Third Sunday in Ordinary Time C January 24, 2010

Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10  Psalm: 19   1 Cor.12:12-30   Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

The first reading from Ezra is particularly interesting for us, because it is something we do so many 1000 years later as a part of our own liturgy today. The pattern is simple:

1. We have Ezra and Nehemiah: the Church and the Civil Leader present.

2. Ezra reads from a special place prepared for the reading of the Torah

3. People all stand and listen respectfully, from early morning to midday.

4. Ezra gives an explanation of the reading.

5. The people worship as a result of their being united in listening to the Torah.

Today, we stand to listen to the Gospel read by the priest. We are supposed to stand at attention in order to listen “attentively” to the Gospel. However, our experience is that we stand leaning on the pews, sometimes slouching, sometimes standing on one foot then on the other. If the reading is long our mind wanders. Yet Ezra read from early morning to midday, which is longer than even the reading of the Passion on Good Friday. At the end of the reading, we answer either: Thanks be to God, or Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. The people in the time of Ezra would loudly acclaim: Amen, amen, amen. I think we would get a better and louder response, if we had the same response to both readings.

It is interesting to note other postures and gestures:

They raised their hands. We do the same when reciting the Lord’s prayer

They bowed their heads. We do the same at the consecration.

They worshipped in prayer. That is why we are here in the church today.

 Secondly our priest today is supposed to give an explanation of the readings.

Who were Ezra and Nehemiah?

Why did Ezra read?

Who was listening?

What happened on that day?

This would encourage people to be ardent in their worship. Sometimes we as priests are lackadaisical in our preparation, we mumble and we ramble all over the place. When we fail in this, the people get irritated and are hardly in the best frame of mind to worship. Hopefully this is not the description of the Liturgy of the Word in this parish.

The Reading by Ezra gave the people a sense of community, a sense of oneness. It is very much like when “O Canada” is sung as our national anthem. Though, when sung here in Canada, some are enthusiastic others have a “ho-hum” attitude to the singing. Strangely enough, when sung in a stadium or arena in a foreign country, we stand more at attention and more proudly. The anthem gives us a sense of identity and oneness. Even if we do not know the other Canadians in the arena, we tend to look out for them, we join them and seek their company if only for the singing of the anthem. In a similar way, the reading of the Torah gave the people who had come back from Exile, a sense of identity, purpose and a firm conviction that God cared for them.

2. The sense of community is brought out by the second part of the reading from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. We read last Sunday, the first part where Paul speaks of the talents given to different members of the Community.

 Today, Paul speaks of the Community as the Body of Christ both as a metaphor and as a reality. Paul says that just as different parts of the body, form one body, so the different members of the Church form – one would expect Paul to say: one Community, but Paul says the different members of the Church form the Body of Christ. It is not merely a metaphor but a reality.

 However, unlike the Gnostics from whom Paul took this idea, we form the Body of Christ but with a relationship of dependence on Jesus Christ, and subject to Christ as our Lord and Master. It is from Jesus and his Spirit that we get a sense of Unity. It is from this same Spirit that we can love God and love our fellow human beings, and go so far as to love even our enemies and those who seek to harm us.

 Another interesting note is that although Paul says that the body has different parts and these parts may not have the same importance in their functions, they are all equally important to the Body for it to function as a body. Similarly in the church, some members have more important duties, but the roles 1.2.3. will always be given to Apostles, Prophets and Teachers. Curiously enough those positions are still held today, and assiduously protected.

3. John begins the fourth Gospel, with Jesus cleansing the Temple. He thus sets the tone for the whole Gospel. It is a proclamation of a new order of things. Mark describes his writings as a Gospel, which will proclaim the Christ Event. Luke describes his writings not as a Gospel, but rather a description of the Life of Christ in the two books of Luke-Acts. His narration is not meant to be used for liturgical purposes, even though we use it today in our Liturgy of the Word. It is meant as a catechesis, to teach us more about Christ, as Christ, himself was directed by the Spirit.

 Hence he opens the Public Life of Christ, with the Spirit directing Jesus to teach the Good News. Liturgy Scholars find it hard to explain why the book of Ezra was chosen for the first reading. The only link could be that both Ezra and Jesus were in a Sacred Space teaching the people of God. Their teaching was to lead and encourage the listeners to worship. 

 May we too listen attentively to the readings from Scriptures, so that moved by the Spirit, we may worship as one community. We are different in talents, character and devotion, but we are one in and through Jesus. We are his Body inspired by the Spirit.