Glad Tidings to the Poor (3rd Sunday Ordinary C)

“I am such a miserable man!” blurted out Jean Valjean, the main protagonist of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, Les Misérables, upon realizing the depth of his wretchedness wrought by the cruelty of society and its oppressive laws and customs. He has become bitter and hateful, his heart hardened by nineteen years of imprisonment, all because of stealing a loaf of bread to feed her starving sister and her children! Yet this realization is now the turning point of his life. He has to change. The kindly Bishop Myriel, from whom he has stolen some precious silverware, has just treated him as a person with dignity, with a soul worthy of redemption. The bishop’s compassion and mercy, a stark contrast to the condemnation he is used to receive, gives him hope, invites him to transform himself into an honest man. Indeed, in the story, Jean Valjean changes from a miserable thief to a man with vision, a compassionate philanthropist who helps transform a town and significantly the lives of two other miserable ones: the unwed mother turned-prostitute, Fantine, and her abused child, Cosette.

The musical adaptation of this great 19th century masterpiece allows more people of today both to enjoy the arts and, more significantly, to be scandalized by society’s cruelty on those who are weak and powerless. As Victor Hugo would have it as the purpose of his work: “So long as there shall exist, by virtue of law and custom, decrees of damnation pronounced by society, artificially creating hells amid the civilization of earth..., so long as the three great problems of the century—the degradation of man through pauperism, the corruption of woman through hunger, the crippling of children through lack of light—are unsolved... books of the nature of Les Misérables cannot fail to be of use.”

Today millions are still in the misery of poverty, oppression, and powerlessness because those who are in power and control of resources find it politically and economically expedient to keep them that way.

Election in the Philippines is forthcoming. I bet people will hear the same tune of promises from political candidates, assuring the people of redemption from their misery. But election times, as we know all too well, have never failed to come up with great promises and have consistently toyed with the flickering hope of the poor. What we want to see is the fidelity of a leader to his/her words of promises and the genuine compassion for the miserable ones. Without fidelity, promises however great they may be are empty. Without genuine compassion, identification with the poor is but a show and a veiled exploitation.

Today’s gospel reading (Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21) features Jesus’ inauguration of his messianic ministry. Facing the people of Nazareth in the synagogue, Jesus reads the messianic prophecy from the scroll of Isaiah. He proclaims thus: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… He has anointed me… to bring glad tidings to the poor… to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free… to announce a year of favor from the Lord” (v. 18-19).

And while all eyes are intently fixed on him as he hands back the scroll, he boldly proclaims the inauguration of the messianic time: “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (v. 21). This is like saying: “Today I come as the fulfilment of this promise. Today I inaugurate the messianic task of bringing the good news to the poor, to the captives, to the blind, to the oppressed.”

Allow me to highlights two things: First, the fidelity of God to his words and promise; second, Jesus’ identification of his mission with the poor.

God’s Fidelity to his Promise. In the person and mission of Jesus, God has fulfilled his promise of long ago to save his people from all forms of misery rooted in sin. Jesus is the fulfilment of the messianic prophecy (v. 21). Jesus, the Messiah, has ushered in the Kingdom of God where the poor celebrate the bounty of God, the captives enjoy a life of freedom, the blind rejoice in seeing the beauty that surrounds them, the oppressed cherish their dignity.

When God promises, God makes good of that. We are never left empty. How has God been faithful to his promise to me? How has he been liberating me from the clout of sin that oppresses me?

As Christians we continue the mission of Christ. We are asked to be faithful to the gospel we preach. The miserable ones of our society are yearning for such fidelity. Have we not left our words and promises empty? As a Church, have we not paid a lip-service to our commitment to the poor?

Jesus’ Identification with the Poor. The first and privileged recipients of the Messiah’s mission are the socially and physically deprived, the economically poor, and the politically oppressed. The gospel of Luke brings this out in Jesus’ personal dealings and his teaching. In this inaugural proclamation, Jesus pronounces that his prophetic ‘anointing’ is to identify him with the lowliest and the most forgotten.

Today, as in the context of Les Misérables, the poor continue to be exploited, women and children to be abused. Am I part of those who are taking advantage of the helplessness of these miserable ones? The gospel today invites us to be identified with the helpless as Jesus was. This means cultivating genuine compassion and love for the least of our brothers and sisters and spending time, treasure, and talent to bring the glad tidings of change to their miserable lives.

In Les Misérables, Bishop Myriel’s silver candlesticks are the most prominent symbol of compassion as they shed the light of love and hope. The bishop’s gesture of giving Valjean the silver candlesticks is a haunting invitation for Valjean to rise from his misery and to pass on the same redemptive compassion to those who need it. Our baptismal candle too reminds us of Jesus’ mission being passed unto us, his disciples, to make a difference in society as we bring the glad tidings of God’s compassion and love to the miserable ones.