The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to ponder the relationship between Law and the Spirit in our spiritual journey.
In the reading from the Prophet Nehemiah, Ezra Reads the Law.
* [8:1–18] Chronologically this belongs after Ezr 8:36. The gloss mentioning Nehemiah in Neh 8:9 was inserted in this Ezra section after the dislocation of several parts of Ezra-Nehemiah had occurred. There is no clear evidence of a simultaneous presence of Nehemiah and Ezra in Jerusalem; Neh 12:26, 36 are also scribal glosses. (Nehemiah, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 19 praises God’s Glory in Creation and the Law.
* [Psalm 19] The heavenly elements of the world, now beautifully arranged, bespeak the power and wisdom of their creator (Ps 19:2–7). The creator’s wisdom is available to human beings in the law (Ps 19:8–11), toward which the psalmist prays to be open (Ps 19:12–14). The themes of light and speech unify the poem. (Psalms, PSALM 19 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul proclaims One Body with Many Members.
* [12:12–26] The image of a body is introduced to explain Christ’s relationship with believers (1 Cor 12:12). 1 Cor 12:13 applies this model to the church: by baptism all, despite diversity of ethnic or social origins, are integrated into one organism. 1 Cor 12:14–26 then develop the need for diversity of function among the parts of a body without threat to its unity.
* [12:27–30] Paul now applies the image again to the church as a whole and its members (1 Cor 12:27). The lists in 1 Cor 12:28–30 spell out the parallelism by specifying the diversity of functions found in the church (cf. Rom 12:6–8; Eph 4:11).
* [12:28] First, apostles: apostleship was not mentioned in 1 Cor 12:8–10, nor is it at issue in these chapters, but Paul gives it pride of place in his listing. It is not just one gift among others but a prior and fuller gift that includes the others. They are all demonstrated in Paul’s apostolate, but he may have developed his theology of charisms by reflecting first of all on his own grace of apostleship (cf. 1 Cor 3:5–4:14; 9:1–27; 2 Cor 2:14–6:13; 10:1–13:30, esp. 1 Cor 11:23 and 12:12).
The Gospel of Luke describes the Beginning of the Galilean Ministry and the Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth
* [4:16–30] Luke has transposed to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry an incident from his Marcan source, which situated it near the end of the Galilean ministry (Mk 6:1–6a). In doing so, Luke turns the initial admiration (Lk 4:22) and subsequent rejection of Jesus (Lk 4:28–29) into a foreshadowing of the whole future ministry of Jesus. Moreover, the rejection of Jesus in his own hometown hints at the greater rejection of him by Israel (Acts 13:46).
* [4:16] According to his custom: Jesus’ practice of regularly attending synagogue is carried on by the early Christians’ practice of meeting in the temple (Acts 2:46; 3:1; 5:12).
* [4:18] The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me: see note on Lk 3:21–22. As this incident develops, Jesus is portrayed as a prophet whose ministry is compared to that of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. Prophetic anointings are known in first-century Palestinian Judaism from the Qumran literature that speaks of prophets as God’s anointed ones. To bring glad tidings to the poor: more than any other gospel writer Luke is concerned with Jesus’ attitude toward the economically and socially poor (see Lk 6:20, 24; 12:16–21; 14:12–14; 16:19–26; 19:8). At times, the poor in Luke’s gospel are associated with the downtrodden, the oppressed and afflicted, the forgotten and the neglected (Lk 4:18; 6:20–22; 7:22; 14:12–14), and it is they who accept Jesus’ message of salvation.
* [4:21] Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing: this sermon inaugurates the time of fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. Luke presents the ministry of Jesus as fulfilling Old Testament hopes and expectations (Lk 7:22); for Luke, even Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection are done in fulfillment of the scriptures (Lk 24:25–27, 44–46; Acts 3:18). (Luke, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB, n.d.)
Larry Hopp comments that in today’s Responsorial Psalm we are reminded again of the power of God’s Word as it “refreshes the soul”. His Words bring “Spirit and Life.” They provide “rejoicing to the heart,” “enlightenment”, a “fear of the Lord which is pure, enduring forever”. All of these reminders point us to God’s Holy Word, which is the ultimate source of the overflowing JOY we need to not only rejoice, but to effectively point others to our Lord and Savior.
Dear Heavenly Father, I so want every moment of my life to point to you. Help me to never forget that overflowing JOY is one of the most effective ways of pointing those around me to You. Forgive me when I become distracted from this goal, when I forget the power of your JOY and all that it can accomplish. Help me in my sanctification journey to spend more time in prayer and in your Word. In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen (Hopp, 2025)
Don Schwager quotes “Jesus fulfills the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 61,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"Now it was necessary that he should manifest himself to the Israelites and that the mystery of his incarnation should now shine forth to those who did not know him. Now that God the Father had anointed him to save the world, he very wisely orders this also [that his fame should now spread widely]. This favor he grants first to the people of Nazareth, because, humanly speaking, he had grown up among them. Having entered the synagogue, therefore, he takes the book to read. Having opened it, he selects a passage in the Prophets which declares the mystery concerning him. By these words he himself tells us very clearly by the voice of the prophet that he would both be made man and come to save the world. For we affirm that the Son was anointed in no other way than by having become like us according to the flesh and taking our nature. Being at once God and man, he both gives the Spirit to the creation in his divine nature and receives it from God the Father in his human nature. It is he who sanctifies the whole creation, both by shining forth from the Holy Father and by bestowing the Spirit. He himself pours forth his own Spirit on the powers above and on those who recognized his appearing." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 12) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 comments that the people listening to Jesus that day might have thought back to the time when their ancestors were released from Babylonian captivity, or perhaps they envisioned one day being freed from Roman oppression. But Jesus had something much greater in mind. He came to set us free from sin and death itself, and from everything that prevents us from living the abundant life he came to give us.
Today take some time to examine your heart. Is there anything holding you captive? If so, let it go by offering it up to the Lord. Then make an act of faith by telling Jesus that you believe his proclamation to the people of Nazareth. Through his death and resurrection, he really has let the oppressed go free—and that includes every one of us!
“Jesus, thank you for setting me free!” (Meditation on Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts for today.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, focuses on the Gospel of Mark to explore the significance of Jesus’ healing ministry. Jesus’ healing ministry reveals God’s solidarity with suffering.
We are all initially created in the image of God, and Jesus’ public ministry is always recreating and restoring that image. We could say that is all he is doing! Christians believe that we cannot know the mind of God until we see what God was doing in, through, and with Jesus. Transformed people, like Jesus, naturally transform others. In Jesus’ ministry of healing and exorcism, the transformations were immediately verifiable and visible. The real message here is not a medical cure or whether Jesus could do such a thing, but that (1) God cares about human pain, (2) God cares about it in this world now, (3) God’s action actually changes people, and (4) the people who have experienced God’s grace are equipped to pass on the real message. (Rohr, n.d.)
We implore the Spirit to nudge us to act on our Baptismal anointing as priest, prophet, and leader.
References
Hopp, L. (2025, January 26). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Retrieved January 26, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/012625.html
Luke, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/4
Meditation on Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved January 26, 2025, from https://wau.org/
Nehemiah, CHAPTER 8 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/nehemiah/8?2
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/12?12
Psalms, PSALM 19 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/19?8
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved January 26, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Jesus Returned in the Power of the Spirit. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved January 26, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jan26
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