For Jesus the scriptures were alive and they were a real point of contact with his Father. When Jesus attended the synagogue service at Nazareth he proclaimed the words of the prophet Isaiah which described the mission of the Messiah. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me... he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Jesus was convinced that these words referred to him.
As his disciples do we understand that they refer to us as well? How can these words speak to us as they did to Jesus. We need to wrestle with them, hold them up against our lives and our experience in order to hear what they say to us.
In today's first reading from the book of Nehemiah we are told about the tears of the Jewish exiles who returned and discovered the book of the Law. A broken, hurting people found new meaning and purpose in the Law of their ancestors. We often think of law as a constraint on our freedom. Today we are reminded that law can be a gift which binds us to each other in community. Law can protect the weak among us from those who see no motive but profit. But laws are only as good as the men and women who shape them. The scriptures remind us to demand the very best from our lawgivers.
Paul's first letter to the Corinthians speaks to us of the importance of each and every member of the Body of Christ. There are no insignificant members in Christ's Body. Every human person has a special dignity; each has a mission here on earth. We must never lose sight of the image of God in our very being. Whether unborn or aged, disabled in mind, body, or spirit, each of us is here as part of God's plan.
How do the words of Nehemiah challenge us? They call us to recognize that we are a special people anointed with the Spirit of God. They require us to examine the way we respect and cherish the brothers and sisters who cross our path in this life. These words of scripture challenge us to look at our institutions to ensure that they are just and fair to all persons. Each of us has gifts to offer to our society and to our church. What we have been given we are to share. Our strength is not in what we can preserve for ourselves, but in what we can give away in Christ-like service.
This week is the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision which made abortion on demand the rule of our country. For almost 40 years the constitutional guarantees of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have been denied an entire class of people. This has never been a matter of free choice! No one has a right to choose to kill another innocent human being!
At the other end of life we confront the issue of natural death. When may extreme means of prolonging life be removed? Who makes the choice? Do we have a "right to die." Pray for an end to the "culture of death" overtaking our nation.