"The spirit of the Lord is upon me."

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊  

Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10

 Ezra brought the Law before the assembly,

Both men and women and all the children who could understand what was being read. It was the first day of the seventh month.   Ezra read the book before all of them from early morning until midday in the square facing the Water Gate; and all who heard were attentive to the Book of the Law.

 Ezra, the teacher of the Law, stood on a wooden platform built for that occasion and to his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and to his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hasbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.

 Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was in a higher place; and when he opened it, all the people stood.   Ezra blessed Yahweh, the great God; and all the people lifted up their hands and answered, “Amen! Amen!” And they bowed their heads to the ground.

 They read from the Book of the Law of God, clarifying and interpreting the meaning, so that everyone might understand what they were hearing.

Then Ezra, the teacher of the Law, said to the people, “This day is dedicated to Yahweh, your God, so do not be sad or weep.” He said this because all wept when they heard the reading of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go and eat rich foods, drink sweet wine and share with him who has nothing prepared.

This day is dedicated to the Lord, so do not be sad. The joy of Yahweh is our strength.”

 

Ps 19:8-9, 10, 15

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

 

   ＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

1Corinthians 12:12-30

 As the body is one, having many members, and all the members, while being many, form one body, so it is with Christ.   All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have been baptized in one Spirit to form one body and all of us have been given to drink from the one Spirit.

 The body has not just one member, but many.   If the foot should say, “I do not belong to the body for I am not a hand,” it would be wrong: it is part of the body!   Even though the ear says, “I do not belong to the body for I am not an eye,” it is part of the body.   If all the body were eye, how would we hear? And if all the body were ear, how would we smell?

 God has arranged all the members, placing each part of the body as he pleased.   If all were the same part where would the body be?   But there are many members and one body.   The eye cannot tell the hand, “I do not need you,” nor the head tell the feet, “I do not need you.”

Still more, the parts of our body that we most need are those that seem to be the weakest;  the parts that we consider lower are treated with much care,   and we cover them with more modesty because they are less presentable, whereas the others do not need such attention.

  God himself arranged the body in this way, giving more honor to those parts that need it, so that the body may not be divided, but rather each member may care for the others.   When one suffers, all of them suffer, and when one receives honor, all rejoice together.

 Now, you are the body of Christ and each of you individually is a member of it.   So God has appointed us in the Church. First apos­tles, second prophets, third teachers. Then come miracles, then the gift of healing, material help, administration in the Church and the gift of ton­gues.

 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Can all perform miracles, or cure the sick, or speak in tongues, or explain what was said in ton­gues?   

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

 Several people have set themselves to relate the events that have taken place among us,   as they were told by the first witnesses who later became ministers of the Word.   After I myself had carefully gone over the whole story from the beginning, it seemed right for me to give you, Theophilus, an orderly account,   so that your Excellency may know the truth of all you have been taught.

 Jesus acted with the power of the Spirit, and on his return to Galilee the news about him spread throughout all that territory.    He began teaching in the synagogues of the Jews and everyone praised him.

 When Jesus came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath as he usually did.   He stood up to read and they handed him the book of the prophet Isaiah.

Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written:   “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and new sight to the blind; to free the oppressed   and announce the Lord’s year of mercy.”

Jesus then rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down, while the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.   Then he said to them, “Today these prophetic words come true even as you listen.”

 

The “is-ness”of the Kingdom

Read:

Ezra proclaims the Law before the entire people, so that they understand, accept, and fulfil the Law in the days to come. But Jesus stands up and proclaims that even as they listen, at that very moment, the prophetic words are being realized. We have all been made integral members of the Body of Christ.

Reflect:

In Christ, the Law has taken flesh and lived among us. The Kingdom of God is not a distant reality yet to happen. It already is, right among us. “The time has come” (Mark 1:15),

Announces Jesus. The Spirit of the Lord is here; not will be here. The Lord is (and not will be) my light and salvation as we have responded to the Responsorial Psalm. So is the good news, liberty, new sight, freedom, and mercy: They are all realities like the air we breathe.

It surrounds us. we only need to inhale it in. once we do so as a community, the “Body of Christ” becomes a lived experience. 「For Jesus ending the reading at “mercy,”see the reflection on January6.」

Pray:

Pray for the Church and her mission for the people on the margins.

Act:

Write out a Mission Statement (at the service of the Kingdom) for yourself.