The third Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C presents to us a selection from the Gospel of Luke that brings together the cover letter to Theophilus and the beginning of Jesus' ministry in Nazareth. The sections between these two selected passages have been read during Advent, Christmas and the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. The section on the Temptation of Jesus in the Desert will be read in Lent. The Church offers these two selected passages on the third Sunday of Ordinary Time (C) in order to make us aware of three things:
- The written Gospel was not meant to replace the tradition of the apostles, but is rather a "memory aid" for this latter and a means for deepening the knowledge one has received from apostolic preaching. This is clear from the cover letter to Theophilus, especially where Luke highlights the relationship of what he writes to what has been received.
- In the opening narrative about Jesus' ministry, Luke relates Jesus' mission to Isaiah 61:1-2 thereby emphasizing that Jesus is indeed the Messiah who will bring in the good things that God reserves for his people. At the same time, the concepts in Isaiah 61:1 about the Anointed Messiah as used by Luke in his gospel serves as a narrative continuation of the "anointing" he received from the Holy Spirit when this descended upon him in the form of a dove after his baptism.
- Finally, the evangelist also underlines the concept of cancellation of debts, which in the spiritual order would mean the forgiveness of sins. This, Luke will present all throughout his gospel and anticipates in his account of Jesus' ministry in Nazareth.
Preface for Theophilus
Luke 1:1-4 is a cover letter to the Gospel Luke addressed to "Excellent Theophilus" about the author's intent in writing his narrative about "what have been fulfilled among us just as they were handed on to us". Theophilus is a historical figure, a convert who wants to learn about the faith he has embraced. If one compares this preface to the Gospel with that of Acts 1:1-2, one finds out that Theophilus is also the recipient of the narrative about the beginnings of the Church.
It is interesting to note that Luke alludes to other compilations about "the things which have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us". So Luke's period then was also a time when the traditions of the apostles have begun to be written down. Luke presents his own as a more accurate and orderly account so that Theophilus may know the truth of the words by which he has been "catechized". What follows these words then are meant to deepen the knowledge that Theophilus already received in catechism. The verb used here for "to be instructed" is the Greek origin of our word for "catechize", katecheo.
The Beginning of Jesus' Ministry
Luke 4:14-21 is the first part of a narrative about the beginning of Jesus' ministry in Nazareth, his hometown. We have compared this portion of Luke's gospel to that of Mark and we have shown that while in Mark, Jesus goes to Nazareth only after he has had success in the ministry elsewhere, Luke puts the event practically after Jesus' temptation in the desert. Luke's intention in doing so was to present the rejection at Nazareth as a summary of all the rejections that Jesus will be expriencing later on which will culminate in the rejection at Jerusalem. (See this article)
The account of Jesus' ministry in Nazareth can be outlined as follows:
- 4:14-15 A summary report of Jesus' ministry in Galilee
- 4:16-30 The ministry in Nazareth
- 4:16-21 Jesus reads and explains the reading from Isaiah
- 4:22-23 The mixed reaction of the audience
- 4:24-27 Jesus saying about the non-Israelites helped by Elijah
- 4:28-29 The violent reaction of the audience
- 4:30 Jesus escapes from their midst
We have discussed vv. 22-30 in another article. The account of Jesus' ministry is summarized in 14-15 with his return to Galilee "in the power of the Spirit." In Luke this is a summary introduction that covers all of what Jesus say's and does until the time he sets his face towards Jerusalem. Luke informs us that Jesus went into the synagogue "as was his custom". Jesus went to the synagogue regularly. This statement should dispel any idea that Jesus did not accept the religion of the Jews. He did. Luke informs us in his infancy narratives that Jesus was raised up by two devout parents.
Synagogue services were administered by laymen. Priests if they were present in a service was only asked to give the final blessing. When Jesus read the scroll of Isaiah and began to preach on it, he was doing something that was customary at the time. The text that Jesus read is from Isaiah 61:1-2 which is an oracle about the anointed who comes to proclaim "Year of the Lord's Favor" (Isaiah 61:2). It is to be noted that while Isaiah 61:2 puts in parallel "year of the Lord's favor" and "the day of vengeance of our God", Luke suppresses this latter. In the mind of Luke, "God vengeance" is out of the question for it is going to be a characteristic of the second coming of the Lord, when he definitively establishes his kingdom. The first coming is to for God's mercy.
The Year of the Lord's Favor
The "Year of the Lord's Favor" refers to the Jubilee year, an event which was designated to occur every fifty years from the time the Israelites occupy the holy land.
10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. (Lev. 25:10-11 and context)
This together with the Sabbatical year guarantees that all debts are cancelled and those who have been reduced to slavery return to their homes a freed man. In Isaiah 61, the legislation about the Jubilee year becomes an eschatological reality, one of the things that God reserves in the future for those who love Him. It will be a time of wholeness, of ended captivity and peace. When Jesus declares that the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 is already being realized as he speaks, he was saying that this future reality has become a present reality even as he speaks. But he was also saying that he is the Anointed who inaugurates the year.
