Episode 30: And So It Begins

[00:00:05] Hello! My name is Sally Moriarty-Flask; welcome to From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible Study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, January 26, 2025, the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. This week's episode is entitled: And So It Begins, and in these readings we'll hear the beginning of Luke's Gospel and ask ourselves if we are just listening to a story or actually paying attention to Luke's message? [00:00:38] As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following: Sacred Scripture allows us to encounter Jesus by listening to the Gospel accounts written of him. But do we stop there? The next steps can be scary… we have to believe what we hear, live what we believe, and share that knowledge with others. So, are we willing to step out of our comfort zone and take those steps? [00:01:11] Let's begin in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the blessings of Sacred Scripture. Help us to listen with the ears of our hearts so that your words dwell deeply within us. Strengthen us to know, live, and gently share the great gifts of Scripture with those who have not yet come to know your goodness. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. [00:01:45] Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures. [00:01:50] Our Gospel this week is From Luke 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21. [00:01:59] “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theoph’ilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed. Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as was his custom, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” [00:03:38] On this Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, we hear from the Prologue of Luke's Gospel before we jump to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Luke's Prologue is lengthy, but by no means the longest of the four Evangelists - that honor goes to John. But Luke's Prologue does introduce us to a nebulous character by the name of Theophilus. Now, the name Theophilus, in Greek, means one whom God loves but that's all we're ever told of this person's identity. [00:04:14] Now, one theory about that is that Theophilus was a real person and may have been a wealthy, influential Roman official that Luke, himself, knew well. Luke left us a clue, or a potential clue, about that when he says MOST EXCELLENT THEOPHILUS. The title MOST EXCELLENT would have been used to refer to a person of honor or rank. So, perhaps, Theophilus was a real person with whom Luke was corresponding. Another theory is that the term Theophilus is intended to apply to any Christian who reads Luke's Gospel, either a contemporary of Luke or any future Christian, which, by the way, would include us. I think both theories are plausible, although I tend to lean toward the first option. John refers to himself again and again as the Beloved Disciple in his Gospel, with the specific intent of inviting his readers to become part of the narrative. Luke, however, only mentions Theophilus twice, once in the beginning of his Gospel and again at the beginning of Acts, which in my mind argues for the theory of Theophilus being a real person. [00:05:35] Regardless of the identity of Theophilus, however, we hear in the Prologue why Luke wrote his Gospel, and then we skip right to the account of Jesus' first act of teaching in his public ministry. And if you listen to my talk on the Liturgical Year, you'll remember that the purpose of the season of Ordinary Time is to grow in our knowledge and love of Jesus by understanding his life, his mission, and his love for us. So, with that in mind, let's dive into Luke's Gospel. “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us,” Meaning an account - an organized account - of real, actual events in the life of Jesus. And remember, Luke was not the first Gospel to be written! Mark's Gospel was the first, written about 60 AD. [00:06:35] Matthew would have been working on his Gospel at the same time Luke was working on his, since both date to about 85 AD. [00:06:44] Now, there is a theory called the Two Source Theory, which posits that there was another source available to both Matthew and Luke beside Mark, called Q or Quelle (that's spelled Q-U- E-L-L-E – but pronounced kell). [00:07:05] Most Scripture scholars believe that Matthew and Luke used Mark as a primary source for their writings, however, there is a significant amount of material in both Matthew and Luke that is not present in Mark. [00:07:20] That is where the Q source may come into play. It may have been a written source, it may have been oral tradition, we just don't know. But either way, if a Q source did exist, it has been lost to history. [00:07:37] So, the Two Source Theory is simply that… it's a theory. When Luke says MANY HAVE UNDERTAKEN TO COMPILE A NARRATIVE, that argues for me, however, that there were other sources available at the time, even if we no longer have them. But, clearly, Luke has other sources available to him because he says… “just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,” Meaning that Luke spent time with those who were with Jesus… individuals who saw and heard and experienced all the events that he will write about in his Gospel. “it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past,” [00:08:27] In other words, Luke's done his research! He has consulted all available sources - both written and oral, he has spoken to eyewitnesses, he has conducted a careful examination of all relevant