Other Sunday and Holy Day Readings
3rd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle C) and
THE FEAST OF THE WORD OF GOD
Readings:
Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
Psalm 19:8-10, 15
1 Corinthians 12:12-30 or 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27
Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21
Abbreviations: NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).
God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, and that is why we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).
Pope Francis established this feast in his Apostolic Letter, Aperuit Illis, published on September 30, 2019. He wrote: "I hereby declare that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the word of God." The Latin phrase, aperuit illis ("opened to them") comes from Jesus' words to His Church on Resurrection Sunday when, in the company of the disciples, He opened [to them] their minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). Pope Francis also wrote: "A day devoted to the Bible should not be seen as a yearly event, but rather a year-long event..." as he encouraged clergy and the laity to seek a deeper understanding of Sacred Scripture.
The Theme of the Readings: The Word and the Body
In our First Reading and the Gospel Reading, both the 6th
century BC priestly scholar of the Law, Ezra, and Jesus in the first century AD,
stood up before the assembly of the covenant people to read the word of God from
Sacred Scripture. After the reading, both Ezra and Jesus interpreted the Scriptures
for the people of God who were present to understand God's message.
In the First Reading, the people of Judah were liberated from the Babylonian captivity and returned to the Promised Land and the holy city of Jerusalem. They assembled to listen to Ezra, the priest, read from the Book of the Law and explain what it meant to live in obedience to God's commandments. They rebuilt Jerusalem, its protective walls, and the Temple where, as a "body" of one people in covenant with God, they again offered the twice-daily Tamid sacrifice for their atonement and sanctification. They celebrated their sacred feasts, gave praise and worship to Yahweh, their God, and made the commitment to live in obedience to His holy word.
The Responsorial Psalm proclaims the goodness of God's gift of the Law and lists eight statements concerning its perfection in one's life. The end of the psalm petitions the Lord to guide the psalmist's words and thoughts so he can find favor before God, who is his Rock and Redeemer. He praises God's unshakable reliability in the life of the believer and the truth of His word, which is firm like a rock and can "never be shaken."
In the Second Reading, St. Paul tells the Christians at Corinth that as individuals and as a faith community, they are part of the unity of believers who form the Church, the Body of Jesus Christ. Paul writes to the mixed Jewish and Gentile Christians at Corinth about their diversity and also their unity. Each of them has received different spiritual gifts, and each has a mission in service to the Body of Christ. Paul tells them (and us) that faithful Christians should do their part in service to Christ to the best of their abilities and contribute to the well-being of the entire Church in carrying forward the Gospel of salvation in works of love and mercy.
The events in the First Reading prepare us for the Gospel reading where Jesus visits His hometown at Nazareth to keep His Sabbath obligation in the local synagogue. He read the word of God from the book of the prophet Isaiah to the congregation. Then, He interpreted the passage by announcing to the assembled believers that He is the promised Messiah who has come to liberate His people from the curse of sin and death. It is the same announcement every Gospel Reading reveals to the Body of Christ of the Church from the Word of God in every generation.
The First Reading Nehemiah 8:2b-4a, 5-6, 8-10 ~ Listening to the Word of the Law
2b Ezra, the priest, brought the law before the assembly,which consisted of men, women, and those children old enough to understand. 3 Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate, he read out of the book from daybreak till midday, in the presence of the men, the women, and those children old enough to understand; and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law. 4a Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the occasion... 5 He opened the scroll so that all the people might see it for he was standing higher up than any of the people, and, as he opened it, all the people rose. 6 Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people, their hands raised high, answered, "Amen, amen!" Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD, their faces to the ground... 8 Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God, interpreting it so that all could understand what was read. 9 Then Nehemiah, that is, His Excellency, and Ezra the priest-scribe and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all the people: "Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep," for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. 10 He said further: "Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our LORD. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!"
LORD or GOD in capital letters replaces the divine name, YHWH (Yahweh), in the NABRE translation. The passage uses the Divine Name five times: twice in verse 6, twice in verse 9, and in verse10. Yahweh is the name God commanded every generation to use when calling upon Him: This is my name for all time, and thus I am to be invoked for all generations to come Ex 3:15b, NJB).
