The fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C) highlights the prophetic office of the Christian. When we were baptized began to share in the three-fold office of Christ, the kingly, priestly and prophetic office. The prophetic office has to do with the way we witness to Christ: as Christ the Prophet gave expression to the inner life of the Father, so we too are to give expression by our life to the continuing presence of Christ in human history. The Church calls this "evangelization" -- the proclamation of the Good News, the constitutive element of which is Christ Himself, God's Amen to all human longings, the Father's "Yes" to all human quest for Truth and Happiness.
Read the relevant article here and use the following as your guide.
1. Christ, the Word Incarnate, is the one who gives Scriptures its meaning. In the Gospel of Luke, we find Jesus doing this in the gospel passage we are reading this Sunday, and in two other stories: the story of two disciples going to Emmaus and the post-resurrection victory meal he has with the disciples. Jesus gives meaning to the Scriptures within the assembly. In the gospel passage for today, we see him doing this in the synagogue at Nazareth. We also see him giving intelligence for the understanding of Scriptures to the disciples on the way to Emmaus and to the disciples gathered at the meal table. Jesus does the same thing today in the Sunday assembly of the faithful.
Reflect: When you go to Sunday Mass, do you pay attention to the whole liturgy and to what is proclaimed during the homily? Do you make an effort to remember the things that you see and hear in the liturgy and allow these to become part of knowledge you use for the decisions you make in life?
2. The account of Jesus' rejection in his own hometown is presented by Luke as the pattern of the way people will be rejecting Jesus. It is a rejection that will climax on the cross. Even this early in the gospel of Luke we are already given a preview of the death and resurrection of Christ.
Reflect: The Paschal mystery is our sharing in the death and resurrection of the Lord. We die to sin, writes Paul, so that we can be with Jesus in the power of His resurrection. How have you experienced the death of Christ in your own life as a Christian?
3. When we were baptized we began to share in the prophetic office of Christ. Because we are Christians, we are prophets. We carry out our prophetic office in the evangelizing mission of the Church.
Reflect: What "prophetic" activities do you carry out for your community of faith? How do you carry out the prophetic office in your home?