and accessible evidence, so that he can… “write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theoph’ilus,” Again, by ORDERLY ACCOUNT, Luke means an historically accurate record filled with plenty of verifiable details. And why did Luke do all of this? [00:09:00] “that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.” [00:09:06] In other words, information about Jesus had been widely circulating and - after much time, effort, and research on Luke's part - he now feels confident in making an accurate report of events. Thus ends Luke's Prologue. [00:09:25] The Church, in assembling the Lectionary, decided here to skip over the Infancy Narrative and Luke's account of the Temptation of Jesus in the desert, because we hear those passages at other times. So, instead, we go straight to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in the region of Galilee, which is a fairly large geographical area that lies west of the Sea of Galilee between Lebanon to the north and Mount Tabor to the south. [00:09:53] I will include some photos from Nazareth on my Instagram this week so you can get a general idea of what the countryside looks like. I will also include some pictures of the town of Nazareth and the area of Galilee in general. [00:10:13] “Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning him went out through all the surrounding country.” [00:10:21] Again, we don't hear Luke's account of the Temptation here, but we are told that he RETURNED from the desert IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT. “And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.” Remember, I said the region of Galilee is a fairly large area of land… that would have meant a significant amount of travel and a large number of synagogues. But after all of that… “he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up;” [00:10:51] This was Jesus’ hometown! Everyone there would have known him. Everyone would have recognized him as the local kid who came back all grown up. “and he went to the synagogue, as was his custom, on the sabbath day.” [00:11:07] Think about this… this would have been the same synagogue in which he would have studied Scripture like every other young boy in the area. [00:11:15] And now, being a faithful adult Jewish male, Jesus would - of course - attend synagogue on the Sabbath. “And He stood up to read;” [00:11:29] Those simple words should grab our attention because they invite us to imagine what that would have looked like! Everyone would have turned toward him. All eyes in the synagogue would have been focused on him, waiting to see what he did next. Luke is purposely ratcheting up the drama here! [00:11:54] “and there was given him the book of the prophet Isaiah.” So, there are two things I want to mention here…. first is that Jesus wouldn't have been handed a book, he would have been handed a scroll. That is how the NAB translates it and that would have been more accurate. At the time, bound books would have been extremely rare and prohibitively expensive. Scrolls would have been much more common and affordable. The second thing I want to point out is that Jesus does not choose the scroll which is handed to him - Luke tells us IT WAS GIVEN TO HIM - but he does choose the passage to read! “He opened the book” Again, he didn't open a book - he unrolled a scroll! “and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’” [00:12:58] We are told that this is from the prophet Isaiah; it is, in fact, Isaiah 61. Now, we can pinpoint that thanks to the advent of chapter and verse notation but that also didn't exist at the time of Jesus; such notation didn't come into use until centuries later. But, regardless of how we refer to it, we are told exactly what words Jesus read… and we know that those words were written after the return of the exiles from Babylon. The end of the passage refers to a specific occurrence… an ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD… a year of the Lord's favor. Jesus' listeners would have recognized that as a Jubilee Year. The book of Leviticus explains what a Jubilee Year is, and that it takes place every 50 years. It served as sort of a cultural reset, if you will, when injustices that had crept into practice would have been set right. So, Jesus is laying a foundation here for his listeners… one they would have instantly recognized. [00:14:14] “And he closed the book,” Okay, rolled up the scroll “and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” [00:14:37] That would have been a dramatic bombshell announcement that Jesus dropped on his listeners! The Jews, present in the synagogue, would have recognized the passage Jesus read from Isaiah as one that describes the work of he who is to deliver the Jewish people - the Messiah. [00:15:00] And Jesus’ listeners would have been shocked into silence by his declaration: TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE HAS BEEN FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING. [00:15:11] Both Mark and Matthew record that Jesus taught in the synagogue in Nazareth but not what he taught. And they both place this particular event much later in Jesus' public ministry. Luke, however, places this at the beginning of Jesus's public ministry and describes what Jesus read, using it as a sort-of mission statement, if you will, for what is to come. We know that Jesus' message was rejected by his listeners - all three Synoptics tell us that. But what about us? [00:15:51] We've heard it, but did we listen? Do we believe? Because belief is the basis of everything else we do… and our belief in what we have learned from Jesus is what inspires us to share what we know about him with others! [00:16:13] That takes us to our First Reading which is from Nehemiah 8: 2-4a, 5-6, 8-10. [00:16:23] “Ezra the Priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden pulpit which they had made for the purpose. Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people; and when he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God; and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen,’ lifting up their hands; and they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. And they read from the book, from the law of God, clearly; and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. And Nehemi’ah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn and weep.’ For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’” [00:18:09] Because we skip from place to place to place, that reading seems a bit disjointed… and it is! But let me go through and help everybody understand that. So, Ezra was a priest and a scribe (or scholar of the law) who was instrumental in restoring Scripture and the proper form of religious observance to the people. [00:18:32] Nehemiah was appointed governor of Judah by the king of Persia and tasked with rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem. Okay, that introduces those two people. [00:18:42] The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are, together, the most important source we have about the restoration of the Jewish religious community after the return from the Babylonian exile. And in Jewish tradition, to this day, Ezra is credited with restoring the Mosaic Law and ensuring that the people remain faithful to God's Covenant. Of course, in order to be faithful to the Covenant, the people have to know and understand it. Well, the proclamation of the law is what we hear in today's passage. “Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly,” The law of God, transmitted to the people by Moses at Mount Sinai. “both men and women and all who could hear with understanding,” This is the first time we hear that phrase, but it will be repeated several times. It means anyone, regardless of gender, who was old enough and mature enough to understand what was being proclaimed. And then they mention a date… sort of… “on the first day of the seventh month.” [00:19:57] That date, the first day of the seventh month, is the date of the feast of Rosh Hashanah, or Jewish New Year, which is the first of the High Holy Days. Remember, Ezra wanted not only to restore the Law, but to ensure proper religious observance among the people. So, the date is as important as anything. [00:20:21] “And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate” [00:20:27] No, he's not talking about a hotel in Washington, D.C.! The Water Gate was a part of the Palace-Temple complex, not a gate in the city wall (in the wall of the city of Jerusalem). And it was called the Water Gate because it led to the Gihon Spring, which was the main source of water for the city of Jerusalem. [00:20:51] Now, I was unable to find any graphics, at least not that I had seen created, that show us where the Water Gate was in the temple that was being rebuilt at the time. The best I could find is a graphic of Herod's temple… but it does show the location of the Water Gate, and I will include that graphic on my Instagram this week just to give you an idea of where the people would have been gathered. And he read from it, facing the square, before the Water Gate… “from early morning until midday,” Remember, Ezra's purpose is to reacquaint the people with Mosaic Law and the only way to do that is to hear the Law proclaimed! “in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand;” Again, that same phrase. Everyone, regardless of gender, who could hear and understand. “and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.” In other words, they were actively listening. [00:21:54] “And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden pulpit which they had made for the purpose.” [00:22:00] That mention of a wooden pulpit hints at the very liturgical nature of Ezra's proclamation. “Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people; and when he opened it all the people stood.” [00:22:19] Any of us who are Catholic should picture immediately the ambo in every Church and the Proclamation of the Gospel when we all stand. That's what we should hear, and that's what we do hear! [00:22:38] “And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God; and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen,’ lifting up their hands; and they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.” [00:22:51] I don't know if you heard it, but when I read this - every time I read this passage - I hear the echo of Exodus 24, where Moses read the words of the Covenant aloud to the people, who responded: ALL THAT THE LORD HAS SAID, WE WILL HEAR AND DO. Ezra read the Law of Moses to the people gathered, and they responded: AMEN. And after all, what does amen mean, but: verily, truly, so be it… we will hear and do! That's why I always hear the echo of Exodus 24 in that. [00:23:26] “And they read from the book, from the law of God, clearly; and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” This is one of those places where the reading jumps and we kind of loose sense of what's going on. In this case, THEY refers to the Levites who were responsible for teaching the people the meaning of everything that Ezra had proclaimed to them. Hmm, should sound just a bit like