Holy Family, Southill

In the past few weeks, at our Sunday Masses, we’ve been hearing about the beginning of Jesus’ public life. Two weeks ago – his baptism, last week, the wedding feast of Cana. Today we are at the first public statement he gave in the Synagogue of Caphernaum. Notice, it’s a positive, upbeat message from Jesus. He is not condemning anyone. He is simply telling his listeners why has come. He has come to bring good news to the poor, proclaim freedom to prisoners, give blind new sight, set the downtrodden free.

Jesus came on earth to bring about a new world, a world that is different, a world that is better than what we experience. In this, Jesus was a great prophet of hope. He wanted us to have hope. That’s consoling for each of us. Jesus says it to you, to me: “I have come to be close to you, to take your problems onto me, to give you the help you need”.

I remember in school, in my sixth class, we learned a new hymn. It was called “God’s Spirit is in my heart”. I really liked it. It always gave us a lift to sing it together.  I won’t sing it here but I’ll recall its words:

God's Spirit is in my heart,
He has called me and set me apart.
This is what I have to do,
what I have to do.

He sent me to give the Good News to the poor,
Tell prisoners that they are prisoners no more,
Tell blind people that they can see,
And set the downtrodden free
And go tell everyone the news that the Kingdom of God has come,
And go tell everyone the news that the Kingdom of God has come.
 

The song reminds us, of course, of today’s Gospel with its Good News about Jesus. But notice the first words of the song: “God’s spirit is in my heart. He has called me and set me apart. This is what I have to do….”. It’s not just about Jesus bringing Good News. Each of us and all together are called to do that. We have to continue Jesus’ message and be bearers of hope for others. It’s now our turn to imitate Jesus and be close to those around us, lending a listening ear, trying to help them. As the Second Reading puts it, we all have different talents, but each of us is important. Each of us has to do our part.

We might say – but how can I do that? I don’t feel too good myself. I feel weak and tired. Let’s go back to the hymn I’ve just quoted which had the words of today’s Gospel in it. On the one hand, in this hymn we were reminded that we shouldn’t worry too much about what we would have to say because God’s Spirit will help us. So we need to ask the Holy Spirit to help us. Jesus promised us he’d give us the Spirit.

But there is another point that I’d like to make and it’s this. That day in the Synagogue two thousand years ago, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah. In doing so, he was giving us a message. Jesus himself got his strength, not only from the Holy Spirit but also from the Word of God. The stories and words of the Bible inspired Jesus! They can inspire us too.

Today is the third Sunday in January. Pope Francis encourages Catholics all over the world on this Sunday each year to focus on the Word of God. He suggests we should carry a copy of the Gospel around with us. Of course, we could also download an app onto our i-phone or ipad or whatever we use. But maybe we could keep it simpler still. Is there one sentence from the Gospel that strikes us today from the Gospel? Or, more in general, is there a particular phrase of the Gospel that we like? Why not carry that sentence around with us during the week and keep it in mind. It will inspire you and help you to love. It will guide you. Carlo Acutis, the young Italian saint who will be canonised this year, used to just take a short section of the Gospel and try to remember it during the week. Maybe it’s something we can do too.

So, for this week ahead, let’s remember the Good News that Jesus is close to us. He is a prophet of hope. But then let us try to keep hope alive in our own hearts and bring it to others so that we can continue to be like Jesus bringing Good News to others.