FULFILLED – Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year C; Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C (RC)

January 26, 2025

Revised Common Lectionary
Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm 19
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Luke 4:14-21

Lectionary for Mass (RC)
Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15 (see John 6:63c)
1 Corinthians 12:12-14 (15-26) 27 (28-30)
Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Many communities and organizations spend significant time and resources developing statements of identity, mission, or vision that express who they are and what they stand for. Crafting such statements often involves hours of deliberation, and sometimes the assistance of an outside consultant. These statements remind members and leaders alike of their shared ideals and help them evaluate how well they are living up to those values.

One of the primary ways that both Jews and Christians express their identity and purpose is through worship. By gathering as a community, opening the book of God’s Word, proclaiming it aloud, and reflecting on its meaning, they engage in a communal encounter with the divine. In both Jewish synagogue services and Christian assemblies, the biblical Word is not merely read privately but proclaimed as a shared experience involving the entire gathered community.

Today’s Gospel reading places Jesus in his hometown of Nazareth, shortly after the start of his public ministry. Up to this point in Luke’s Gospel, we have heard the stories of Jesus’ birth, baptism, and temptation. Now, we see Jesus participating in the Sabbath service at the synagogue, “as was his custom” (Lk 4:16). Gathering with others for worship was part of his life’s rhythm and played an important role in shaping his faith. In the synagogue, he had heard the words of the Torah and had come to understand himself as part of a people claimed and loved by God.

During the service, Jesus takes his turn to read, proclaiming a passage from the prophet Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
(Lk 4:18-19; see Is 61:1-2)

As he sits down, the people gathered there—including neighbors and relatives—gaze at him intently. He then proceeds to deliver one of the shortest but most powerful sermons ever: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk 4:21). In this gathering for worship, Jesus announces the good news: in him, God’s reign had begun, a reign that would be revealed in acts of compassion, healing, and liberation. Here, in the context of worship, Jesus proclaims his own mission statement.

Today’s Gospel underscores the unbreakable connection between worship and action. In worship, as we encounter and celebrate God’s presence and action in the community, we are formed into God’s own people and learn how to live according to God’s ways. In worship, we receive the mission that Jesus himself embraced—to bring God’s merciful love to those most in need.

The biblical Word that we hear today is more than a mission statement—it is the living proclamation of God’s presence, speaking and acting in our midst even today.

It not only tells us who we are—it makes us who we are, transforming us into a people of faith and service.

The Word we hear at worship is not fulfilled merely in our hearing—it is ultimately fulfilled in our living and serving.

A Hymn for Today: “A year of God’s favor”

Based on today’s Gospel reading, this hymn by Delores Dufner, OSB, FHS, celebrates the “year of the Lord’s favor” (Lk 4:19) that Jesus proclaimed in the synagogue at Nazareth. In the second and third stanzas, Dufner uses the word “fulfilled” four times in referring to the response of believers who hear this word today.

A year of God’s favor Christ promised, and more:
Good news to the pris’ner, the weak, and the poor,
Recov’ry of sense to the deaf and the blind,
Full healing for spirit, for body and mind.

This word is fulfilled in believers today,
In women and men who would follow Christ’s way.
Respond, then, with gladness, in all that you do:
A lifetime of favor is offered to you!

Fulfilled in our living be God’s word today,
Fulfilled in our loving, our work, and our play,
Fulfilled now in justice, in mercy and peace,
In joyful thanksgiving and praise without cease.

Text: Delores Dufner, OSB, b. 1939, © 1995, 2003, GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission under OneLicense #A-729857
Tune: ST. DENIO

Image Credit: Jesus Unrolls the Book in the Synagogue, James Tissot (1836-1902), Brooklyn Museum

“Word and Song: A Lectionary Reflection” is written by the Executive Director of The Hymn Society, Rev. Dr. Mike McMahon. For his full bio, click here and scroll down to the “staff” section.

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