in a particular way, and then we are sent forth to proclaim it to others, to see that the work of the Lord continues.
        The first reading from the book of Nehemiah has Ezra ,the priest-scribe, reading to the assembly of "men, women, and children old enough to understand" from daybreak until midday.  The attentive crowd replied "amen, amen" and wept.  I have wept on occasion after realizing the power of God's word in a particular passage and perhaps the people were responding in a similar way.  The people were instructed to "not be sad", however, so I am not sure about the origin of their tears.  Nonetheless, the people are told to celebrate "for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength".
        The combination of these two instructions (to proclaim the Good News to others and to rejoice) are specific directions for us to follow.  There are many ways that poverty rears its head, from the material things of this world to the spiritual.  Surely there is someone in our life who needs to know some glad tidings in the midst of their poverty, whatever that poverty might be.  We have all seen the pictures of the devastation after the earthquake in Haiti... and some of the people gathering in new community, praising the Lord, in the midst of nothing but trouble, with no food or water or clothing or shelter.  Somehow, they have hope.  They understand that rejoicing in the Lord will be their strength.
        Must we get to the point of real nothingness materially to have that Spirit come forth in us?  I don't think so, but I do know that rejoicing in the midst of daily trials and even more serious difficulties that fall far short of what the Haitians are experiencing can be very wearing.   Maybe that is part of the liberty and sight that our world needs, today,  the oppression that holds us back.  Maybe in proclaiming Good News to others, we will hear it again for ourselves in a way that will help us to rejoice one more time as we better understand this wonderful God of ours.  The Lord will be our strength !

(Comments to Lanie at lanieleblanc@onebox.com.)