3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C, Year II)
Community Word: The light and glory of God is revealed in Jesus, our Savior.
Theme: Jesus, our Savior, is revealed when we are one spirit in doing God’s work.
Promise: “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; …giving wisdom to the simple.” (Ps 19:8)
Reflection:
From the readings of the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Times, we are shown two aspects of being disciples of our Lord, Jesus Christ. One, that Christ’s disciples are part of a community of believers, and two, that as disciples, we should live God’s word in our lives by our expression and deeds. Putting these two together will surely help us understand that Jesus is the head of the Body, and that He is the Word of God incarnate, who empowers us to be pro-active members of our community. As members of the body of Christ, therefore, we can be one in spirit in doing the work for God’s kingdom.
In our BLD community, we are spiritually fed by the word of God. In fact, we are given the theme and promise for each week and reflection questions to guide us in our word sharing activities. The purpose is to make God’s word as clear as possible to everyone so that we, as individual members, may learn from it, to be actual doers not merely hearers of His word. To encourage the people molded by God’s word to celebrate, Nehemiah and the elders declared in the first reading, “….today is holy to our Lord. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength!” (Neh 8: 10b). God’s word refreshes the soul, produces wisdom, brings enlightenment and joy, and leads us to peace and salvation. Thus, we too can declare, “Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life,” for His word is truly perfect, trustworthy, right, clear and pure.
The gospel of Luke was written in an orderly sequence to give an accurate account of Jesus’ life and ministry work, to witness to the truth that all things prophesied about the Messiah was fulfilled in Jesus Himself, and those who hear it and believe would be saved. Luke wrote that Jesus found and read the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor….to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” (Lk 1: 18-19).
This was the mission of Jesus which He eventually handed to His apostles and to all witnesses of the Lord. Having been baptized in the Spirit in our LSS renewal, Jesus invites us to share in His ministry as He anointed us to “proclaim liberty to the captives, give sight to the blind, free the oppressed.” This is our calling as part of the body of Christ regardless of our status in community, whether one is a member, teacher, or leader. We all have the ability to love others unconditionally, to free a brother of loneliness and despair, to lift someone from oppression in body, mind and spirit, to share God’s promises for healing, safety and protection, and embrace every one for the glory and praise of our God. We are empowered by the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit as Christ’s followers and therefore, we can share God’s word and minister to everyone in need.
Therefore, as faithful Christians, let us be mindful to walk in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus, to actively participate in all good works and use our time, talent and treasure in our mission to help the last, the least and the lost. As we seek to focus our eyes on the Word and be united with Christ, His promise will surely be fulfilled, because “The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul; …giving wisdom to the simple,” (Ps 19:8).
Prayer:
Thank you Father for being our source of unity and Truth. Through Your Holy Spirit, empower us to be active parts of the body of Christ to fulfill our mission of sharing the Good News, most especially to those who need it. Forgive us when we fail to be authentic members, for the times when we were unfaithful to Your word and not using our God-given gifts to up-build Your Body. Help us to always grow in our understanding and appreciation of Your word, to put it into action as we unite ourselves with Jesus, the Word Incarnate, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- In what way can I use the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit in my life to up-build others?
- How can I serve members of my community in their needs especially during this time of the pandemic, in terms of giving them my time, talent or resource?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
January 23, 2022 (Sun) – Neh 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10/ Ps 19:8, 9, 15/ 1 Cor 12:12-30/ Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21
January 24, 2022 (Mon) – 2 Sm 5:1-7/ Ps 89:20, 21-22, 25-26/ Mk 3:22-30
January 25, 2022 (Tue) – Acts 22:3-16/ Ps 117:1, 2/ Mk 16:15-18
January 26, 2022 (Wed) – 2 Tm 1:1-8/ Ps 96:1-2, 2-3, 7-8,10/ Mk 10:1-9
January 27, 2022 (Thu) – 2 Sm 7:18-19, 24-29/ Ps 132:1-2, 3-5, 11, 12, 13-14/ Mk 4:21-25
January 28, 2022 (Fri) – 2 Sm 11:1-4, 5-10,13-17/ Ps 51:3-4, 5-6, 6-7,10-11/ Mk 4:26-34
January 29, 2022 (Sat) – 2 Sm 12:1-7, 10-17/ Ps 51:12-13, 14-15, 16-17/ Mk 4:35-41
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
