THE DIOCESE OF YAKIMA • PASTORAL OFFICE
LA DIÓCESIS DE YAKIMA • CENTRO PASTORAL
Homily for Chrism Mass 2013 at St. Paul Cathedral Yakima
Isaiah 61:1-3a, 6a 8b-9; Revelation 1:5-8; Luke 4:16-21
Most Reverend Joseph J. Tyson, Bishop of Yakim
Peace be with you! 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.
At this Chrism Mass the Church insists we hear these words twice – first from Isaiah
and then from St. Luke. Why? Why does the Church emphasize these words of
sacred scripture?
I’d like to begin with the academic research of my old teacher and mentor,
Archbishop Brunett – the retired Archbishop of Seattle and current administrator of
the Diocese of Oakland. As a young priest Archbishop Brunett went to the Middle
East and visited Qumran seeing first-hand the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls had
been discovered.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Dead Sea Scrolls, in 1947 a young Palestinian
shepherd boy while looking for a lost goat discovered caves containing ancient
scrolls – including the most ancient edition of the Isaiah text ever discovered – the
very text cited proclaimed by Jesus in today’s Gospel. As scholars reviewed these
ancient manuscripts they discovered how accurate the scriptures had been copied
and handed down from one generation to the next.
But the challenge to all these ancient Hebrew texts is that ancient written Hebrew
had no written vowels. The language was – and still is – written in consonants. As
time went on, the language developed a series of dots and apostrophes to indicate
vowels and vowel inflections.
But the ancient texts contained no such markers. So when someone was asked to
stand in the synagogue to proclaim the ancient texts, the promulgator had to
remember from memory what vowel to insert verbally into the written text. If you
fail to hit the right vowel you fail to convey the true text. That’s why standing in the
synagogue “proclaiming” the scripture was such serious business in the ancient
Near East at the time of Jesus.
Perhaps this is also why – in the words of today’s Gospel – “...the eyes of all in the
synagogue looked intently at him….” For Jesus inserted the proper vowels from
memory faithful to the prophet Isaiah vowels that clearly articulated “…glad tiding to the poor” and “…liberty to captives…” “…sight to the blind…” and a new world
where the “…oppressed go free….” He literally “re-membered” the text!
Brothers, this is what you do. As good and holy priests of God here in the Diocese of
Yakima you – from your heart – remember for our people the full text of these “glad
tidings.” You give God’s Word – Jesus – a voice. You vocalize the Word of God so our
people can be nourished through Word and Sacrament. Through bread and wine
consecrated into the Body and Blood of Christ you – literally – re-member our
people back into Christ.
Why is this so important? Because the people we serve often have very hard lives.
Here in Central Washington were I was born and I now serve as bishop, I see our
people work long hours in fruit warehouses, on farms, in vineyards and orchards
and asparagus fields. Many speak limited English. Many have tiring jobs. Many of
those jobs are mind-numbing. Sometimes they carry these stresses into their family
life.
When I am tired or fatigued, or discouraged, or tempted or overwhelmed, I think of
the people I’ve visited in the apple packing warehouses and then see in the cold
early morning hours honoring our Lady of Guadalupe. Dare I be any less of myself
for them? Dare I give them anything less than the best?
I take great courage in the words of our retired Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI back
during Lent in 2006: “God does not allow darkness to prevail,” Benedict XVI wrote,
“… rather there is a “divine limit imposed upon evil”, namely, mercy.” (Memory and
Identity, pp.19ff.).
And I am greatly encouraged by the insight of our new Holy Father, Pope Francis
who noted with clarity and directness, that when the country is poor, the poor are
poorer.
My thanks to you – the clergy of Yakima – for allowing yourselves to become God’s
very “vowels” desiring to help your parishioners accurately articulate and
remember the Word of God in their lives! I also give thanks to you, the worshipping
assembly, for inserting the Word of God into the words of your daily life. I am
especially grateful for the manner in which you desire to insert this Word of Hope
for those around you who are facing hardship and difficulty in their daily lives.
Together may our lives life echo the very first lesson of Jesus in this Gospel of St.
Luke:
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.
Peace be with you!
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