Third Sunday of Epiphany
“‘Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’”
Summary
“If Christmas celebrates God coming to dwell with us in the world, Epiphany marks those moments when we see it, those moments of sudden clarity and understanding when the reality of the divine presence shines out of the ordinary and every day. The book of Nehemiah records such an epiphany. This book is largely a cry to “build the wall”, to erect, both physically, culturally, socially and spiritually, a divide between those who are insiders and those who are outsiders. But chapter 8 is different. It is a glimpse of the kingdom outside the wall. Here, in Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10, the people who want to hear God’s word gather in the open square: male and female, young and old, insider and outsider. And the word of the Lord changes them; they weep, they shout out, they bow down. At the end of the reading (6 hours long) the people are told to rejoice, to celebrate and to include in those celebrations those who have nothing. It is a moment of inclusion and generosity in an otherwise exclusionary book. When Jesus reads from the word of the Lord in Luke 4:14-21 he too proclaims a vision of inclusion and generosity: for the poor, the blind, the prisoner, the oppressed. What is more, he tells us, that TODAY, this scripture is fulfilled in our hearing. The promise of God’s kingdom becomes a reality when we are ready to hear it and be changed by it. We too can be a people who create a place of inclusion and generosity in an otherwise exclusionary world.’’
First Reading
Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10
all the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen’, lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’
GOSPEL
Luke 4:14-21
‘Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’