Contents: Volume 2

3rd Sunday of Ordered Time (C)

- January 26, 2025 & February 2, 2025

1. -- Lanie LeBlanc OP - 3rd Sunday
2. -- Dennis Keller - Presentation of the Lord
3. -- Fr. John Boll OP - 3rd Sunday
4. --
5. --(Your reflection can be here!)

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Sun. 3 C 2025

This Sunday’s readings give us important information about Salvation history. Long ago, in the time of Nehemiah, the people were reminded through the exhaustive reading of the “book of the Lord” by Ezra that they had not been forgotten by the Lord. Although they wept, they were told to rejoice and feast in this, the good news of their time.

In the selections from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus returns to Nazareth, ready to undertake the ministry of the Good News. He identified himself after reading the familiar passage from the Book of Isaiah. Yes, he, Jesus, proclaimed the Good News that he was the One who was to come.

The third piece of Salvation history in these readings is in the first letter to the Corinthians. In that passage, the people who had followed Jesus, and we, are told that we all belong to the one body and we were all given to drink of the one Spirit. We all belong, we all are included, and we all have gifts to share.

This is often the time of year when many people feel let down, whether from unexpected trials, political rhetoric or the turmoil of the times, inability to hold fast to new resolutions or promises made or simply the humdrum or trials of daily life. Readings such as these really do not have a strong message that immediately catapults us out of ourselves and into ministry, do they though? No, but embedded in them, I think, is the message that goes far deeper, beyond comfort food, a good chat with a friend, or a good nap under a snuggly blanket.

The message to me is that I belong, no matter what, and the Lord’s got this. Whatever your “this” that the Lord’s got, rejoice either by celebrating or by exhaling slowly while doing one of your positive self-help activities, like those mentioned above. Hopefully then, we will all be refreshed in the Spirit and ready to walk back into the ministry chosen for us, even slowly, with both joy and strength. It is ok to start small, like in our own surroundings (maybe even family), just like Jesus did in his home town of Nazareth.

Blessings,
Dr. Lanie LeBlanc OP
Southern Dominican Laity
lanie@leblanc.one

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Presentation of the Lord
February 2, 2025

Malachi 3:1-4; Responsorial Psalm 24; Letter to the Hebrews
2:14-18; Gospel Acclamation Luke 2:32; Luke 2:22-40

There is a tendency to focus in this event in the life of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph just on Jesus. What a shock, what a joy for both Mary and Joseph. This visit to the temple was a Ritual of Judaism where the first-born son was to be consecrated to God as the first fruits of a marriage. The reference to the first-born is a reference to the first Passover just before the release of the Hebrew tribes from slavery. The first born of every human and animal in Egypt died when the angel of death went over the kingdom. Well, all but those first born of man and beast who were protected with the blood of a year-old lamb painted on the lintels of doors. The rule in Leviticus is that a woman is purified by offering a year-old lamb in sacrifice to assure her purification after childbirth. For families who were poor and could not easily afford a lamb for sacrifice, the law permitted them to offer a dove or a pigeon. This choice clearly indicates the holy family was not wealthy nor among the elite of the Jews. This ritual of purification brought them to the temple. This seems like a really nice story, a family following customary and religiously oriented tradition. But there is more! Much more to this story than that.

There are two persons encountered in the temple. Each sees the family, and each realizes the importance of this family and especially the child. Each of these two, Simeon and Anna, have been at the temple constantly, waiting, expecting, longing for the Anointed One, the Messiah. This awaiting for Simeon was inspired and under that inspiration he realized his waiting was done. “Now you can dismiss your Servant.” The Spirit inspired him to say that the salvation of the people – the Chosen People – was imminent. Then he adds a revolutionary thought – he knows this child will be a “light to the Gentiles.” Even more – this sounds like a TV commercial – this child will unleash glory for God’s people, Israel. Anyone who holds anti-Semitic bigotry and claims to be Christian should understand that Jesus is born a Jew and always in his human nature remains a Jew. And then Simeon turns to Mary and prophesizes her heart will be pierced with a sword. We know what this sword is – it is the rejection of Jesus and his work and his words by the townspeople where he was raised and worked as a carpenter. It is the betrayal of his closest friends and allies. It is the torture he endures. And it is his death on the cross that she will personally witness.

And there is also Anna in the temple. She is very much a senior and very much a prophetess. She is given insight to recognize this child as the longed-for Messiah. And she tells everyone she meets about him. This child is named, after eight days, at his circumcision, Joshua, which means God Saves. We translate that to Jesus.

When we think about this narrative, we should place ourselves in the shoes and attitude of Simeon and Anna. As a young man, I often heard others wish they lived in the time of Jesus. They believed being present to him and he to them would have made their faith stronger, their lives more loving and moral. We failed in those days to understand him announce, “I will be with you till the end of time.” So where is Jesus? How do we recognize him present? Is this a sort of mystical presence that only those schooled and skilled in contemplation can sense? Where is Jesus, now?

