Luke 1, 1-4; 4, 14-21:
Sunday, 23rd January 2022. (3 OT C)
This Sunday’s Gospel begins with a brief introduction in which St. Luke tells us his intention in writing his Gospel: that you may know the soundness of the teachings left to us by those who were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ mission, and later preachers of the Word (the apostles). It places Jesus, at the beginning of his mission, in the synagogue of Nazareth, “as was his custom on the Sabbath”.
There Jesus, after reading a text from Isaiah, under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, and before an expectant assembly, has no qualms in proclaiming that those words of the prophet “ARE FULFILLED TODAY”. Jesus knows that he has been anointed with the power of the Spirit, and sent to fulfil the will of the Father: to announce and make present the Good News of salvation. These are no longer promises. Those who follow him have been able to witness how they are fulfilled. The signs (miracles) he performs testify that a new time has come. It is time for those who suffer any kind of evil to open themselves to hope and to feel touched by the hand of God.
“Today (23 January 2022) this scripture which you have just heard is fulfilled”. God is present in our lives. He announces the Good News to us and challenges us to be messengers of it, bringing it to the poor, to the blind, to all who suffer. May we too, with our eyes fixed on him, like the whole synagogue, not remain in simple admiration, but feeling urged and impelled by the Spirit, may our life be a liberating presence for our brothers and sisters.
Pope Francis has instituted this as the Sunday of the Word of God. May it be an opportunity to have a moment of listening and encounter with this Word, and may it strengthen our faith.
Juan Ramón Gómez Pascual, cmf
Are you a messenger of the Good News?
