When Roger Schutz, a Protestant minister from Switzerland, founded the Taizé community in 1940 in a small village in Southern Burgundy, France, amid the turmoil of World War II, he envisioned it as “a parable of communion.” Brother Matthew, the first Anglican and Englishman to lead this unique Christian community as its prior, reflects on Brother Roger’s vision: “It was a way of saying that what we lived as a community together should be like a sign that didn’t need too much explanation.”
On “Preach” this week, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity—a celebration observed by Christian churches worldwide—Brother Matthew, preaching for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, emphasizes the importance of moving beyond theological debates to focus on fostering reconciliation and communion among Christians. “I think that’s one of the challenges that we face—how to dare to go towards the other, even when you know that you’re not going to agree,” he says. “Because if we can’t do that, then this parable doesn’t work.”
Scripture Readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
First Reading: Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15
Second Reading: 1 Cor 12:12-30
Gospel: Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21
You can find the full text of the readings here.
Homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, by Brother Matthew of Taizé
The lectionary presents the main part of the Gospel reading for this Sunday with the introductory phrase, with which Luke begins his account of the good news revealed through Jesus. He’s writing for someone he calls Theophilus. There are many theories about who this person was, which are beyond the scope of our reflection. Now, perhaps it’s enough for us to know that this name means beloved of God or friend of God.
The events and narratives that Luke will relate are destined for all who are, or who wish to become a friend of God. It’s as if Luke is writing to each one of us. Luke’s first two chapters tell of the childhood of Jesus. They try to answer the question, how did Jesus come into being? Chapter 4 tells us of how the ministry of Jesus begins. It starts to answer the question, what did Jesus come to bring into being?
The story before our text is that of the temptation of Jesus in the desert, where he was filled by the Holy Spirit. Jesus leaves the Jordan scene of his baptism, and for 40 days is tempted by the devil. Having overcome that opposition, for now, Jesus returns to Galilee. We are told with the power of the Spirit, there’s something solid, authoritative in his way of speaking. He’s not acting on his own initiative. The Spirit leads him.
His reputation spreads as people hear what he has to say. He teaches in the synagogues, but we’re not told what he says. Note that Luke tells us it’s their synagogues. It seems to indicate that for Luke, he’s writing for a Christian community after the time when the separation from the synagogue had taken place. But see how here at the beginning of the text, everyone praises Jesus. Things seem to be going well.
But in verse 16, Jesus comes back to the town where he had been raised. It is here where he will pronounce his first words in public, in his adult ministry. In Luke’s Gospel, we’re told that it was customary for Jesus to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. He’s rooted in the traditions of his people. This first part of the story describes parts of the synagogue service, but Luke leaves out the opening prayers and the First Reading, which would normally have come from the Law of Moses. And he has Jesus going straight to the reading from the prophet here. The reading comes from Isaiah 61:1-2. What’s interesting is that Luke leaves out the line “to proclaim the day of vengeance of our God.”
Jesus did not come to announce a punishment that God will inflict a kind of retribution. Luke feels at ease to remove these words from the quotation, because Jesus will proclaim a message of joy according to this prophecy. The role of the one who is sent by God is to proclaim firstly, joyful news to the poor, which consists in the removal of all that causes suffering, everything that holds captive. His first words confirm what we saw already, when the angels proclaim the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. Secondly, there is a period of time proclaimed where people will be welcomed freely by God this year acceptable to the Lord. As it says in the text, he recalls the jubilee year described in Leviticus Chapter 25. In that year, all debts were canceled. People were returned to their own land, and slaves were set free. It was a year of release.
And we can say that in Luke’s Gospel, forgiveness is also a kind of release. People are forgiven or released by God, not only to experience a restored relationship with God, but also to be fully included in the community. The message of joy here is a message of liberation, and it’s as if Jesus gives the program of his ministry, which will be confirmed as the Gospel unfolds. The reader of Luke’s Gospel knows already through the story of Jesus’s birth and also his baptism, that Jesus is God’s messenger, that he’s anointed by the Spirit. But when Jesus sits down, and this was the usual position to preach from in Palestine, if we look in Acts 13:16, we see an example of that. He does not say explicitly that the words of the prophets apply to him. He says simply that today the Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
The word today is very important for Luke. It is used, for example, by the angels as they announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds by Jesus, about staying in his house or the promise of paradise to the good thief at the cross. The listener understands that what she’s hearing for her in her situation, wherever or whenever that is, applies to her. Here we hear Jesus speaking these words to us, and we are sent to all those joyous moments in Luke’s Gospel where God is acting in unexpected ways. Perhaps this links us with the First Reading from Nehemiah Chapter 8. When Ezra reads the law to the people at the restoration of the temple, they begin to weep, probably fearing that they cannot live according to it, but Ezra calls them to joy and invites them to feast. God’s law is not there to oppress us, but to lead us towards the fullness of life.
