"Hope is a gift and a task for every Christian. It is a gift because it is God who offers it to us. Hoping, in fact, is not a mere act of optimism, like when we sometimes hope to pass an exam at university…No, hoping is waiting for something that has already been given to us: salvation in God's eternal and infinite love. That love, that salvation that gives flavor to our lives and that constitutes the hinge on which the world remains standing, despite all the wickedness and nefariousness caused by our sins as men and women. To hope, then, is to welcome this gift that God offers us every day. To hope is to savor the wonder of being loved, sought, desired by a God who has not shut Himself away in His impenetrable heavens but has made Himself flesh and blood, history and days, to share our lot.”  Pope Francis

Without hope we have no reason to live. Without hope life is a drudgery. God gives us the gift of hope, the grace of hope, so that we would have something to keep our hearts rooted in as we seek to live a better life. Our hope is, as sons and daughters of God, if we continue to live in him and die in him, we will see and be with God eternally. That was the hope that impelled the thousands of missionaries to evangelize the world. It is the very hope and promise that motivated and strengthened the many men and women martyrs to remain faithful even to the point of death. This is the hope we need to keep alive in our hearts. His promises are true and will be fulfilled.

 Third Sunday Gospel C

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.

· Theophilus means “friend of God” We don’t know much about him, except that he is a convert to Christianity who has already received some instructions. Luke wants to elaborate on these teachings by placing the Gospel message in an orderly fashion.

· Luke will begin with the annunciation and birth of John the Baptism; the annunciation of birth of Jesus; Jesus’ presentation in the Temple after his circumcision; Jesus returning and remaining in the temple when he was twelve years old.

o He adds material that neither Matthew nor Mark has in their Gospel narratives.

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. 

· What is not stated in today’s reading is the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan by John the Baptist and the affirmation of the Father as well as the pouring of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus in his humanity. Following that pivotal moment in Jesus’ life there is the first confrontation with the Devil in the Temptation story. Luke’s narrative now continues.

· The role of the Spirit in Jesus’ personal life and public ministry is a strong emphasis in Luke’s Gospel. Luke wants to teach that Jesus in his humanity, anointed by the Spirit, was able to teach in a way that amazed the people. They knew that there was something different about Jesus and his ministry.

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. 

· Can you imagine the excitement in Nazareth when Jesus returns? Obviously, they had heard about what happened to him at the Jordan and what people were saying about his teachings.

· Jesus is a faithful adherent to the covenant, so he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, probably along with Mary, his mother.

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.  

· Luke sees this passage as a confirmation that Jesus was aware of what happened to him at the Jordan after he was baptized. The Spirit of God fell upon him and anointed him for the work he was called to do in proclaiming the message of the Kingdom of God.

· It was a custom that, if an important person came into the synagogue, to honor that person by asking them to do the reading and give a reflection.

· These signs—bring glad tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, etc—were signs foretold by Isaiah and other OT prophets of the coming of the Kingdom of God.

· Noticed that Jesus deliberately chose the reading from Isaiah, which he was very familiar with from his childhood upbringing.

· How aware are we of the Spirit and his gifts in our life? How open are we to allowing the Spirit lead us?

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.” 

· His interpretation was very brief and to the point. Isaiah was stating a sign of the coming of the Messiah in this passage. Jesus, without saying he was the Messiah, says today this passage is fulfilled in him.

· The reactions of the people moved from amazement, to question and finally anger and rejection. They remembered Jesus growing up in their small village. They could not accept him to be any other than what they remembered.

· This rejection by his neighbors and family members is the prelude to the rejections from others that Jesus will experience.

· What application can we make from this passage in our life?

  "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." St. Paul (Roms 15:13)

The source of the gift of hope is the Holy Spirit. But do we "abound in hope"? What does that mean? As Christians, our hope is in the promises of God to be fulfilled in his timing. While the hope of this world is dependent on others, who can fail us, the hope we have is dependent on the eternal fidelity of God, who never fails us. When we embrace the promises of God with total conviction and expectation, we are abounding in hope. For our hope is not in this life but in our eternal inheritance  in God. Pray for the grace to abound in hope so that you may persevere in hope to its fulfillment in Christ.

