FULFILLMENT OF THE SCRIPTURES IN JESUS: POWER OF GOD'S WORD

"TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING."

Today is the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, the longest period in the Liturgical Year. Last Sunday we admired the pre-adolescent Jesus as the youngest “teacher of Israel,” shining among the renowned teachers in the Temple.

Today we see him as the fulfillment of God’s promises as recorded in the Holy Book. The content of God’s Word offers us guidance and encouragement today, no less than it did in the history of the people of Israel. Its vital message is ever relevant.

As we are about to start this Eucharist, let us open our hearts to receive God’s Word and make it the guiding light of our lives.


Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I, too, have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me 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.”

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

WE LOVE JESUS IN THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH OF TODAY

"DID YOU NOT KNOW THAT
I MUST BE IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE?"

Today we celebrate the feast of the Sto. Niño, the yearly celebration that is so dear to the hearts of all Filipino Catholics. This observance brings us back to the beginning of the Christianization of our land but also enables us to see the relevance of this devotion to our lives today.

In a special manner, it forces us to focus on our children and youth, with all the problems they pose and the hopes they raise.

Today, and especially the Eucharistic celebration we are about to start, are renewed opportunities for us to entrust our “niños” to the protection and guidance of the Holy Child. He, who is so much a part of our history and our lives, will surely take care of our children and will teach us how to do likewise.

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.

Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.

After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.

When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them.

He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

GROWING WISER UNDER GOD'S CARE

The news must have spread like fire in a forest of pine trees: there was in the Temple a wonder boy who kept amazing the teachers of the Law not only with his answers, but also with his questions.

The audience of “experts” had been increasing steadily. By the third day, it had swollen to a sizable crowd of Scripture scholars all wondering at what the boy from Nazareth was saying and the questions he was asking.

No doubt, the child knew the Scriptures in all their details and nuances. He knew more than the text said. He knew its “message,” the “substance” of it all. His words were deep insights into events and statements, presented with mastery and authority. And he was just a child of twelve, coming from a remote village in the countryside! The great teachers just did not know what to make of it.

But Jesus was not just a “wonder boy.” He was, above all, a “wonder-faithful,” and an exemplary one at that. Having gone to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph for the Passover pilgrimage and the fulfillment of all other duties connected with that feast, He showed that he appreciated and was actively involved in keeping the religious traditions and observances of his people, just as He was at home with the Scriptures. He had been taught to value those traditions, and felt that they were part of His life.

One often wonders whether our children and our youth could not be more like him as He progressed in knowledge and maturity with the passing of the years. Jesus had grown in His appreciation of the precious traditions of his people. He knew them thoroughly, and lived them out with the enthusiasm that characterizes this age. This is what our children and pre-adolescents would need to have and which many do not have.

Most of our youths are bright. Some are exceptionally bright. They are very familiar with the names and characteristics of movie and TV personalities, sports champions, war heroes. Yet, when it comes to religious knowledge, many hardly go beyond the level of their babyhood. When it comes to our religious traditions, they show coldness and boredom. When it comes to taking some commitment in their parish or religious association, they become overcautious and unreliable.

The feast of the Sto. Niño should offer them an opportunity to reflect on why things are so. Many parents and educators, likewise, should ask themselves at what point they went wrong and how the situation can be remedied in order to see our youth “progress steadily in wisdom and grace, before God and men” (Lk 2:52), as Jesus did.

GOD IS CLOSE TO THE BROKEN-HEARTED

"FOR THIS PURPOSE HAVE I COME."

On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her, and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to Jesus all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” So He went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

In a world full of suffering and illnesses, Jesus was the most powerful and welcome "Total Healer". His presence brought hope and salvation to all the afflicted even as it meant defeat for the Evil One.

This "Healing Journey" which began on the trail of the proclamation of the Gospel two thousand years ago, continues today in the whole world. Christ the compassionate Healer, continues His mission through the Church and all the people of goodwill who care for the sick and the afflicted. Whenever human beings do their best to relieve the pains of their neighbor, Christ is present and active in them as instruments of His healing love.

HOW THE PROPHETS AND OTHER SACRED AUTHORS
COMMUNICATED GOD'S MESSAGES

Just as God communicated His messages in a variety of ways, so did the prophets and other sacred authors relay the Lord’s messages in different forms. Most of the prophets communicated God’s messages by word of mouth.

Some, like Ezekiel, even acted out the message they were sent to convey. Some of the sacred authors put their prophecy or reflections in writing. In most cases, the Biblical texts that we have now are the fruit of collections and editings of previous oral traditions and written materials.

Each of these written works bears the special traits of the personality, education, and communication skills of its authors and editors. These writings were also influenced by the cultural and historical environment in which their authors/editors lived, as well as by the concrete situations in which they and/or their audiences found themselves.

This is one of the reasons why the written Word of God, or “Sacred Scripture,” includes a great variety of literary styles and genres. We have narratives, poetry, fiction, dramas, historical accounts, prophecies, etc.

This is mainly why the contents of the Sacred Scriptures are called “THE WORD OF GOD in the WORDS OF MEN.” This also explains why, in some cases, it took the believing community some time to accept certain writings as part of the body of literary production considered to have been written under God’s inspiration.

HOW THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL
RESPONDED TO GOD'S MESSAGES

Varied, likewise, were the ways in which the recipients of the prophets’ messages reacted. Ideally, all the divine messages conveyed by the prophets and other sacred authors should have been received in a spirit of faith and acted upon promptly.

In reality, however, many times their words were ignored or considered as being simply human words with no special divine authority. In the case of the prophets, sometimes they were openly rejected and even persecuted. Some of them were even put to death. This form of rejection happened especially when the prophets condemned abuses or exposed the unfaithfulness of individuals, or of sectors of society or of the entire people and its leaders.

At other times, instead, their calls to conversion were heeded, and the people concerned changed their behavior. Consequently, the Lord did not carry out the threatened punishment. In other cases, the messages of the prophets offered consolation in times of affliction and hope in times of persecution and oppression. That is why the people of Israel continued to look forward with undying hope to the coming of the Messiah.

HOW ISRAEL TREASURED GOD'S MESSAGES
THROUGH THE CENTURIES

In most cases, the prophetic messages, the reflection of the sages, and the poems were written down and/or edited by individuals or groups who lived after the death of the prophets/sages/poets and who wanted to preserve their teachings for the generations to come.

All this work of proclaiming God’s message by word of mouth, writing, collating, editing, and occasionally adapting it to new contexts, took place under the inspiration and guidance of the HOLY SPIRIT. With His active intervention on all those involved in every stage of this vital work, the Spirit ensured the authenticity of the messages and the preservation of the vital truths they were meant to convey.

In this way, over the centuries, a body of sacred writings or “HOLY SCRIPTURES” came into existence. These revered written documents were classified under three major categories: the LAW, the PROPHETS, and the WRITINGS. The people of Israel treasured their Scriptures immensely and handed them on from one generation to the next because they were believed to contain God’s word.

They were read in public assemblies and liturgical celebrations, and were taught to children and youths in their homes and schools.


Euchalette, 8 February 2009
WORD AND LIFE PUBLICATIONS
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