THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY
(Nehemiah 82-4.5-6.8-10; I Corinthians 12:12-30; Luke
1:1-4.4:14-21)
Forty years ago Walter Cronkite was perhaps
the most credible person in America. Mr. Cronkite reported the news on TV every
day. His serious yet kind manner won the trust of most of the people. He was so
respectable that we felt like we had a friend in our homes. We have a similar
feeling of the speaker in the gospel today.
We call the author of the gospel “Saint
Luke”, but he does not leave us his name in writing. Not so with the recipient
of the work. He is called “Theophilus”. Theophilus may be a particular man.
However, he can also be all the readers of the gospel. For in Greek Theophilus
means "lover of God". Don't we all love God? Although brief, this
introduction to the gospel reveals much more than this.
It says that "many have undertaken to
complete a narrative" about Jesus Christ. As far as we can discern, of the
three other official gospels Luke only knew of the Gospel according to Saint
Mark. Then the other stories of Jesus that Luke refers to here were lost over
the years. There is no need to mourn the loss. Perhaps they were like the erroneous
gospels of the following centuries. Twenty years ago another Jesus story gained
fame. The Da Vinci Code caused great disturbance among the faithful. But
because it did not correspond to the four official gospels of the Church, it is
now just a bad memory.
Luke writes of his own intentions for his gospel.
He has researched the stories of Jesus meticulously. He now wants to leave a
correct and orderly testimony of Jesus’ life. The insufficiency of other
accounts can be seen even in the Gospel according to Saint Mark. Saint Mark
says nothing about the birth of Jesus and little about his resurrection. Luke's
work has its literary flaws. But it is better structured and has much more
material than Mark.
The second part of today's reading presents
us with Luke's perspective on Jesus. For him Jesus is the champion of the poor.
Jesus says in his first gospel speech that he has come to bring relief to the
poor and needy. Jesus certainly has beggars and laborers in mind. But he
doesn't want to leave the professionals and the rich out of his mission. All of
us have to recognize ourselves as poor and needy. We may own a car, but we lack
humility. We may have a Ph.D. but lack love of neighbor.
In the second reading, St. Paul shows how we
need one another to be the Church. It is like that in any social group. In the Church
we need committed religious and laity as well as bishops, priests and deacons.
In industry we need managers, workers, accountants, and salespersons. In the
family we need the contribution of each member. Some think that the child with
Down syndrome is not useful at all. How do we need them? Families with a child
with the syndrome always say that he or she is a source of love and cohesion. We need them to show us how to love.
If we were to ask ourselves our favorite
gospel, we would no doubt respond in a variety of ways. Some would say the
Gospel according to Saint John because it has the discourse of the Bread of
Life. Others would answer the Gospel according to Saint Matthew for the
teachings of Jesus on the Church. But most would say the Gospel according to
Saint Luke for different reasons. It tells us about the birth of Jesus in a
manger as a poor person. It relates to us the most about the Virgin Mary. And it
presents us with the most affectionate parables of Jesus because we are lovers
of him.
