I am very blessed to have a pen pal who is a religious sister. First, for those of you too young to know what a pen pal is, there was a time before texting when friends who lived far apart would mail each other letters. This is obviously much less common these days, but I think there is something really awesome about getting a hand-written letter in the mail from a friend. I always cherish it when I see an envelope that has a return address listing Sr. Ruth Ann Heider, OSF, as the sender.
Sr. Ruthie and I are related through marriage. She is the sister of my late uncle, Bob Heider. Even though we’re only distantly related by marriage, that doesn’t make a lick of difference to me. Sister Ruthie is family. She has one of the most amazing, bright smiles of anyone I’ve ever met. The joy of a happy religious sister as a bride of Christ is just infectious. You can’t help but experience the peace of Christ when you’re around Sister Ruthie. She has really embraced the spirit of St. Francis as a Franciscan sister and blesses others with her love and care. In one of her recent notes, she made sure to share her sympathy at my Grandpa’s passing. I’m amazed that she was even aware of his passing, since he is my grandfather from the opposite side of the family! But she was aware of it and shared her loving concern. In each note she checks in on me and also shares some snippets about her life at the mother-house of her sisters, which is in Stella Niagara, New York. I love hearing about her life with her fellow sisters. Each of her notes ends with her signature sign-off: “Peace & all good things, Ruthie.” Sister Ruthie’s words warm my heart because they are a product of her love. Having someone care enough to write to me every couple of months is a blessing.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus comes to the synagogue, a Jewish house of prayer and teaching, in his hometown. He shocks everybody when, after reading the words of the Prophet Isaiah, He boldly proclaims: “Today, this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” Those are some strong words, considering Jesus has just read from the prophet Isaiah, speaking about His anointing to be a prophet. Jesus is a seemingly ordinary Nazarean, but now, publicly, in the Synagogue, He proclaims Himself to be the fulfillment of that passage. He’s pointing to Himself as the culmination of the anointing of Isaiah, a representative of all the Prophets. He is pointing to His messianic mission, which will bring the ultimate form of the healing about which Isaiah speaks:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
The amazing thing about this reading from St. Luke’s Gospel is that it shows us what is going on right now in 2025. Just as the Lord spoke in power about Himself to those listening in the Synagogue all those years ago, so now He speaks to you and me with that same authority, the authority to bring gladness to all of us in our spiritual poverty, to cast off those chains of sin in our hearts, to open our spiritual eyes so we can see the world around us with faith. What a wonderful gift we have in these scriptures that we hear!
The power of the Scriptures that we proclaim and receive at Mass, and that we are called to receive every day, is that Jesus continues to speak to us and change us through them. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit speaks powerfully, because the inspired words there are building toward Jesus’ coming in the New Testament. And when we encounter the Lord Jesus explicitly in the words of the inspired New Testament authors, the Spirit teaches us through Jesus and the members of the early Church everything necessary for the abundant life now, setting us on the path to endless joy with Him and all the Saints in Heaven! What an amazing gift!
This is what the inspired words of St. Luke remind us of at the beginning of His Gospel: that He is documenting the fulfillment of the history of God and humanity in an orderly account of Jesus’ life. St. Luke’s inspired words have helped people through countless generations to realize the certainty of Jesus’ teachings, that He was who He claimed to be and thus is worthy not just of our attention, but of our very lives. The Word of God that we have in Scripture isn’t just a passive word, but an active Word, living and effective, as Paul says; a Word which invites us to trust in and give ourselves to Jesus. In the account we read in the Old Testament, the people of Israel weep after hearing the Word of God preached, probably because of their knowledge of their own sin. But their leaders, Ezra, Nehemiah and the priests, remind them: “Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!” The Word of the Lord will challenge us and convict us, yet we need not be caught in sorrow, but instead turn to God in joyful repentance and follow Him anew. If you have that nagging sense of your own sin, listen to the Word of God and embrace the joy of repentance in the healing Sacrament of Reconciliation!
The words of Sr. Ruthie warm my heart because of the love behind them. Think about the Love at work in the Word of God! The very Love of God who is the Holy Spirit speaks to you through His Word! He wants to reorder and change your life through it, leading you to the Lord and then inviting you to be constantly changed by Him. So let’s never forget the importance of listening to the Word not just with open ears, but with open hearts. In doing this, in letting this Word draw us to Jesus and the newness He brings, we are equipped to share His newness with others, to go forward from Mass and from our daily prayer time and bring His healing Word to others. And the only way some people will hear the Word of God, this healing, joyful, freeing Word, is if you speak it! The Word of God which you encounter here and in your own prayer is meant to live in your heart and on your lips so that others can experience His Word through you. Don’t let these inspired words be hidden!
If this seems scary, remember who you are in your Baptism. You are a member of the Body of Christ! The same Spirit who speaks definitively through the Scriptures lives in you because of your Baptism. As St. Paul reminds you in the second reading: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.” The Holy Spirit, if you let Him, will empower you to speak the Word of God, His Word, to others. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you share the Word with others who are not here, and see what He does!
+ Father, thank you for speaking to us as your children in the Scriptures. Jesus, please heal, strengthen and send us out to others through our encounters with You in Scripture. Holy Spirit, give us the courage to speak of Your Word with others that they might encounter Jesus and His saving grace. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen. +