Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr Dominic’s Homily
We all have stories of our history and how we have arrived at this point in our lives. But sometimes we ask ourselves: Who am I? Well I am sure we would answer that question differently. Many people often define themselves according to their job. You might say I am:
a doctor
engineer
a computer programmer
But if you define yourself by your job - that’s fine as long as it’s fulfilling or successful. But what happens if you retire, or are made redundant or if you have a mundane job? Other people define themselves by what others say about them.
He’s a great at finances
She’s a good listener
They’re a really good family.
That’s fine if people say good things about you. But what if people say bad things about you or if people ignore you? Another way to define ourselves is by what we have.
I own a business
I collect antiques.
But does this mean I am what I have? If I have very little am I a no body?
So if we define ourselves simply by what we do, or what we think people say about us or by what we have - our lives will be a continual rollercoaster in terms of our self-esteem and emotions.
We will feel good when we have prestigious jobs, when people speak well of us and when we are wealthy, but we will be down if we are unemployed, if people ignore us or we own very little. So we must remember that these are all false ways to define ourselves. We are never defined by what we do, by what people think of us or what we have.
How we are defined is by the love of God. This is who we really are. Everything else is incidental. So how would Jesus define himself?
Well we get the answer from Gospel. On a return visit to Nazareth Jesus went into the local Synagogue on the Sabbath day. Remember that Jesus is a good Jew. Whilst he isn’t a priest at that point in a liturgical sense he is a respected Rabbi and so is allowed to read and preach. Jesus stands up to read and they hand him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolls it and begins to read the same reading that we had today:
“The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me for he has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, and bring new sight to the blind. To set the down trodden free and to proclaim the Lords year of favour.”
Jesus then rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the assistant and with all eyes in the synagogue fixed on him he made a startling claim:
“This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening.”
In other words this text finds its ultimate fulfilment in him and in what God has anointed him to do. He reveals that he is the Messiah and the time is now.
Notice he reads about proclaiming the Lords year of favour. This was a bit like our jubilee year that they celebrated every 50 years where all debts were cancelled, slaves were freed and land returned to rightful owners. Jesus as the Messiah will be setting people free from the bondage of sin. So it is indeed a year of favour. We are able to gain plenary indulgences.
As we celebrate todays Mass in our jubilee year we too should keep the eyes of our hearts fixed on the person of Jesus present both in the liturgy of the Word as well as the Eucharist.
The prophet Isaiah had written these words over 500 years earlier and they were addressed to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. They were words of encouragement and hope. So whilst they were words of consolation to the exiles in Babylon, God’s word transcends the confines of time and place.
Jesus hears these words as a commission from God. God has anointed him. He is the Christ. God has sent him to proclaim liberty. He is the one to set us free, to lead us out of exile; to give sight to the blind. He is the light of the world who leads us from darkness to the light.
So when try to understand about the reality of Jesus – This is the very essence of who he is.