21/01/2007 - THIRD SUNDAY in ORDINARY
TIME - Year C
First Reading Neh. 8: 2-4; 5-6; 8-10 Psalm 18
Second Reading 1 Cor. 12: 12-31 Gospel Lk 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21
Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity
The baptized benefits from becoming a child of God, but recognizes his/her
own inability, inadequacy and weakness. This is why he/she looks above to obtain
the Spirit of God, the one promised by Jesus. The imposition of the bishop's
hands and the anointing of the Chrism transfers the Same Holy Spirit to the
Christian who wishes to remain faithful and persevering, and is being confirmed,
with all His blessings and is fruit of His presence in man. Receiving the Holy
Spirit means to become divine, to have God in oneself. We do not become God,
but we have God within us, as though He were a priceless treasure in a fragile
container, so to speak. We must, always, be conscious of this double reality:
the treasure within us is marvellous and divine, but we are weak, fragile and,
possibly, sinners. His holy life in within us, but we must always remain vigilant
and continue working so the container won't be overturned or broken or the treasure
will be lost. There is a most important difference between our faith and the
beliefs of the religions of the Orient: for them, man himself is part of, or
a spark of, God. We know, though, that we keep Him completely within us as though
in a most fragile wrapping! The sacrament of Confirmation is a gift which seals
our sanctification and that commits us to guard the life of God. How can this
be? The life of God is love; therefore, we guard it by committing to remain
united with one another so that we may give signs and works of the love of the
Father to the world! That's why those confirmed are asked not to limit themselves
to being the type of Christians who think only about receiving, but to become
Christians who testify to their faith with concrete works! For instance: those,
who are confirmed, are asked that they not go to Mass for their own satisfaction,
or to experience something pleasant; instead, they go so that they may enrich
the community with their presence, with their prayer and by putting themselves
at the service for others.
We are living the prayer for Christian unity: it's a necessary prayer, above
all, so we may be aware of any the division among the believers in Jesus Christ
is a scandal, and it impedes in the faith of those who still believe. Jesus
knows that, if we are united in faith and love, many will be drawn to Him so
that they may be saved. This is why St. Paul, too, wants to help us be decisive
in remaining united with our brothers, regardless of their weakness and their
sins. He does this, by making a comparison of the unity of the members of own
body. It is a convincing example, but, always, in order to realize our convictions,
we need strength within, a grand love for Jesus and for His kingdom, more than
a love for our own person and our own beautiful ideas. When the love for Jesus
grows within our churches; then, will there be steps made towards unity. We
must do our part, for the love of Jesus, to cultivate unity within our parish,
or in the community of faith in which the Lord placed us.
The love of Jesus will not bear fruit in us, nor will the unity of the Church,
unless we love His Word. His Word is nourishment for the life of the believer,
nourishment for each person and for the whole community; indeed, for the whole
world! Today's First Reading shows us a people who listens attentively, who's
humbled, joyful and, at the same time, contrite by the Word of God. That Word
will become the point of reference for the life of each one of us, the tie that
unites and makes a community stable and joyful, for young and old, for rich
and poor. It gives the blessings so that the necessary changes in our lives
can happen, so that each of us, from our own suffering, may become sustenance
and consolation to others.
Even Jesus, coming forth to Nazareth, proclaims the Word of God. Above all,
this helps us to know Him, the Word Incarnate, the thought and wish of the love
of the Father made flesh for us! The Reading from the book of Isaiah, which
Jesus proposes, opens our eyes and our hearts to adhere to Him, the Servant
of God, who does wants to impose; but, rather, propose to us. The reason the
Word of the Scriptures from the Old Testament is important is to awaken our
attention and confirm adhesion to those words which will, later, come out of
the mouth of Jesus, Himself.
As St. Luke says in the introduction of his Gospel, he understood the importance
of the life of Jesus as being the Word of God. That is why he made "accurate
research" and committed his intelligence and his gifts as author and serious
researcher, so that he could give, as sustenance to our faith, to our love and
to the growth and unity of the Church, a beautiful and diligent description
of all that the Lord fulfilled, and an account of what He said. Aided by the
work of the Evangelist, we benefit from Jesus' presence, which brings in our
midst the light and the joy of the Holy Spirit of God.
Let us adhere to His person and let us increase esteem and fame of each of His
works and of each of His Words. Our life, as Christians, will certainly become
much more knowledgeable and joyful!