The Readings of the Third Sunday of the Year provide important insights into two momentous beginnings: one, the great religious reform introduced by Nehemiah, with the help of Ezra and the Levites, in the First Reading (Neh. 8: 2-6, 8-10); and the other is Jesus’ teaching ministry, which gave birth to Christianity, in the Gospel (Lk 1: 1-4; 4: 14-21).
Nehemiah was a Jewish leader, and later governor, who supervised the rebuilding of Jerusalem (mid-5th century BCE) after the release of the Jews from their exile in Babylon. The Book of Nehemiah, partly based upon his memoirs, was later put together by an anonymous writer, who apparently also compiled the books of Ezra and the Chronicles.
Nehemiah introduced moral and liturgical reforms in rededicating the Jews to Yahweh. In today’s passage, we see the zealous public imparting of the knowledge of God to people of goodwill. The assembly thus gathered served as a model for the religious life of the Jewish community.
About the Sabbath, governor Nehemiah, the priest and scribe Ezra, and the Levites[1], taught the people: ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.’ The people wept tears of repentance for their earlier misdeeds. While they were then encouraged to rejoice in the Lord and be happy, it was not solely about partying (‘eat the fat and drink sweet wine’) but about partaking of the neighbours’ misfortunes as well (‘send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared’).
In a close parallel, Jesus preaches in the synagogue of Nazareth. After His Baptism, He had ‘returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning Him went out through all the surrounding country.’ When He was given the Book of Isaiah to read aloud from, behold the passage He found when He opened the Book:
‘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.’
If this Old Testament passage, like many others, is not an allusion to Jesus, what is? When Jesus closed that book, the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And Jesus went ahead and proclaimed, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ All spoke well of Him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out His mouth.
Finally, in continuation of last Sunday’s Pauline passage on the spiritual gifts, the said Apostle speaks of the Church as one body with many members (1 Cor: 12: 12-30). He compares the Church to our physical body, which has many members, and yet all of them make up one body. In fact, the metaphor of the body, to mean the unity of an organised society with diverse members, was commonly used by Greeks and Romans. St Paul says that, likewise, Christians by faith and baptism become members of the Mystical Body of Christ.
The good news is that all have a place in the Church – whether young or old, rich or poor, educated or uneducated; and all of them are respectable – whether apostles, prophets, teachers, miracle workers, speaking in tongues, or whoever. The only condition is that we have to believe in Christ, receive the sacraments He instituted and remain in obedience to the authority He established.
Bonding is effected through both suffering and rejoicing. ‘If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.’ Unity in diversity is the beauty of being Church; but the highest beatitude is that the People of God attain to salvation (CCC 874) Something that has come down to us from Nehemiah and was perfected by our Saviour Jesus Christ. We are called to be people of God and heralds of His glad tidings.
This year we are in the Jubilee Year (which Nehemiah had reinstated).[2] In the Catholic Church it is a Year of forgiveness, reconciliation, and renewal of faith. Let us move forward as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
[1] Member of a group of clans of religious functionaries, their lineage is traced back to Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah.
[2] The 2025 Jubilee Year began on 24 December 2024 and will end on 6 January 2026. The theme for 2025 is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.