During the month of Tishri, in the early fall, the people of God celebrated the last three of the seven God-ordained sacred feasts: the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) on the first of Tishri, the Feast of Atonement (Yom Kippur) ten days later, and then on the fifteenth to the twenty-first, the Feast of Tabernacles or Shelters, also called Booths (Sukkot) that ended in a Sacred Assembly on the eighth day. The Feast of Tabernacles was also one of the three "pilgrim feasts" when Mosaic Law required every man of the covenant to present himself before God's holy altar in Jerusalem (Lev 23; Num 28-39; Ex 23:14-17; Dt 16:16; 2 Chr 8:13). Unfortunately, these feasts were only "remembered" during the covenant people's seventy years of captivity in Babylon. But with their return from exile, they were again ready to keep and relive the appointed feasts with Yahweh, God of Israel, in obedience to the Law of the Covenant.
The assembly in our reading took place in the seventh month of Tishri on what was probably the first day of the Sacred Assembly of the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot in Hebrew; see Lev 23:33-44; Num 29:12-38). It was an annual celebration and a designated pilgrim feast in which Mosaic Law required every man of the covenant to present himself with sacrifices before God's holy altar (Ex 23:15; 34:30; Dt 16:16; 2 Chron 8:13). In this 8-day feast, the covenant people relived the giving of the Law and the ratification of the covenant at Mount Sinai (Ex 20:1-17; 24:1-11). They also offered sacrifices on God's holy altar. They spent seven days of the feast living in shelters made of branches and palm fronds to remind them of the temporary shelters where the people lived at Mount Sinai and during the Exodus and wilderness years. On the eighth day of the feast, they held a Sacred Assembly (Num 29:12-38). Since it was a feast that remembered the giving of the word of God in the Law, it was fitting that Ezra, the priest, should stand before the people to read from the Book of the Law. He did this in the city square because while Yahweh's altar of sacrifice was rebuilt on its old foundations, the Temple was not yet rebuilt. The people came and stood in front of him "gathered as one" body of covenant believers (Neh 8:1).
Scholars disagree on what is meant by the "Book of the Law." Was it the Torah (Pentateuch) , the first five book of the Bible? The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy contained parts of the Law in three sections: the Covenant Code in Exodus, Holiness Code in Leviticus, and Deuteronomic Code in Deuteronomy. Or, did he only read from the laws in the Book of Deuteronomy from Moses's last homilies to the new generation of the children of Israel before they crossed the Jordan River to begin the conquest of Canaan? That he read for six hours from dawn to noon (as we count but seven hours as the ancients counted) suggests that he may have read all of the laws contained in the three books.
Ezra read the scroll of the Law and translated each passage. In the sixth century BC, after seventy years in Babylonian captivity, many of the covenant people had lost the ability to speak Hebrew. Aramaic, the language of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires, had become the language of Ezra's generation during their exile. Ezra not only translated from the sacred Hebrew texts but also explained each passage as he continued to read to the people so they would understand the word of God made present in their lives.
The people responded by demonstrating their reverence for the word of God, first standing and then by giving their consent by proclaiming the words "Amen, amen" (emen in Hebrew), before bowing down to the ground. They used the Hebrew word "emen" to convey agreement as in "it is so" or belief as in "I believe." However, "emen" is a Hebrew acrostic formed from the first letters of the three words from the phrase El Melech Ne'eman, meaning "God is a trustworthy king" (The Jewish Talmud, Shabbat 1196). It sums up the reason for their, and our, submission to God's commands as the covenant children of a Divine King and Father.
In verse 9, the people began to weep when they realized how far they had strayed from their obedience to the Law of God. But, Ezra said, "Today is holy to the LORD [Yahweh] your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep." So then, He told them instead of weeping to celebrate and show mercy to the less fortunate because Yahweh, God of Israel, was their Savior and their reason to rejoice.
Responsorial Psalm 19:8-10, 15 ~ The Word of the Lord is
Life
The response is: "Your words, Lord, are spirit and life."
8 The law of the
LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul: the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
Response:
9 The precepts of
the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
Response:
10 The fear of the
LORD is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the LORD are true, all of
them just.
Response:
15 Let the words of
my mouth and the thought of my heart find favor before you, O LORD, my Rock and
my Redeemer.
Response:
Psalm 19, attributed to David, God's anointed King of Israel, proclaims the goodness of God's gift of the Law God. The psalmist says that God's Law is perfect, and he makes eight statements in verses 8-10 concerning the perfection of the Law in one's life:
At the end of the psalm (verse 15), the psalmist petitions the Lord to guide his words and thoughts for him to find favor before God, who is his "Rock" and Redeemer. The title "Rock" refers to God's unshakable reliability in the life of the believer and the truth of His word, which is never shaken or destroyed.