a homily! [00:23:54] “And Nehem’iah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” Again, think of the day that this is taking place… Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year, the first of the Jewish High Holy Days. [00:24:19] The Covenant has been heard and understood by the people and they again know and understand their responsibility to be faithful to the Covenant. This is a moment the likes of which had not been experienced by the people since the giving of the original Law on Mount Sinai. [00:24:38] “For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.” This is recounted to us to show how moved the people were. The tears shed by the people that heard Ezra's proclamation serve as a reminder that the Law that was lost during the exile has now been restored! [00:25:00] “Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared;’” In other words, enjoy God's favor and his bounty in celebration of the restoration of Israel. And what kind of wine is mentioned here? Sweet wine, right? Like the Gospel, the advent of the Messiah, is heralded by sweet wine… the blessings of God being poured out in sweet wine. “for this day is holy to our LORD;” This is an occasion of profound grace when the Covenant is again understood and the people have declared their fidelity to it. [00:25:43] “and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” [00:25:49] Ezra is telling the people here to acknowledge God's strength and remember his mercy… it is those things that bring joy! All of this takes place amidst a joyous celebration for the people… the first time that they have gathered to hear God's law and share a festive meal since their return from exile. Hmm… again, anything seem a bit familiar there? [00:26:18] Hearing God's word, sharing a meal… does that, perhaps, remind you of the celebration of the Mass? [00:26:27] Think about it… we gather, we listen to God's word, we believe what we hear and acknowledge it with our own Amen, and - strengthened by Christ's Body and Blood - in a sacrificial meal, we go forth to live our faith, and share our knowledge with others! Hear, believe, live, share! [00:26:52] How about… hear, believe, live, share – repeat! Because we can pause along the way, we can devote more time to one aspect or another, we can circle back and revisit but we must always… always hear, believe, live, share and repeat! [00:27:15] Our Responsorial Psalm this week is Psalm 19, but the refrain is actually from John's Gospel. The refrain is: “Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.” And here are the verses: “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” [00:27:57] This is a Wisdom Psalm, although, as I mentioned before, the refrain is actually from John's Gospel. It's not totally unheard of for the refrain of a Psalm to be taken from a different part of Scripture, and this happens to be one of those cases. [00:28:13] This part of Psalm 19 that we hear is clearly praise for God's Law. So, you can see why this was paired with our First Reading. The Psalm reminds us that the Law is a treasure rather than a restriction, although we often hear the opposite viewpoint expressed so many times in our modern culture. But if we view God's Law not as restrictive but as liberating, it opens us up to live as the people God intends us to be… forgiving, generous, kind, and loving. And it keeps us from focusing on negative things… things that sap our energy but don't lead us in a positive direction. [00:29:03] That leads us to our Second Reading, which is again from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 12: 12-30. Now this is a fairly long reading. There is a shorter version available to parishes that may choose to use that this weekend. That shorter version is only 14 verses long, rather than the 19 verses of the complete text. I say this in case you encounter that shorter version at Mass this weekend, although I really hope you don't. This is a wonderful passage! [00:29:35] “[Brothers and Sisters:] As the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, ’Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single organ, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we invest with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak tongues? Do all interpret?” [00:32:21] Thus ends the 2nd of what should be 7 passages from 1 Corinthians and - as I explained last week - we'll only hear 6 this year because of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. This passage takes up precisely where last week's passage ended and Paul has changed his message slightly. He is now writing about people, regardless of whether or not they have received any of the Spiritual Gifts or what those gifts may be. Paul is trying to explain that every baptized person is an important part of the Church - which is the Mystical Body of Christ with Jesus as the Head. Paul does this by making comparisons with an actual human body… something everyone has and can therefore understand. So, let's listen to what Paul is saying… “[Brothers and Sisters:] As the body is one and has many members, and all members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” [00:33:33] By ONE BODY Paul, here, means the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ… and where we come from or who we are is immaterial… we are all made one through Baptism! “For the body does not consist of one member but many.” [00:33:56] This is the heart of Paul's metaphor - and what it really means is that the Church needs diversity among its members because diversity is not only good, it's