Franciscan Friar Fr. Paul Gallagher reflects on the Gospel readings for the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time. Have you ever tried to share your belief in Jesus with another? Where did you begin?
The content is edited by Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Anne Marie Lom and Joe Thiel. The excerpts from the Sunday readings are prepared by Joe Thiel. To read or download the complete pdf with excerpts for your prayer, please click here: Franciscan Gospel Reflection January 26 2025. Excerpts are from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Photo: Permission is granted from Diocese of Madison.
Luke 1:1-4, & 4:14-21
Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it 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 captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Background:
The first verses of Luke’s Gospel acknowledge that other accounts of Jesus’ ministry have been written, and what Luke intends to accomplish by writing his Gospel. He is going to write an orderly narrative, a historical work, at least as he understands it in his day. He also says that he is going back to what has been handed down through the eyewitnesses and the ministers of the Word. He does not include himself in either of these two groups, indicating that he himself is not a witness to the events he is recording. His Gospel has been written for an individual, Theophilus. Therefore, Luke’s first intention in writing may not be for it to be used by the Christian community as they gather for prayer and/or to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Its purpose is to reassure Theophilus that what has been taught about Jesus is accurate and reliable. Luke may also be aware that Theophilus may share his Gospel with other Christians at these events.
After the introduction, the text moves to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in Luke’s account. Luke summarizes Jesus’ Galilean ministry and states that Jesus then returned to his home in Nazareth and went to the synagogue to join his family and neighbors as he had done through his early life. It is likely that the lesson for the day had been selected, but Jesus unrolled the scroll to the section from Isaiah that he desired. Jesus’ teaching makes the bold proclamation that today in Nazareth in this synagogue this passage from Isaiah is being fulfilled. The passage that Jesus reads and proclaims is saying that the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed will be finding deliverance.
Luke’s Gospel will present a Jesus who is present to those in his society who were forgotten and overlooked by the religious leaders of the day. They are a people who are also living under the oppression of Roman rule. Most experience a daily struggle for survival.
Throughout Luke’s Gospel there is a sense that Jesus is acting under the power of the Spirit of God. That is evident in how Jesus has returned to Nazareth and reads from The Prophet and teaches in his hometown.
Reflection Questions:
- Have you ever tried to share your belief in Jesus with another? Where did you begin?
- What strikes you in Luke’s intention in writing a Gospel? What feelings arise within you as you hear Luke’s stated purpose?
- How are you and the Christian community better off because of Luke’s effort to write a Gospel?
- What does the fact that Luke took the time to write his Gospel even though others existed say to you?
- Imagine that you are among those gathered that day in Jesus’ hometown synagogue. What are some of the things you would be thinking and feeling as you hear Jesus read from Isaiah?
- Jesus deliberately found and read a portion of the prophet Isaiah that says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor…”
- What goes through you as you hear Jesus read this passage from Isaiah?
- Has God anointed you? For what? Have you ever asked God why he has anointed you?Can you talk with God about whatever thoughts or feelings have arisen within you from reading this Gospel text?