 "“Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring. Even so, uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting feelings, ranging from confident trust to apprehensiveness, from serenity to anxiety, from firm conviction to hesitation and doubt. Often we come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness." Pope Francis

Pope Francis calls us to always be pilgrims of hope. For our life is in Christ Jesus, the source of our hope. So often we can be like the Apostles, who seemed to lose hope after Jesus' crucifixion. They failed to remember his words to them that he would rise on the third day. Their lack of hope was evidenced in the two disciples leaving Jerusalem after the crucifixion.  They were downcast. Only after Jesus joined them on their journey and explained the scriptures to them and broke bread, did they recognized that it was the Lord. Their hope was restored. Sometimes we too allow the circumstances of our lives to dampen the flame of hope in our hearts. We too need to return to the Word of God and the promises of God. We too need to celebrated the Eucharist. It is in his Word and in his Gift that our hope will be restored.

 

“Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” St. John Paul II

 

Homily Second Sunday Year C

Reading 1:

It its initial application the prophet is telling the people in exile that God is about to restore them to a renewed relationship. He will do this to manifest his glory

 

It its main application the prophet reveals almost 700 years before it happens that he will send a Messiah to restore them and us from our captivity of sin. In spite of the infidelity of the people of Israel and our infidelity, God promises to protect and save us. He has not abandoned us nor will he ever do so. It is a message of hope and restoration.

 

He shows his glory by revealing his great love for us. He will give us a new name, his “delight” and his “espoused.” We will no longer be “forsaken” and “desolate”. He refers to himself as a “builder” because God desires to re-build and restore his initial relationship with us lost by the sin of Adam and Eve.

 

Reading 2:

Not only does God delight in us, but he also empowers us for ministry. He lavishly pours upon us, as he did upon Jesus after his baptism in the Jordan, the anointing gifts of the Holy Spirit. Like Jesus, he gives us all the gifts we need to do the work of God.

 

What is this work? To manifest that God loves us and delights in us. To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given. What should our response be? We are called to become aware of the Spirit’s lead and to act on that lead in the gifts and power of the Spirit so that the work of God may be accomplished. These gifts are to be used in a complete self-giving way. These gifts are given to build up the kingdom of God by ministering to others.

 

Unfortunately, these gifts of the Spirit remain dormant in us for many years until we stir them into flame, as Paul says, and use them for the purpose designed by God.

Gospel:

Jesus is aware that the Father delights in him as the Father affirmed this after Jesus’ baptism. Jesus is aware that the Father gave him a fresh outpouring of the gifts of the Spirit. Jesus, as a result, follows the lead of the Spirit. Jesus goes forth to manifest the glory of God and the love of God. He does this initially through the miracle of water becoming wine.

 

Mary’s intercession on behalf of the married couple confirmed for Jesus what the Spirit was saying within him. Underlying Jesus’ response to Mary was his conviction of doing this because the Father desired it.

 

He mentioned that his hour had not come. But he knows that by performing his miracle—first sign—he will be manifesting the glory of God in anticipation of the ultimate sign of the Father’s glory, his death and resurrection.

 

Mary was led by the Spirit. There is a cooperation of others in this miracle. The servants had to choose to follow the directions of Jesus, showing the human participation in the work of God. They had to provide the water and do what they were told, even if they did not understand.

 

We are the delight of the Lord by God’s choice not because of anything we have done. God pours out his Spirit upon us because of God’s choice. God will lead us to do the work of the Kingdom. It is our choice to be attentive to the lead of the Spirit and act on the word of God. Mary’s admonition to the servants prepared them to experience the miracle. We too are admonished to do whatever he tells us to do. But when we do, we too will see the glory of God revealed in and through us.

 It is you, Jesus, who reach out first. You said it so clearly, “You did not choose me; no, I chose you.” Your choosing us is your great act of trust. You trusted that in our sinful, broken and vulnerable heart lies the potential to reach out to your heart and say, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life and we believe; we have come to know that you are the holy one of God.” All that you hope for is our simple, trusting “yes.” Henri Nouwen

What an interesting thought! God trusts himself to us.  He trusts that his unconditional love for us will be received and be allowed to make a difference in our lives.  His trust in us involved the laying down of his life for us, giving his total self.  In light of his trust in us, our response of trust in God is so unequal. It is hard for us to totally surrender ourselves to God's  will for us. Unfortunately, our trust is often conditional. We can say, "Lord, I trust in you." But in difficult times do we live what we say. The greater my trust in the Lord is, the more fulfilled will I be.