When I was serving at Saint Odilia Parish in Shoreview, Fr. Marven Tellers was one of the weekend assistants. He used to say that each Bible passage is a love letter from God. With that in mind, I wish to look at today’s Bible readings as though they are love letters from God.
In the first reading, the prophet Ezra stood up in the synagogue and read a passage from the Bible. In that little love letter God said, “My people are no longer following my commandments.” The people responded by crying. Why were they crying? Because they thought that God would surely punish them for committing sins and being unfaithful to the Covenant. Then God said, “Don’t cry. Don’t be sad. Be happy because I love you and I will not harm you.” God said, “Rejoice because I love you.” After listening to that reading, we sang our responsorial psalm. –Psalm 19. And that too was a love letter from God.
God said, “My laws are perfect; refreshing the soul.” My precepts are right; rejoicing the heart. My ordinances are true; all of them just. If you follow my commandments your lives will be filled with joy.” Thus, in the love letter that we call Psalm 19, God says that we will find joy in life if we obey his laws. If you are looking for joy in life, follow the commandments.
In the second reading today, God’s says to us in his love letter: My people: You are many parts; but you are all one body. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it. If one part is honored, all the parts share its joy. The Good News - namely: the news from God - is that we are never alone. We are part of one body and that Body is the Body of Christ.
Today’s Gospel is another love letter from God. God says to us: I am sending my Son to bring Good News to the poor to bring Good News to the captives, to bring Good News to the blind, to bring Good News to the oppressed.
So what is this Good News? It is the message that God loves us. Each of us without exception. The blind. The captives. The poor. The oppressed. God loves us. That is the news that people need to hear in our day and age. God gave Jesus his calling in today’s Gospel and now is calling us to do what Jesus did. God is calling us to go forth and proclaim this message to people: God loves you. God loves you with a covenant promise that cannot be broken. God loves those who are in prison. That is why the Catholic Church brings retreats to people who are in jail.
God loves those who are weak and powerless. That is why our church reaches out to serve those who are fleeing from persecution. God loves those who are physically blind and those who are spiritually blind. Some people are spiritually blind because they think that they are worthless and that they will never be saved because they have disobeyed the commandments. They don’t know that Jesus said, “I came to save those who are lost.” Or maybe they are just forgetting that Jesus said that he came to save those who are lost. That is the essence of the Good News in today’s Gospel. Jesus stands up in the synagogue and says, “I bring you glad tidings. I have come to save those who are lost.” Everyone is very important in the eyes of Christ. He loves everyone……without exception. Even the sinners. Everyone is included in his circle of friendship.
I will conclude with a short summary. The Bible is full of love letters from God. Every page contains the message that God loves His people. In the end, there are only two things that count. We must believe that God loves us. And we must go forth and tell others that God loves them.