By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted January 24, 2025

(See the readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Last year I was giving a talk and someone asked me, “When did you first encounter the Scriptures?” First Holy Communion was my answer.

Not that I remember much about the readings at the Mass that day, but rather a gift I received at the party that followed. My grandparents had given me a children’s Bible as a present for the occasion. It was a popular edition in those days; I’m not sure if it is still in print. There were pictures on every page.

To be honest, I was looking more at the pictures at first before eventually reading it. The stories they told captivated my imagination and drew me into a new world.

It was the beginning of an encounter, an encounter with Christ Jesus. The wonders of God’s saving activity. The beauty of creation, the sadness of the fall, the incredible episodes in the life of Joseph, Moses and the burning bush, the giving of the Ten Commandments, the stories of the prophets – all were amazing.

Then in the New Testament all the wonderful events in the life of Christ from his birth to baptism and the ministry and ultimately to his death and resurrection. Then onto the spread of the Gospel and life in the Church. All those wonderful brightly colored drawings that told the story of God’s love.

As the years went on I actually started to read the texts. All the while my awareness of God and his love were growing within, even though it took many years before I could put my own words together to describe the experience.

This week we are observing the “Sunday of the Word of God.” The celebration was added to the liturgical calendar by Pope Francis in 2019. We are invited to engage in active reading and meditation on the sacred texts found in the Bible. When we read those words and contemplate their meaning and significance, God mysteriously speaks to us in the depths of our hearts. In this exchange, we encounter the Risen Lord, the Word of God, Jesus Christ.

St. Jerome once wrote, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” The phrase captures the importance of the Word of God contained in the sacred writings. In the writings of the Old and New Testaments we have an opportunity to hear God speak to us in the depths of our hearts. In this active listening we can find Christ; perhaps more accurately he finds us and draws us further into the mystery of His mighty love.

In the First Letter to Timothy we read: “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (I Tim 3:16-17). St. Paul describes for us some of the many benefits to listening to the Word. In a sense, God uses his Word for transformation. In the Word he encounters us, calls us, invites us, challenges us, consoles us, molds us into the persons we were created to be.

Jesus himself testifies to the importance of the sacred writings. The Gospel passage for Sunday’s liturgy recalls the opening of the public ministry in the Gospel According to St. Luke. In this passage Jesus goes into the synagogue, opens the Isaiah scroll and finds the place where it is written: “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, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”

After reading it aloud he says to all gathered there: “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” With these words, Jesus announces that now is the time of salvation.

Underlying this key message is the realization of Jesus’ appreciation of the Scriptures. He knew the Scriptures (the Old Testament) as he often quoted them. He was intimately familiar with the writings. The fact that he opened the scroll to the specific passage he wanted is a testament to that.

You may recall that there was no “bible” (which means “book”) in those days. The Scriptures were written on scrolls. Isaiah had its own scroll because it was so large (for example, compare this to the 12 minor prophets whose writings were all contained on one scroll). The familiar chapters and verse numbers we have and use regularly were not added to the texts until the Middle Ages. So Jesus knew exactly where to find the passage he wanted to proclaim. He knew the Scriptures well.

We might think of another episode when Jesus’ familiarity with the scriptures, and their importance, was noted. The event was after the resurrection when Cleopas and his companion were on the road to Emmaus. Jesus approaches them and walks with them but they do not recognize him, now risen and glorified. They recall the events that had just taken place, after which they say, “We were hoping that he was the one to save Israel.”

Jesus rebukes them saying: “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26). The evangelist then tells us: “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures” (Luke 24:27).

The disciples’ eyes are opened to the Risen Lord after he breaks bread with them. At which point they say to each other: “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32) Then they rush back to Jerusalem to tell the others that the Lord is Risen.

We could readily go through the four gospels and find the many references Jesus makes to the sacred writings whether quoting, alluding to or using images and stories from those texts. He knew the Scriptures well. He prayed with the Scriptures. He interprets the Scriptures. He teaches with the Scriptures. So once again, the Scriptures both in the Old and New Testaments lead us to an encounter with Christ Jesus.

Regarding the relationship between the two testaments, St. Augustine wrote: “The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.” The entire collection is the Word of God and worthy of meditation. In the whole of the Scriptures we find fertile ground for the seed of faith to be planted in our hearts and to encounter the One who gives it. Another quote from Saint Augustine that hit me when I first read it while in formation at the seminary was from his “Confessions.” One of the key moments in Augustine’s journey to faith was when he heard a child in the adjacent property yelling, “tolle lege, tolle lege,” which translates, “Take up and read, take up and read.” He took this as a sign to take up the Scriptures and read. So he did, and it was this reading that prompted him to accept faith and be baptized.

The first reading this Sunday recalls Ezra reading the book of the law. The communal listening to that word, accepting it and celebrating it is something we do at every liturgy in the Church. The reading of Scripture is an integral element of our celebrations. Every time we celebrate Mass we first listen to the Word of God. The words of Scripture actually permeate our prayers, hymns and songs throughout the liturgy. All are avenues that lead to an encounter with the living Lord, Jesus Christ.

The responsorial psalm is from the Gospel According to John. The original setting is the Bread of Life discourse in which Jesus first says to his disciples, “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63).

Some disciples are leaving Jesus because of what he has said about his flesh and blood being true food and true drink. When he asks some of those remaining if they too are going to leave, Peter responds: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69).

Jesus’ words invite us to faith. Coupled with Psalm 19 we affirm and acclaim our gratitude for the Word of God in the sacred texts.

The Bible my grandparents gave me on my First Holy Communion opened a door for me to encounter Christ Jesus in the Scriptures. I still have that children’s Bible, one of the few things from my childhood that I’ve kept these past 52 years. In high school I got my first “grown up” version. Then in the seminary I had another one for study, and I kept using that one even after the binding gave way and it was falling apart. I was actually still using this edition a few years ago.

Naturally as time went on and I grew from childhood through adolescence to adulthood, I started to realize the same words spoke to me in different ways. Challenging me when I needed correction, offering wisdom while making decisions, comforting me when I was in sorrow, and encouraging me when I needed hope.

So when I eventually heard that saying of St. Jerome, it rang true to me and continues to motivate me, and perhaps you too, to encounter Christ through the Word in the sacred texts — for “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”

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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Penndel, and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.