The Second Reading 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 or 12:12-14, 27
~ We Are One Body
12 As a body is one
though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one
body, so also Christ. 13 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. Now the body is not
a single part, but many. 15 If a
fool should say, "Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body," it does
not for this reason belong any less to the body. 16 Or if an ear should say, "Because I am not an eye I do not
belong to the body," it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would
the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell
be? 18 But as it is, God placed the
parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended. 19 If they were all one part, where would the
body be? 20 But as it is, there are
many parts, yet one body. 21 The
eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need you," nor again the head to the
feet, "I do not need you." 22 Indeed,
the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, 23 and those parts of the body that we consider
less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts
are treated with greater propriety, 24 whereas
our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the
body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, 25 so that there may be no division in the body,
but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. 26 If one part suffers, all the parts suffer
with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy. 27 Now you are Christ's body, and individually
parts of it. 28 Some people God has
destined in the church to be, first apostles, second, prophets, third teachers;
then, mighty deeds, then gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and
varieties of tongues. 29 Are all
apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds? Do all
have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
St. Paul uses the image of a body to explain Christ's relationship with believers (verse 12). In verse 13, he applies this image to the Church. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, all believers, despite their diversity of ethnic origin, social status, or male or female merge into one organism: the Body of Christ. This concept was not foreign to Jewish-Christians who, in the Old Covenant Church, understood that Israel was a unity of one people in covenant with Yahweh, their Lord God.
Then St. Paul discusses the gifts of the Holy Spirit that make each Christian unique within the unity of the Body of Christ (verses 27-29). All the various gifts he mentions can be categorized as charismata, unique gifts of grace from God to enable service (diakonial) to the Body, and all works (energemata) of God in the life of every believer. Just as different parts of the human body work together for a healthy and efficient body, so too do Christians work together through their various spiritual gifts for the health and benefit of the Body of Christ as they contribute to the unity of the Church.
The Gospel of Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 ~ Proclaiming the Word
1 Since many have
undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among
us, 2 just as those who were
eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down
to us, 3 I too have decided, after
investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly
sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings
[katecheo] you have received. [...] 14 Jesus
returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread
throughout the whole region. 15 He
taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. 16 He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. He
stood up to read 17 and was handed
a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage
where it was written: 18 "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, 19 and to proclaim a year acceptable to the
Lord." 20 Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the
synagogue looked intently at him. 21 He
said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
St. Luke began his Gospel Prologue by mentioning that other gospels also record the events of Jesus's life. Some scholars count as many as 34 different gospels written within the first 2-3 centuries of the Church, while others count more. However, the Church has always maintained from its earliest years that only the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were Holy Spirit inspired. Church Father, Origen, the head of the Christian school of Theology and Catechesis in Alexandria, Egypt in the 3rd century, testified "to the four Gospels, which alone are indisputable in the Church of God under heaven" (Origen, fragment from Eusebius, History of the Church, 6.25.3).
St. Luke's is not the only Gospel that begins with a prologue, but it is the only Gospel with a formal literary prologue, common in secular documents of the time. See, for example, the Greek prologue to Against Apion by the Jewish priest and historian Flavius Josephus, 1.1.1-3. He dedicated his work to "most excellent Epaphroditus," just as Luke dedicated his work to "most excellent Theophilus." Josephus also dedicated another work to Epaphroditus, writing: "In the first volume of this work, most esteemed Epaphroditus, I proved the antiquity of our race" (Against Apion, 2.1[1]), just as St. Luke dedicates his second work to the same person: In the first book. Theophilus, I dealt with all that Jesus did and taught (Acts 1:1).
Who was Theophilus?
Theophilus was a proper name commonly used from the 3rd century BC; both Greek culture Gentiles and Jews bore the name (Fr. Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J., The Gospel According to Luke, page 299). There is no reason to assume Theophilus was not the name of someone Luke knew. However, theophilus, "God-lover," also identifies the Christian readers who were contemporaries of St. Luke and all generations of Christians who continue to read his account of Jesus's life and ministry.
There are three qualities St. Luke claims in the record of his Gospel account:
In verse 3, St. Luke presents his purpose for writing his account of the life and ministry of Jesus. He intends to defend the teaching/instruction Theophilus has received, referring to the katecheo or catechesis Theophilus had as a Gentile convert to the faith. In Greek, the noun katecheo/katechizo or the verb katechein ("to catechize)" means "to teach by word of mouth" (John Hardon, SJ, Catholic Dictionary, page 63). See how the verb katechein is used in Acts 18:25; 21:21, 24; Romans 2:18 and Galatians 6:6.
