Thoughts on Sunday’s Lessons for Jan. 23, 2022 (Epiphany 3C)

First Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

Torah – The body of God’s teaching, so holy and beloved that it is understood as law – informs our Sunday readings.

Christ in the Synagogue at Nazareth (1658), oil painting on canvas by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (1621-1674). National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. (Click image to enlarge.)

We begin with a reading from the minor prophet Nehemiah, who tells of the scribe Ezra reading the Torah to the people of Jerusalem, now settled back at home after the exile and regaining familiarity with the written tradition. It is clearly a holy moment when Ezra opens the Torah scroll and spends the entire morning reading and interpreting the text. The people, understanding the text perhaps for the first time, weep with joy at the revelation.

Psalm: Psalm 19

Today’s Psalm sings the praises of Torah, not as harsh legislation but nurturing teaching that inspires us. A hymn of worship and praise, this Psalm first celebrates God’s glory and creation, then rejoices in the Torah. God’s teaching revives our souls, turns our innocence into wisdom, makes our hearts leap up and our eyes sparkle, the Psalmist sings. We gain enlightenment from God’s teaching; in following its precepts there is great reward.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Last Sunday, in the verses just before these, we heard Paul declare that each member of the church receives different spiritual gifts. Now Paul continues this theme with a striking metaphor: He likens the church to Christ’s body in the world. Every member of the church – like every bodily part – plays a different but important role. The foot, the ear, the hand, the eye: Each has its job, each is critical to the body’s operation, and all are important. Just as this is true for the body, Paul says, so it is for the church.

Gospel: Luke 4:14-21

Returning home from his baptism in the Jordan and his time in the desert, Jesus begins his public ministry according to Luke in the synagogue in his childhood home in Nazareth. Unrolling the Torah scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, Jesus reads verses that will define his mission, ideas that echo his mother’s song and God’s covenant with the people at Sinai. This scripture is fulfilled in him, he declares. He claims as his own the duty to bring good news to the poor and the oppressed and to declare the year of Jubilee in which slaves are freed and debts are forgiven.