3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time/Australia Day
Readings:
Nehemiah 8: 2-6,8-10
1 Corinthians 12: 12-30
Luke 1: 1-4, 4: 14-21
Reflection:
Globally, today is the third Sunday of Ordinary Time with Australian churches given the option of using the special set of readings for Australia Day. Liturgically, you may encounter either Jesus’ mission statement from chapter 4 of Luke’s gospel or the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew’s gospel. Both texts are very well known and occur early in their respective gospels, giving insight into the portrait of Jesus that will be given in that gospel. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus will minister and show compassion to all people, and in the gospel of Matthew, he will be presented as an authoritative teacher, the new Moses.
The gospels are similar in their sense of proclamation. They are the Word of God, Jesus engaging directly with those present- those in the synagogue in Nazareth or the crowd on the mountain. It’s easy to imagine yourself in either scene- perhaps shocked in the synagogue at the realisation that Jesus unrolls the scroll to where he wants to read rather than where the scroll was set for the day or wondering if you are among those blessed. Are you a peacemaker or pure of heart?
Strong in both texts is the sense of ‘now’. The kingdom of God is present when the blind sees, and the deaf hear; the Spirit of God is upon me at this moment and blessed are you who are present and hearing Jesus. There are no qualifying ‘whens’. It is real and right now. We hold the concept of the kingdom of heaven as a present reality and a ‘not yet’. May we live in ways that make it ever more present- proclaiming the Good News, freeing the oppressed, being merciful to others and working for peace.
Alison Gore is a parishioner at St Paul of the Cross, Glen Osmond. She works in education and formation.