For the Third Sunday after the Epiphany

The law of the Lord is perfect and revives the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the innocent. (Psalm 19:7)

When we hear the word "law", we tend to think of rules, regulations, statutes and all manner of legalese. We often hear the phrase "rule of law" spoken in such a way as to impute to it a status that is beyond any sort of questioning. And yet the "law" is constantly parsed, explicated, interpreted and reinterpreted. The "law", as we experience it in our culture, evolves along with the culture and the debating of the law is a part of that process.

When we hear passages like Sunday's readings from the Hebrew Scriptures (Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10 and Psalm 19), we know that the word "law" refers to the Torah, the covenant in words, that God makes with God's chosen people. Often, the first five books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) are referred to as the "Books of the Law" since they detail the history of the giving of the Law by God to the Hebrews. What we may not understand is the deep love and reverence the Jews have for this gift. Sunday's readings give us some sense of this devotion.

After generations in exile, the descendants of those exiles gather before the Water Gate in a Jerusalem in ruins. The scribe Ezra reads from the sacred books. They bow their heads. They prostrate themselves in worship of the God who gave them the Law. They are so overcome with emotion they weep. A feast is proclaimed. At last! The people have been reunited with their primary point of contact with God -- the hearing and keeping of the covenant -- "the judgments of the Lord (that) are true and righteous altogether." (Psalm 19:9)

By the time of Jesus' first sermon in Galilee (Luke 4:14-21), God's people are exiled in place -- in their own country -- living under an oppressive, foreign occupation (the Roman Empire). There are various sorts of responses to this situation. The elite religious leadership (the Sadducees) have struck a deal of sorts with the invaders to "keep the peace". The revivalist movement of keeping the Law to the utmost degree (the Pharisees) in preparation for Messiah has gained significant popularity. Those Jews who favor a political, "this world" solution to the situation, including armed revolt (the Zealots) are waging a mostly disorganized guerilla war against the Romans. The Jews who believe the only solution is to withdraw from the situation altogether and await the coming of the Day of the Lord (the Essenes) have established themselves at Qumran on the shores of the Dead Sea.

When Jesus reads from Isaiah of the work of the One anointed by the Spirit of God (bringing good news to the poor, proclaiming release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, setting the oppressed free, etc.), and says, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing," the Gospel writer intends to set up the understanding that Jesus is the completion of the Covenant promise made so long ago through the Law of Moses. The Law fulfilled is not the same, though, as the Law made null and void.

The early Church struggled with its relationship to the Law, particularly once Gentiles began following the way of Jesus. Questions were raised. Did Gentiles have to become Jews first in order to be baptized as people of "The Way"? If they didn't have to become Jews, how would issues of table fellowship be resolved between Gentile Christians and Christians who still kept the dietary laws of Moses? If Jewish Christians continued to keep the Law, were they adding to the Gospel or merely preserving their tradition?

While such questions were not the biggest questions for the Church at Corinth, Paul's analogy of the Church as the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-31a) could certainly be employed to good use. "If one member suffers, all suffer together with it..." Paul writes. To be sure, the life of community is complicated. To be a part of the Body of Christ is to belong to an organism that exists as a whole, and is diminished when there is division.

As Christians, we are called to proclaim the Good News. This Good News, we believe, is a message that does reach to those who are on the margins of the world. This Good News is the fulfillment of the promise made in God's perfect Law. This Good News is clear and gives light to the eyes. This Good News is sweeter than honey in the comb. This is the Good News that is the Good Word -- spoken in the Person of Jesus and spoken by each of us as we follow the Way of Jesus in our day to day lives. Only through the witness of the Church, through the witness of our lives, do the people in our world have a chance to know, "the scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his morvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.