Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 1, 1-4. 4, 14-21
When you hear the words “Good News”, what first comes to your mind? Maybe for some, good news is winning the lotto. Maybe for others good news is your girlfriend accepting your proposal to get married. Maybe for some, good news is about reconciling with your son or daughter who you haven’t seen eye to eye in ages. Definitely good news is something about GOOD!
The beginning of the gospel according to Luke is all about the Good News that Jesus has brought to this world. Luke started his gospel saying that his writing is an attempt to write down in an orderly sequence the teachings of Jesus Christ. And he addressed this to a certain guy named “Theophilus”. We may never know who Theophilus was, (the name is Greek for “Lover of God”), but what we have is an excellent account of the life of Jesus Christ.
Like what Luke said in the beginning of his gospel, there have been many who have undertaken to compile a narrative of the life of Jesus Christ. What has been handed on to us in the Canon of the Bible are four: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Mark being the earliest gospel to be written among the four, followed by Matthew, Luke and John, which was written near the end of the first century or about 60-70 years after the resurrection of Jesus. Of course, there are many other gospels that have been written like the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Peter, the Protoevangelium of James, the controversial Gospel of Judas and many others. However, these writings have been dismissed and the only ones that were found “inspired” are the four that we have today.
The second part of the gospel for today is about an event in Jesus’ life that would signal the start of his ministry. Every adult male Jew could publicly read the Jewish scriptures in the synagogue. So, Jesus as part of this custom, stood up to read a scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He read the part that 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 the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Then after reading that he said, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”.
What a beautiful and yet confronting scene it must have been in that synagogue. Jesus, called to bring good tidings to everyone who would hear him. When Jesus was reading this part of scripture, I could just imagine him reading with such authority that the “eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.” And Jesus was not afraid to make this bold declaration. He is effectively saying that his work of salvation has now begun.
So for us, this brings us to the question: What is the Good News that Jesus has brought for us? Are we looking for heavenly things as the good news that Jesus has brought us? Are we thankful of this opportunity of our sins being forgiven, therefore, heaven is now available for all who believe in Jesus? Are we looking forward to his teachings of love, forgiveness, truth and justice for all of us? Do we believe that his message is a force of good in this world so that we can all live in harmony as brothers and sisters? Do we believe that his teaching will give us hope to work for justice to the oppressed, healing for those who are wounded and liberty for those who are slave to poverty and sin?
The good news that Jesus has brought to us has changed the world as we know it. Even people who do not believe in Jesus as the Son of God have recognised his contribution to make this world a better place. As we start this journey in Ordinary Time, let this time be not just ordinary but an extra-ordinary voyage to all the miracles, healing and teachings of Jesus Christ so that our lives will truly be “Good News” not only to ourselves but also to others as well.
Today, we also celebrate Australia Day. Let this day be a day of reflection and thanksgiving to God for all the blessings that he has given to our country. We also pray that we may be able to, with the grace of God, overcome all the challenges that we’re facing and recognise all the graces that we have received in this “lucky country”.