Epiphany 3C (Neh 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Ps 19; 1 Cor 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21)

This tradition of reading the Bible with our eyes isn’t something that the early and medieval Christians were so used to. You can easily imagine that back in the day having an actual copy of the Bible cost quite a lot of money before the printing press was invented in the 15th century since the only way to duplicate was to copy it by hand. So this reading of the Bible really comes out of an oral tradition. People read the Bible with their ears, not with their eyes. 

Robert Frost, an American poet, apparently favored this type of ear-reading, He once said, “The ear is the only true writer and the only true reader. I know people who read without hearing the sentence sounds and they were the fastest readers. Eye readers we call them. They get the meaning by glances. But they are bad readers because they miss the best part of what a good writer puts into his work.” If we paraphrase Frost’s saying, we might just want to read the Bible. But we might end up as bad readers because we miss the best part of what God puts into his work! 

In the first lesson we heard this morning a rather emotional scene of the Israelites listening to the law of Moses, probably the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). As they listened to the Torah read by the priest and scribe Ezra, their hearts moved to tears, perhaps for many reasons such as its reminiscence for their good old days, repentance of their wrongdoing, or God’s faithfulness to them in the midst of their exile. They took the words being read to their hearts. What they heard through the voice of Ezra was God speaking to them, assuring God has never forgotten them. So they wept. 

Ezra urged them not to cry and said, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” 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.” As the Word of God is proclaimed, that day of listening to God’s Word becomes holy. That holiness brings joy to those who listen to God’s Word, so out of joy they eat the fat and drink sweet wine. Not only enjoying oneself and each other’s company, but also making room for others those who have nothing. 

We have another scene of people listening to the Book of Isaiah, read by Jesus himself in today’s gospel lesson. St Luke quite dramatically depicts this moment of Jesus reading the passage. He is filled with the Holy Spirit after being tempted in the wilderness for forty days and nights. He goes to the synagogue, stands up to read, unrolls the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, and finds the passage to read out loud. The most compelling thing about his reading of the passage is that the passage he selects describes who Jesus is and what he does. It’s about the Messiah, Anointed One. As he proclaims it, that act fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah in that same passage. So what’s actually happening in today’s gospel lesson is that whoever is listening to Jesus in the synagogue is witnessing the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah at that very moment. The person to whom the prophecy refers is the person who reads it. Let us read it again:

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 favor.

This prophecy lays out Jesus’s mission in this world. The first two lines of the Spirit of the Lord being upon Jesus and anointing bring us back to his baptism at the river Jordan. Then follows his mission and purpose, which is to bring good news to the poor. This good news, the gospel is to release the captives, restore the sight of the blind, set free the oppressed, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor to or acceptance of all. Jesus then proclaims, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." The fulfillment and realization of the prophecy takes place not tomorrow, or 1,000 years later but today in their hearing. Now is the eschatological moment that the crucified and resurrected Jesus continues to bring the gospel to the poor. And this “now” applies to our present moment, too when we listen to the Word of God speaking to us right now. 

So far, I have talked about two lessons which have this common theme of people listening to God’s Word and its impact on their hearts. In their hearing of God’s Word speaking, they are changed. The Word of God changes the heart of those who listen. It makes their day holy. That holiness evokes joy that one feels compelled to share oneself with others in need. What about us? Is there joy as we listen to the Word of God this morning? What does today’s gospel lesson sound like? Is your heart changing as you listen to Jesus who brings good news to the world? I am actually not so sure we often feel that way mostly because so many times, the Bible doesn’t really seem to matter to us, to our everyday lives. But this morning with today’s gospel lesson in particular, we shouldn’t close our hearts. 

The fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah uttered by Jesus applies to us. That holy moment of the Holy Spirit dwelling upon Jesus and anointing him applies to us. Let us not forget that we like Jesus are blessed and anointed by the Spirit through the baptism of Jesus. So, if I ask you, “Are you consecrated?” you would certainly say, “I am. You are. We are consecrated as One Body of Jesus Christ. We are the Church.” To remind you of what we are actually doing every Sunday at the Eucharist, as we say the Eucharistic Prayer, the bread and wine are not the only elements that the Holy Spirit sanctifies, but all of us. This is one of the reasons why I invite all of us with this saying, “Behold what you are. Become what you receive.” Our baptized body is also the sanctified and consecrated body. 

Then the mission of Jesus in the prophecy of Isaiah is our mission. Bringing good news to the poor which is to release the captives, restore the sight of the blind, set free the oppressed, and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor to or acceptance of all. It is the gospel that liberates, heals, frees, and accepts all. As we listen to Jesus who tells us who we are in him, we ourselves are called to become the message of Jesus. So, what do you hear today? What does Jesus tell you to be and do? Where does the Holy Spirit lead you to? Whichever unique spiritual gifts God has given you, our common goal as one body of Christ is this: become the words of healing and hope, founded in Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.