healthy and it's necessary! But - at the same time - the Church needs to maintain unity amidst its diversity. And unity, here, does not mean uniformity. It means unity of purpose, of belief, of worship, of mission… but it does not mean standardization, nor does it mean absolute conformity, and never, ever does it mean eradication of individuality. [00:34:44] Paul then goes into a lengthy discourse about the necessity of diversity. His examples may seem farfetched or even a bit ridiculous at times, but they really do illustrate his point. He says… “If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single organ, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’ On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we invest with greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.” [00:36:23] When Paul talks about parts of the body being WEAKER, LESS HONORABLE, and LESS PRESENTABLE, yes, of course, certain things spring to mind immediately, as they should, as they are intended to. What we tend to lose sight of, though, is what he means by those in the greater sense. What his metaphor is referring to is the people that society often tends to look down on - those of lower social status, those who are physically weak or disabled, those who are less intelligent or less sophisticated, the poor, the mentally ill, the immigrant… groups of people that, if we are truly honest with ourselves, both as individuals and as the Church… we can still have difficulty accepting. [00:37:16] Paul follows all of that, though, with one sentence that should wipe out of everyone's mind any lingering intolerance! [00:37:26] “If one member suffers, all suffer together;” Let me read that again, because I don't think we can ever hear that enough! “If one member suffers, all suffer together;” Now, the flip side of that sentiment is… “if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” We tend to forget that one, too, because, let's face it, we are all subject to envy and resentment. But together, those two statements are a powerful reminder of how each one of us should act every single day! [00:38:04] “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” [00:38:14] No single member of the Body of Christ is completely independent from the rest. What affects one, affects all equally… or it should! That's what we're striving towards... that's what we should be trying to attain. Paul then goes on… [00:38:36] Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” The following section is where Paul brings this entire passage together. He says… “God has appointed” Not that we have appointed, but GOD HAS APPOINTED… “in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues.” And with that, he brings those two sections - last week's passage about Gifts and this week's passage about people - together. But he doesn't stop there! He then asks the following… “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?” [00:39:38] Well, of course, the answer to each of those questions is NO! [00:39:42] Just as the human body cannot function without diversity in its parts, so the Body of Christ can't be the Mystical Body without each distinct believer, whose place and function within the Body is dependent upon God. Let me say that again… The Body of Christ cannot be the Mystical Body without each distinct believer! And, just as we heard last week that if any gift of the Spirit is devalued, the Holy Spirit himself is devalued, so this week we must understand that to devalue any one member of the Mystical Body is to devalue Christ himself! [00:40:27] Every member of the Church has had some experience with Spiritual Gifts, either having them or receiving the benefits of them. Different gifts - same spirit… different people - same Mystical Body! And we cannot ever forget that! [00:40:49] We all gather together as one Church, one Mystical Body… we all hear the same Scriptures… we are all of us assigned by God to do the same work… we heard that in John 6, right? Our work is to believe in the one whom God sent, Jesus… we are all sent out after Mass - or any other service - into the world. In other words, we are sent out to believe and to share our knowledge with others. [00:41:28] Now, does that mean that we should stand on a street corner and shout the good news at the top of our voice? No! Anybody that's ever done that (it's called proselytizing) … and anyone that's ever done that knows it turns people off more than anything! No, we are actually called to do something much more difficult. [00:41:51] As my pastor, Father Mike, said in a recent homily… we are called to share our knowledge with others and then get out of the way! [00:42:03] We can open the door for others by our faith, our joy, our prayer, our piety, our sincerity, our generosity, by whatever gifts God has given us, but then we just need to get out of God's way! [00:42:25] He'll do the hard part! We need to hear, believe, live and share and then let God do the rest! [00:42:38] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at [email protected] Thank you for listening and until next we meet, may God shower His blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain and may he hold you, safe and secure, in the palm of his hand. [00:42:58] From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions. The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask. Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with permission of the composer. All rights reserved. Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request. Thank you for listening and God Bless.