Luke 4:14-21 ~ Jesus Preaches in the Nazareth Synagogue
The summary statement in verses 14-15 characterizes Jesus's
Galilean ministry:
This is the same teaching received by Theophilus, the man to whom Luke dedicated his Gospel (Lk 1:4).
In Perea, on the east side of the Jordan River, the priest John, son of Zechariah (St. John the Baptist), baptized Jesus with a baptism of anointing by the Holy Spirit to begin His ministry. However, Jesus didn't inaugurate His teaching ministry in Perea, where He was baptized, or cross the Jordan River into Judea to start His ministry. Instead, He traveled back to Galilee in the north. The historical events of the Assyrian conquest began first in Galilee in 733-32 BC and later took the whole Northern Kingdom in 722 BC (see 1 Kng 15:27-29; 17:1-12). In 30 AD, when He was 30 years old (Lk 3:23), Jesus purposely began His restoration of the new Israel in the territory where old Israel was first torn asunder when the Assyrians scattered the tribes of Galilee into Gentile lands to the east.
Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the 8th-century BC prophet Isaiah, quoted in Matthew 1:23 and 4:15-16. As prophesied by Isaiah, Jesus, the promised "God with us" (Emmanuel) who was born of a virgin, came as a "light" to Galilee. Jesus is:
Notice that the passage from Isaiah quoted in Matthew 4:15-16 speaks of universal salvation. It is salvation for the people of God living in Galilee and the Gentiles who live to the east side of the Jordan River in the Decapolis (ten Greek culture Gentile cities) who will also come to hear Jesus preach (Mt 4:25; Mk 5:20; 7:31).
Having returned to Galilee, Jesus came to His hometown of Nazareth and attended the Sabbath day (Saturday) service in the local Synagogue. Nazareth is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew Nasret, probably derived from the Hebrew word "consecrate" (nazir) or "branch" (netzer/nezer). The town, located on the southwestern side of the Sea of Galilee, is about 15 miles from the tip of the southern shore. There is no mention of Nazareth in the Old Testament, but at Caesarea Maritima, archaeologists discovered an inscription naming Nazareth that dates to the 1st-century AD. The town was insignificant (Jn 1:45-46), but its location near the major trade highway known as the Via Maris ("Way of the Sea") brought thousands of travelers passing by the town.
Verse 16 notes that it was Jesus's "custom" to keep the Sabbath command to worship God (Ex 20:8-11; 31:12-17; 34:21; 35:1-3; Dt 6:12-15) by coming to the Synagogue. Worship expressed in sacrifice took place in the Jerusalem Temple, but for those communities located too far away from the Temple for a Sabbath visit, worship through prayer and praise took place in the local synagogues. The Sabbath service included reading Sacred Scriptures with the people reflecting upon their meaning.
The president of a synagogue was authorized to ask any male of the covenant to read and expound on the Scripture to the congregation. On this day, he asked Jesus to stand and read the Scripture for that Saturday Sabbath service. Like the priest Ezra, Jesus stood before the assembly of the covenant people to read from the word of God. The passage Jesus read was from the Septuagint Greek translation of the scroll of Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings [good news = gospel] 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, 19 and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord (Lk 4:18-19 quoting Is 61:1-2 LXX).
After reading the Scripture, the reader would take his seat and then reflect on the passage. As was the custom, Jesus took His seat (verse 20). Then in verse 21, He made a startling announcement; He told the congregation He fulfilled the prophecy He read from the Book of Isaiah. Jesus was revealing to His neighbors His identity as the promised "Anointed One," that Isaiah wrote about in the passage. Therefore, He has the authority to proclaim an extraordinary divine Jubilee liberation for the people of God as described in the prophecy.
"Anointed One" is the meaning of the word "Messiah" and refers to one anointed with God's Spirit and consecrated to serve as God's special agent, like the prophets (1 Kng 19:16), priests (Ex 29:7; Lev 8:12), and kings, like King David, "the anointed of God" (1 Sam 16:1, 12-13). Jesus declared to the people of Nazareth that He is the chosen servant of God that Isaiah wrote about, "anointed" with the Spirit of God to bring justice to the earth. The people should have recalled a similar passage from Isaiah 42:1-7, Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations ... I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness (Is 42:1, 6-7). God put His Spirit upon Jesus to make Him "a covenant of the people," "a light to the nations," and the liberator of the captives "who live in darkness."
