A few days ago, a friend asked me, “Father, What is the difference between Temple and Synagogue? Are they used interchangeably in the Bible?” I would like to begin this homily by explaining the difference between Temple and Synagogue. On the one hand, in Judaism, as we have it in the Bible, there is only one Temple, in Jerusalem. It is only one to stress that there is only One God. The Jews gather in the Temple to worship and offer various kinds of gifts and sacrifices to God. On the other hand, in Judaism, there is a Synagogue in every town. People gather every Sabbath in the Synagogue to read the Scripture and reflect on God’s word. They do not offer sacrifices in the Synagogue. To understand this explanation from the Catholic liturgical point of view, you can say we have both the Synagogue and the Temple in the Holy Mass. What happens in the Synagogue is the Liturgy of the Word, while what happens in the Temple is the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist. So, in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus was in the Synagogue of his hometown observing the Liturgy of the Word.
Jesus’ public ministry began with his baptism, which we celebrated two Sundays ago. At his baptism, the Holy Spirit came down on Jesus in the form of a dove, and the voice of the Father from heaven declared Jesus the Father’s Beloved Son. Jesus then went to the desert, which was like his boot camp, where he received his training through fasting and prayer, and the devil tested him. After successfully graduating from his boot camp in the desert, in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus officially inaugurates his public ministry in the Synagogue of his hometown, Nazareth, by reading Isaiah 61. He preached from this passage, indicating his identity and his mission. In his commentary after the reading, he said, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” By this statement, he presented himself as the fulfillment of the passage, which contained the mission of the Messiah. So, by this act, Jesus identified himself as the Messiah, and he took over the mission of the Messiah, which entails, bringing glad tidings to the poor, proclaiming liberty to captives; giving recovery of sight to the blind, and releasing prisoners.
While Jesus read from the Scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, the people in the Synagogue listened to him. They looked intently at him after he finished reading, and then he commented on the reading. In today’s First Reading, the people listened to Ezra while he read from the Book of the Law. Sometimes, some of our separated brethren spread the erroneous message that Catholics do not encourage the reading of the Bible. I guess they misunderstand our reverence for the Bible and the order and decorum of our Liturgy. In the Liturgy of the Word, there is a great emphasis on the “ministry of listening.” While the liturgical calendar already provides the references to all the readings of the day, and Catholics are encouraged to read and reflect on them before the Mass, the emphasis during the Liturgy is on listening to God. That is why only one reader, the Lector or the Deacon/Priest (for the Gospel), proclaims while others listen. That is why the reader does not announce the chapters and verses of the passage while reading. Today’s passages from the Old Testament and the Gospel show us that this reverence for the Word of God and the tradition of listening is not a new invention by the Catholic Church.
Our relationship with God entails us listening to God while he speaks; and God listens to us while we speak. In the Synagogue, the people listen to God’s Word; in the Temple, they speak to God through their prayers and sacrifices. In the Liturgy of the Word, we listen to God as he speaks to us, and in the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist, God listens to us while we speak to God as we offer him our prayers in the Sacrifice of His Most Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
The Synagogue connects directly to the Temple in the Mass. Ensure you are not late for Mass. Do not just come to speak to God in the Liturgy of the Eucharist without reverently listening to him in the Liturgy of the Word. Hearing the Word of God in the Liturgy is irreplaceable. After reading from Isaiah in the Synagogue, Jesus said, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” In his commentary on these words of Jesus, Fr Peter John Cameron, O.P. said, “The fulfillment of the Gospel in our lives depends on our hearing it attentively, listening to it lovingly, and responding to it faithfully.” My dearly beloved in Christ, we must not take for granted the all-important ministry of listening to the Word of the Lord. Listening is part of that “full, active, conscious participation” that the Second Vatican Council requires of us in the Sacred Liturgy. Today’s Psalm reminds us that the words of God are Spirit and life. May our listening to God’s word bring life to all that is dead in us and around us, and may our hearing of God’s word in the Liturgy bring about the fulfillment of God’s promises in our lives both now and forever. Amen.
Homily for 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C 2025
Thanks Fada!