3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homilies, Images, Slides and Videos

The following are homilies, photos, clipart, multimedia slides and videos you might find useful for your celebration of the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). This Sunday’s Gospel tells us that Jesus came to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberation to captives, new sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed and to proclaim a year of favor.

READINGS

FIRST READING: Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10
PSALM: Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15
SECOND READING: 1 Cor 12:12-30 or 12:12-14, 27
GOSPEL: Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21

HOMILIES

• Today Is God’s Day [www.bible.claret.org]
  In today’s Gospel we find Jesus going into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. The audience were probably like most of us at our Sunday Liturgy, half there, half hearing the nice message. We find ourselves a bit like St. Augustine who prayed in his earlier days when he was far from saintly, “Lord make me chaste – but not now.” The audience found it comforting to hear Jesus read that a Savior, a Messiah, would come to bring good news to the poor… to proclaim liberty to captives… to give sight to the blind and to set the down trodden free… some day in the distant future. A lovely thought. Something to look forward to… no demands for now… but then they were taken aback when Jesus put down the book and said, “This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.” This caused a stir because Jesus was saying that what you hope for is not in the distant future. It’s already here. It is here and it is now. Stop putting your future off until tomorrow and begin to do something NOW. Read more…
• Jesus Returned in the Power of the Spirit into Galilee [dailyscripture.net]
  Luke tells us that Jesus began his public ministry in his own land of Galilee where he was raised as a child. Jesus’ first public words in his hometown synagogue amazed both his family and townspeople. It was customary for the president of the synagogue to call on different people each week to read from the Hebrew bible and say a few words. Jesus read the text from the prophet Isaiah that explained how the Messiah would come in the power of the Holy Spirit to bring freedom to those oppressed by sin and evil (see Isaiah 61:1-2). Jesus commented that he himself would fulfill this prophecy. Only a madman or the Messiah would dare to make such a claim! Jesus not only got their startled attention, he awoke in his people fresh hope that God would indeed fulfill his promises to them. Luke tells us that the people received Jesus’ words favorably and wondered what would become of “Joseph’s son”. In Jesus we see the grace of God in action. His gracious words bring hope, joy, and favor to all who were ready to receive him. Are you hungry for God’s word? Read more…
• Go……Team Christ! [www.st.ignatius.net]
  God loves each of us individually for whom we are. He doesn’t love us for the ways that we are like others. He loves us for the way that we are the unique reflections of His Love. And the way that we are unique reflections of His Love is the role we have been called to fill in the great contest of the Battle of the Kingdom… We all need to find the best ways that we can serve the Lord according to our particular talent and stage in life. And we need to go out there and compete against the forces of evil, compete for Team Jesus, and use our unique talents to win the world over for the Kingdom of God. Read more…
• 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time [www.catholicmatters.com]
  We have a priceless gift of God in the inspired Books of the Bible. Let us show true appreciation for that gift by using it to build up a better knowledge of the Christian faith which it teaches us. There should be a Bible, or at least the New Testament, in every Christian home. It should not be an ornament on a shelf, but a fountain and source from which we can draw strength and refreshment in the daily practise of our Christian faith. Almost two thousand years ago, God’s infinite goodness provided this source of strength, the “fountain of living water,” for us Christians of this century. Are we grateful for his thoughtfulness? Are we nourishing our faith at this blessed fountain of his infinite wisdom and love? Read more…

IMAGES

To view and download their full size versions, please click on the images or the names of the artists.

CLIPART

SLIDE PRESENTATION

The following presentation can be downloaded here.

VIDEOS

The first video shows different scenes of Jesus’ life. It includes the scene wherein Jesus goes to the synagogue to read the scriptures and declare that the passage He has just read has come true in Him. It can be downloaded here.

The video below is a homily on the theme “Liberty to the Captives”. It can also be viewed here.