By Fr Antony Christy, SDB –
January 23, 2022: Third Sunday in Ordinary time
Nehemiah 8:2-6,8-10; 1 Corinthians 12: 12-30; Luke 1:1-4,4:14-21
One of the most popular identities of the people of God is that of being the people of the Word! In fact, there is a famous term that is used in the semitic circles – the People of the Book: the Islamic tradition uses it for themselves and for Chrstians, some Jewish sects and Chrstian denominations use it to refer to themselves and some common sources use it to refer to the people of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All because, the faith tradition of these communities of persons has a strong link to their Holy Book. The Holy Book for them does not mean merely a printed book, but a living tradition.
For us Christians, the Holy Bible, the Scripture, the Holy Book is not merely a living tradition, but a living Person! Yes, we are not merely people of the Book, but we are People of the Word. Because in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. In and through the Word everything was created and there was nothing created that was not for the Word…such is our link with the Word. Infact our whole life is lived in the Word. The liturgy this Sunday invites us to reflect on this life in the Word.
Our Life in the Word, consists of three important phases in terms of our growth in faith. These three phases are essential to make ourselves, or grow into, true people of God or people of the Word. But before we look into those phases, we need to stay clear of an unnecessary confusion; that is, calling ourselves People of the Word, are we undermining the importance of the Sacramental life, the Social life and the Spiritual practices that form so much part of our Christian faith-living? No, it can never be the case, because being people of the Word, makes us people of the Sacraments through which we experience the closeness of the Word, people of Social commitment who see the Word in action in daily life and the people of the Spiritual Practices that authentically translate our love for the Word into daily and concrete actions. In fact the three phases we refer to, ensure this holistic picture of the People of the Word.
Phase One: Understand the Word
People of the Word, does not mean those who blindly get stuck to a written word, or those who fanatically prioritise a formula or a written phrase over anything and everything, merely because it is written. This written-oral tradition controversy has always been present in the history of human and religious crises. That is why Nehemiah today, uses the term “understanding” the Word repeatedly, while presenting the Word to the people.
The Word has to be understood; it has to be interpreted; it has to be made sense of in a living context, because as we said it is a Living Word and one cannot get stuck to an old sense made and deny anyother possibility of meaning and sense from it for life. Men and women, and children old enough to understand… that is what we read in the first reading. Listening to the Word is an art and we need to grow in it, men, women and chidlren of God. The Holy Spirit can give us the grace to grow in that competence which is so necessary for us to know what is right, what is valuable and what is God-willed for each of us, in our own life and experience. Apart from the assistance of the Holy Spirit each of us needs to grow more and more familiar with the Word and with the exercise of listening to the Word, in order to Understand the Word and what the Word expects from us here and now.
Phase Two: Unite in the Word
People of the Word means, people who are united in and through the Word. At times, ironically, the very written word, or the Scripture has been a bone of contention for very many Christian denominations, leave alone considering different religions. The Word makes us one people and gives us one mission; uniting us in identity and quality as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, disciples and apostles, persons and communities in fellowship and love.
St. Paul in the second reading today, outlines to us how the people of God are one body, united in the Head that is Christ, the Word that makes us one. Truly, people of the Word are those who keep looking for reasons to unite, come together, live together and spread the cause of the community. This unity does not come easily, because it is not based on uniformity. It is easier to unite in terms of uniformity…but what results will not be rich but a repetition of the same ‘n’ number of times. While the unity of the Holy Spirit is based on diversity, specificity, uniqueness of individuals, variety of gifts, diversity of capacities, the contribution of different individuals towards a common identity – that is truly Christian Unity. We are living through the Unity Octave these days (18th to 25th January)…and this is exactly what we are called to celebrate. The diversity that we have, should not divide us but unite us in our richness, making us before the world, people of the Word, who stand together united by the Word and the Spirit. This unity has to begin first of all from within every individual, avoiding any sentiments of competition or threat and looking at the other as a brother and sister in the Word. Secondly, it has to be reflected in every believing Community, which needs to stand together as one people of the Word without internal divisions and descriminations. Thirdly, it has to be presented as a witness to the world, in varied Christian communities coming together in mutual love and appreciation, promoting the common good of humanity, united by the Word.
Phase Three: Undertake the Challenge of the Word
People of the Word are those who are filled with the Word and who feel the impulse to go out and announce the Word, in the Spirit. God’s Word is the Spirit and life, it gives meaning to a Christian living, That is why St Paul once declared: woe to me if I did not proclaim the Goodnews! In fact the whole Christian life is all about announcing the Word… not so much as an activity, instead as the very style of living.
The two passages from Luke that are brought together into one, as the Gospel passage today, give us an incling into what is intended – that we announce to the world, as Luke wrote and announced, that our very call is to announce! Jesus realised it and that is why he declared it: God’s Spirit is in my heart and I am appointed to go and announce. We, as people of the Word, are challenged too, to realise our call to go and announce. To announce in our very lives, to announce in and through our way of thinking and reasoing, to announce in our priorities and policies, to announce through our decisions and options, to announce in our actions and attitudes, to announce in our relationships and interactions, to announce in the way we live in our personal lives and family ties, to announce in the way we build our communities of faith, to announce in the way we go out as individuals and communities towards the good of whole humanity… catering to the poor, the sick, the unfortunate, the needy, the oppressed, the victimised, the helpless and the suffering. Let this begin in each of our lives: each of us, in our way, undertaking the challenge that the Word presents to us in our daily lives.
We are a people of the Word and we need to make that known to the world, through our life in the Word.
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005, who has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (Specialisation in Catechetics). He is currently pursuing his doctoral research in Theology at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the Young towards a World of Peace and Dialogue is the passion that fires him.