It’s hard to believe, but because
Easter is early this year, we’re already just about half way between the end of
Christmas, with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord just two weeks ago, and
the beginning of the holy season of Lent, with Ash Wednesday just two weeks
from Wednesday.
Today, the third Sunday in ordinary
time, marks a sort of beginning, as today we officially begin our journey for
most of this year through the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. Today reminds me a bit of Thanksgiving or
Christmas when you hear those wonderful words “dinner’s ready!” and there is
this amazing feast spread out over the table before your eyes.
Well, Luke’s gospel is a little like
that – a veritable feast of words, a beautiful narrative of the life and
mission and teaching of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote “when I found your words, O Lord, I devoured
them.” And I envision that this year
will be a little like that, as we feast on the Gospel of Luke. As we grow in faith and love as we contemplate
the many rich themes St. Luke proclaims.
The first is this. Luke’s Gospel,
you could say, is a story of reversal.
God in Christ comes to reverse the attitudes and mores of this world, to
challenge attitudes of security and complacency, to confront the powerful and
rich, those who already have comfort and consolation within society, and to
raise up those who are deemed unworthy, the lowly, the marginalized, the
outcast. In Luke’s Gospel we’ll hear
Jesus proclaim that the last will be first while the first will be last. We’ll
hear about the rich man who never sees Lazarus, the beggar at his door.
And we hear this theme in today’s
Gospel. Jesus lays claim to being the
fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy – “I am,” He says, “the one sent to bring glad
tidings to the poor.” I am the one sent
to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free, to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Heck, that’s a pretty good cliff notes summary
of St. Luke’s entire vision of the mission and life of Jesus!
Many of us, perhaps most of us, fall
into the camp of those who enjoy the comforts, the security, the consolations
this world provides, so prepare to be challenged. Let’s be open to being challenged, all
this year, as we make our way through Luke’s Gospel.
Second, Luke’s Gospel is uniquely a
Gospel of salvation, of conversion, of mercy.
God has visited us – “God with us” - for our salvation, to work saving
acts, to come to save the lost. You and
I are always called, but uniquely so in the stories and parables and words of
Jesus that we will hear in this Gospel, to lifelong conversion. To lifelong change of mind and heart. To repentance of our sins and reliance on the
bottomless well of God’s love and mercy.
It’s especially fitting, in this
jubilee year of mercy, that we will hear and study and put into practice this
Gospel, often called the Gospel of Mercy.
We’ll hear the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin. The parable of the prodigal son, which might
be better called the parable of the loving and forgiving father. We’ll see God
in Luke’s image of loving Father, forever seeking us when we’re far away,
forever calling us back, forever beckoning us to rest in His loving
embrace. Forever waiting with His mercy.
As an aside, without any comment on
politics, I was startled the other day when I read of an interview with a
presidential candidate. The candidate was
asked about his Christian faith and whether he’d ever sought forgiveness, and
he responded “Why do I have to repent or ask for
forgiveness, if I am not making mistakes?"
Well I’m not going to judge this person, because that’s an attitude
shared by many in our world, one I too often knowingly and unknowingly share
myself. There’s no doubt that many of us
have lost a sense of our own sinfulness, our own need for repentance, for
conversion.
Come
October we’ll hear in Luke’s Gospel a similar story - the parable of the
righteous Pharisee in the temple, thankful that he’s not like the rest of
humanity, contrasted with the sinful tax collector, standing in the back,
pleading “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.”
And we’ll hear which one curries favor with the Lord!
So brothers
and sisters, as you and I are walking with Jesus through Luke’s Gospel this
year, this year of mercy, why don’t we ask God to show us our sins, our
sinfulness, convict us of our sins, not so that we may be sad and weep as did
the people in Nehemiah’s time in today’s first reading, but so that we may
throw ourselves on His loving mercy and rejoice in His salvation!
Yes, rejoice! For once we’ve experienced the love and mercy
of God, we come to a profound realization that we are to be people of joy. Luke’s Gospel is a Gospel of joy, more so
than any of the other three Gospels.
Luke has a uniquely positive outlook on history, on humankind, on human
activity. It’s a perfect backdrop as we
continue to reflect on Pope Francis’ recent Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii
Gaudium, meaning the joy of the Gospel.
The Gospel is to be joyful!
Joy is so central to who we are as
Christians, as disciples of the Lord, or at least it should be. The words from today’s first reading come
back to mind: “Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not be sad, do not weep.” Be joyful!, in other words.
Let me ask you – if a stranger to
the Faith were to walk in here, would she or he think we’re joyful? Or do too often give off vibes of
indifference, or exclusion, or boredom, or even anger? Do we smile?
Back in grade school, the teacher
would sometimes stop class and make us stand up and exercise, jumping jacks or
stretches. I want to do that right now –
but instead of jumping jacks, let’s everyone just smile – c’mon - stretch those
face muscles! Smile! Let’s practice
being joyful!
Because we have so much to be joyful
about! In fact, we have here the ONLY
thing, in the end, to be joyful about – we have here the Lord, the Christ, the
Savior! And He’s chosen us as His
people! Given us His mission!
Yes,
for once we’ve experienced the mercy, the conversion of heart, and the joy that
only Christ can give, we heed His call and go forth in mission and service. The Gospel of Luke can be called the Gospel
of Mission, of Service. We will hear and
see Jesus curing lepers, feeding the multitude, preaching the parable of the
Good Samaritan.
Sisters
and brothers, you and I, too, are called to joyfully carry on this mission of
the Lord. You and I are called to this
mission of service. Fed and nourished
here at His altar with His very Body and Blood, you and I, too, are called to
go forth to live this Gospel. To be His
eyes and ears. Hands and feet. To bring glad tidings to the poor. Proclaim liberty to captives. Give sight to the blind. Free the oppressed. And proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
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