But what was the prophet Isaiah referring to when the passage Jesus quoted mentioned proclaiming liberty in "a year acceptable to the LORD" (Is 61:1-2)? The covenant people relived the Exodus experience in the seven annual sacred feasts. Every seventh year, called a Sabbath year, and every fiftieth year (after the seventh Sabbath year), called a Jubilee year, the Israelites were to demonstrate the same mercy and compassion God showed to them in the Exodus liberation by extending mercy to each other. The Jubilee year was supposed to be a "year of liberation" (see Lev 25:10). From the prophecies of Isaiah, the covenant people understood that the Davidic Messiah would generate a divine jubilee of grace and restoration, dispensing justice to the poor and suffering (i.e., Is 42:1-9; 49:5-13; 50:14-16; 61:1-11).
THE LIBERATION OF THE EXODUS EXPRESSED IN
THE JUBILEE YEAR OF GRACE
| Jubilee Liberation | Exodus Liberation |
| 1. The land would be redeemed, and all land debts are forgiven (Lev 25:13-17). | 1. God redeemed the "firstborn" of Israel (Ex 12:1-34) just as He redeemed all of Israel to take possession of the Promised Land. |
| 2. All Israelite slaves were freed (Lev 25:35-55). | 2. God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt (Ex 12:37-51). |
| 3. The land would revert to the tribal family entrusted with it (Lev 25:10, 23-34). | 3. God gave Israel stewardship of the Promised Land (Josh 3-4). |
In saying that He was the fulfillment of the Isaiah passage, Jesus was proclaiming a "liberation" that would bring about a "new Exodus." The people expected that the Messiah would liberate them from their oppressors (in the 1st-century AD, the Romans), but that was not the kind of "exodus" Jesus was bringing. The meaning of His "new exodus" becomes clear in Luke 9:28-31 in the event of the Transfiguration: About eight days after he said this, he took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While he was praying, his face changed in appearance, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem (bold added).
According to Luke 9:31, the "exodus" and "liberation" that Jesus was bringing was not from the Roman occupation or to free Jewish slaves. Instead, his liberation was from slavery to sin and death, and His "exodus" would be from death to resurrection.
THE "NEW EXODUS" LIBERATION
FULFILLED IN JESUS CHRIST
| Liberation | Fulfilled in Christ |
| 1. Jesus took upon Himself the debt of the curses incurred for failing to keep the Old Covenant Law (Lev 26:14-46; Dt 28:15-68). | Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, "Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree" (Gal 3:13). |
| 2. He freed us from slavery to sin and death. | We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin (Rom 6:6). |
| 3. Through Jesus's death, burial, and Resurrection, we received the promise of eternal life in the Promised Land of the Kingdom of Heaven. | Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen, I say to you. Today you will be with me in Paradise" (Lk 23:42-43). |
| Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2019 |
Jesus came to fulfill the prophets' prophecies, restore the faithful remnant of Israel, and extend the gift of eternal salvation to all humanity. He came to undo the work of Satan in the fall of our original parents and bring about an exodus out of sin into a new and eternal covenant in which the indwelling of the Holy Spirit would bring about One Body in Christ in the Universal (Catholic) Church.
Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2019; revised 2022 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.
Catechism References (* indicates Scripture is quoted
or paraphrased in the citation):
1 Corinthians 12:13 (CCC 694, 790*, 798*, 1227*, 1267, 1396*);
12:26-27 (CCC 953);
12:26 (CCC 1469*);
12:27 (CCC 1265*);
12:28 (CCC 1508*);
12:30 (CCC 1508*)
Luke 4:16-21 (CCC 436*); 4:18-19 (CCC 695*, 714); 4:18 (CCC 544, 2443*), 4:19 (CCC 1168*)
Old Testament expectation of the Messiah and the Spirit (CCC 714*)
The new Law and the Gospel (CCC 1965*, 1966, 1967*, 1968*, 1969*, 1970*, 1971*, 1972*, 1973-1974)
God inspires the human authors of Scripture, and readers (CCC 106, 108*, 515*)
The Church as the Body of Christ (CCC 787*, 788*, 789, 790*, 791*, 792*, 793*, 794*, 795)