THE WORD OF GOD HAS BEEN GIVEN TO US

SUNDAY, THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Neh 8:2-6,8-10; Ps 19:8-10,15; 1 Cor 12:12-30; Lk 1:1-4,4:14-21

The Good Work of God

There is no other way for man to abound in good works less than by doing the will of God the Father. Hence, as we celebrate the Sunday of the word of God, the Church prays to God to direct our actions to be pleasing to him so that we may bear fruits in good works in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. God answers the prayer only by leading us to rediscover the scriptures, which contain the expressions of his holy will. The discovery of the Law of God was a happy incident that caused the people to celebrate during the time of the priest Ezra and Nehemiah, the High Commissioner. They discovered the Book of the Law of Moses as they reconstructed the Temple of Jerusalem, which was destroyed by the Babylonian soldiers when they carried the people into exile in Babylon. The discovery of the Law was for the people a sign of God's approval of the restoration of the Jerusalem Temple. They were eager to hear the word of God and be guided by God’s will, expressed therein. “Ezra opened the book; and when he opened it all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people raised their hands and answered, ‘Amen! Amen!’ Then they bowed down and face to the ground, prostrated themselves before the Lord.”

The people received the word of the Lord with so much enthusiasm and reverence, bowing and prostrating themselves in worship, for they believed that God dwells in his words. Therefore, when they discovered that they had lived away from the will of God, they were full of regrets and shed tears. But Ezra, the priest, the High Commissioner, and the Levites bid them to rejoice instead, for God’s revelation of his will is salvation for his people. The hearing and understanding of the word of God bring the people into communion with God. They share the life of God and acquire his fruitfulness when they put what they have heard and understood into practice. The Psalm proclaims the salvation which comes from the Law of the Lord: “The law of the Lord is perfect, it revives the soul. The rule of the Lord is to be trusted, it gives wisdom to the simple.” Thus, man’s reception of God’s word is always an invitation to a covenant relationship with God. The word of God brings man into divine communion and fruitfulness through the Spirit of God he shares through the internalisation of the word. We have understood the Son of Man as our covenant with the Father. In him, our human nature received the full expression of God’s will for us through the Incarnation of the Word of God.

The Gospel from Saint Luke gives us a glimpse of the communion between the Eternal Word and man in Jesus Christ, who was full of good works because he is the covenant of God and man. In the man Jesus Christ, God has spoken to us through his Son and in our nature in a way that each of us would understand and be able to apply his will in our lives. Because the word of God is Spirit and life, the implication is that everyone would have a share in the Spirit of God by having a good understanding of the word and will of God. Our Lord announced this unique presence of the Holy Spirit amid the people when he came to Nazara, where he grew up. “The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.” His dwelling among us brings the prophecy of the new covenant to fulfilment.

Saint Paul tells us of the covenant communion that follows from our listening to Jesus Christ and believing in the Gospel he preached to us. The Holy Spirit God gave to him because he is the Incarnation of the Eternal Word, comes upon us as we believe in his words and live them out. The Spirit draws us to share in his life and the charisms he received from the Father through the Holy Spirit. The first good work the Father wants us to do is to believe in the Incarnation of the Son, and his Spirit will incorporate us into the good works of the Son, who pleases the Father in all things. Saint Paul speaks of the different works of the Spirit in each of us, bringing us to constitute the body of Jesus Christ. “Now you together are Christ’s body, but each of you is a different part of it. In the Church, God has given the first place to apostles, the second to prophets, the third to teachers; after them, miracles, and after them the gift of healing; helpers, good leaders, those with many languages.” All these gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the service of the body of Jesus Christ. We must use these gifts to do the will of God and bring people into the covenant relationship with Jesus Christ.

Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, direct our actions according to your good pleasure, that in the name of your beloved Son we may abound in good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.