In the sacramental system of the institutional church, we believe Jesus is present with us in the sacraments, in Scripture, and in a special way in the Mass which is a dual presence – sorry, actually a three or four presence. There is firstly, “where two or three (not excluding small or large crowds of worshippers, of those called together) are gathered in my name, I am there.” There is the liturgy of the Word which on Sundays includes most often a reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, from the Apostolic Writings, and from the Gospels. The liturgy of the Word includes the homily. Jesus is present in each of those readings and preaching. There follows the Eucharist which is a giving thanks to God for Jesus. Those gifts and intentions we place on the altar are consecrated by the power of the Holy Spirit by means of the Presider, the priest who calls on the Spirit in the name of the assembly to sanctify and consecrate these gifts. And then there is the Communion service. That service is the presence of Jesus and draws us all into his Body, uniting each of us with all others present – even ones we do not know or even care to know. We become – as in last Sunday’s letter by Paul to the Corinthians, the Body of Christ. We go out into the secular world. And there we met Christ especially in the poor, the homeless, the broken and abused. God has a special place in God’s heart for those on the margins, in poverty, in homelessness. Jesus is there. We must not forget our families, as Jesus is there with us as well. That understanding gives us strength, courage, and peace.

Moses got an earful when he asked the burning bush for its name. The self-identifying name means - in my cumbersome English - “I am who am with you ALWAYS.” In Hebrew, Yahweh! A name so sacred that faithful Jews substitute Elohim for that name.

Let us not forget the prophecy of Malachi in the first reading. This foretells Jesus’ presence. Malachi proclaims when the long-for Messiah arrives he will be like a fire that purifies gold, like lye that is the fuller’s tool of purification. That is what Jesus does for each of us and for our socio-economic reality – IF we look for him, if we expect his coming, if we welcome him into our hearts. That a lesson from Simeon and Anna – they were looking, they were expecting, they had faith he would come in their life time. At first, when we attempt this, finding him present to us, it is a struggle to find him even in his teachings and signs. God is still the God of history, even in our difficult times. The mass and sacraments help especially when we let go of addictions and prejudices. If we love others, we will find him. In the example of Simeon and Anna, we find him progressively as we purify our minds and develop love in our hearts for others and for creation. Step by step it becomes easier to find Jesus in creation and in others. It is a process of growth and clearing away what gets in the way of our vision, our hearing, our touching, our tasting, and our smelling.

Dennis Keller <Dennis@PreacherExchange.com>

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2025-01-26 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C (V2 rev)

Nehemiah 8:2-4a,5-6,8-10; Ps.19; 1Cor. 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4,4:14-21

“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.”

So,.......
Luke is writing the Gospel for Theophilus.
Who is Theophilus? What do we know about this person?

Luke mentions several things:
- Theophilus is a person of honor: “Most Excellent”

- Theophilus is interested in understanding the truth
of what he has received.
so Luke is “writing it down in an orderly sequence”
and
- Theophilus desires a solid foundation
so Luke says he is writing it,
“so that you may realize the certainty
of the teachings you have received.”

But .....
more important than all the rest,
what really tells us who this person is.
who is Honored, seeking the truth, and a foundation in God.
It is the name Theophilus

It is a Greek name: Θεόφιλος (Theo - phee-los)
from θεός (God) and φιλία (love or affection)
it can be translated as
"Love of God" or "Friend of God" OR Lover of God.

Over the years I have listen to many who were deciding
weather to remain or leave the Church.
Many have of these have raised important Questions.

Questions about a church that is flawed and broken.
About a church where there exists some people
who are NOT examples of Jesus Christ.
About leaders that are incompetent or abusive.
Or policies and teachings, they do not agree with.

In most cases I agree with
and confirm the truth of what bothers them.

ON the other hand,
I have listened to many seeking to join the Church,
they seek to be part of the communion of the body of Christ.
They KNOW the scandals.
They know the difficulties of Church teaching and practice.
They know the human sinfulness that we struggle with.
Yet, there is something that draws them forward. So why would they and Theophilus
or anyone want to be a part of this mess of humanity?

I have to ask myself,
If I know the weakness and brokenness of the Church,
why am I so involved in the Church?
Why would I choose to even become a Dominican or a Priest?

I realized, I did not become a priest
because I was inspired by some perfect community of faith.
Nor because I would be any better
than any other sinner in the church.

Theophilus shows me that It is a matter of our focus
of what inspires and motivates us to remain.

That focus is embedded in the name, Theophilus.
the focus for those who remain,
IS θεός : God

and the Θεόφιλος (Theo - phee-los)
The one who “loves God” is focused on God,
all else is seen and known in the light of
the God who is love,
the God who is seen and experienced in Jesus Christ,
the God who dwells in us, uniquely, in Spirit and Eucharist.

God is the focus! And we experience God in Jesus Christ.

For a Theophilus,
it is the love of God that motivates
a desire to participate in the Body of Christ.
To be part of it and to embrace the community of individuals
with all the mess that is part of being a human community.

We may be inspired by SOME people in the church
who, in spite of their sinfulness and brokenness,
lived their faith with love, mercy, and generosity
towards others.
As well as lived the desire to know, understand and grow
in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

They are guides, not gods of our faith.
They are a Theophilus, influencing us to also love God.

So how are we to respond to this mess of a church?

It is to be Theophilus,
seeking to know and understand Jesus Christ,
who has won our heart by his love
manifest in his mercy and sacrifice.

It is to fall in love with him,
and to mature into a Friend of God.
And... a friend of all who seek to know love
Both to receive that gift
and grow in willingness to become that gift for others.

Fr. John Boll OP
 

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Volume 2 is for you. Your thoughts, reflections, and insights on the next Sundays readings can influence the preaching you hear. Send them to preacherexchange@att.net. Deadline is Wednesday Noon. Include your Name, and Email Address.
-- Fr. John

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