God offers to go back to the Gospel reading. Why does Jesus not say that he fulfills this Scripture? Is it not because Jesus never imposes himself? He never says openly in Luke that he is the Christ or even the prophet. There’s a certain humility about him. He gives those who listen to him clues as to his identity, but he leaves their intelligence free to accept or not the sign which is offered. He invites them to take to heart the newness of what is breaking out in their midst.
What is the reaction of the people listening to Jesus in the synagogue? They speak well of him. And like those who heard the words of the shepherds are filled with amazement. They hear literally the words of grace that come out of his mouth, but then something changes. They can see only one aspect of Jesus. They recognize him simply as the Son of Joseph.
They have already put a label on him. They think they know him, but their preconceived ideas prevent their recognition of the newness that God is revealing to them today. They failed to make the link with the Scripture that Jesus says has been fulfilled in their hearing. They cannot acknowledge him as the prophet of Isaiah 61. Here we’re faced with the mystery of the human heart. How is it that some accept whilst others reject the message of joy that Jesus announces? But in this context, the goal of Luke is elsewhere. And though this Sunday’s Gospel finishes at verse 21, I’d like to take the liberty of reading through to the end of the chapter, because we see from verse 23 onwards that Jesus provokes the people of Nazareth twice as they see him, only as the Son of Joseph. What is the function of this?
Firstly, Jesus knows what they’re looking for. They wish him to perform some kind of sign in order to prove who he is. In fact, it’s only later that he will do such things. The proverb that Jesus quotes, “doctorDr., cure yourself,” reminds us of what will be later said three times at the cross. “If you are the Messiah, save yourself.” Luke is showing us that from the beginning, Jesus was rejected by some. This rejection will lead to the death of Jesus. Does our faith accept the words of Jesus in trust, or do we put him to the test by asking for some sign or wonder?
Secondly, Jesus uses another proverb in verse 24. “No prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.” And a double example, in verses 25 to 27, from the first book of Kings Chapter 17, and the second book of Kings Chapter 5, Jesus once again avoids saying that he is a prophet. Even if everything points to that, his response indicates that the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed, who according to Isaiah will receive the good news, will be found outside of God’s own people. That’s what the examples of Elijah and Elisha from First and Second Kings seem to show. So in fact, Luke is leading us outwards towards the universality of this message of joy. He’s giving us already an indication of what will happen in the Acts of the Apostles. The Lord’s favor is for all. It is for us to open our hearts to the broadness of this message.
Do we want the Jesus that seems familiar and well-known to us? Or are we ready to accept the Jesus who leads us beyond the boundaries that we had imagined? And in the final two verses of the chapter, Jesus has to face the anger of the people. They react to his provocation with anger and rage by driving him out of the town, pushing him towards the cliff in order to throw him down it. If we’re to welcome this message of joy, then we have to welcome it with a generous heart. We need to accept that God’s plan is so much larger than our own conception of life, whether that be on a social or a spiritual level. It’s not because we’re born into a tradition that we have a right to receive God’s grace. The moment we try to limit God’s love, then we risk rejecting the message of joy proclaimed by Jesus that went beyond the normal boundary boundaries and reached out to those who are on the margins to those of all nations, for us to open our hearts to the limitless love of God, which surprises us and provokes us.
But then we’re told Jesus passed through the midst of them and went on his way. Even human rejection does not stop Jesus at this stage in his ministry. These words are very mysterious. Jesus finds his way through the rage and anger of the people. Perhaps there’s a message of hope for us there. God’s path winds its way through the complexities of our reactions so that what must be fulfilled can be fulfilled. In situations where people seem to block everything, Jesus finds a way through. Does that not also renew our hope at the end of this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity? Are we ready to live from Jesus’s prayer that all may be one, so that they may believe and hope beyond all hope?
