Bishop Jaime Soto delivered the following homily at the 2022 Chrism Mass on Thursday, April 7 at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament:
The Lord Jesus went to the synagogue of Nazareth, where he had been raised. Following the customs Mary and Joseph had imparted to their young child, he stood to read from the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah. As he read the words of the prophet there was a remarkable resonant harmony between the message and the messenger. Jesus embodied what he read. The words of Isaiah took on flesh and blood in the person who read them. Jesus was the real presence of the prophetic words. The prophecy became real life for the unsuspecting residents of Nazareth.
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. (Lk. 4.18-19)
These words took on the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus.
The scene in the synagogue of Nazareth was a sacramental moment. Jesus was the living sign and instrument of everything the prophet foretold. He was “the Alpha and the Omega”, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1.8)
View the 2022 Chrism Mass
My brothers, we continue to live in this sacramental moment. Every time we do what the Lord has commanded us, the Scripture passage is fulfilled in our hearing and in our doing. Should there be any hesitation or reservation on our part, remember this evening’s scripture reading.
The setting of Nazareth, though humble and remote, was pre-ordained by God’s mysterious providence to be the place where the real presence of the prophecy would unfold. Whether we stand in the sanctuary of this Cathedral or St. Patrick Church in Weaverville the real presence of the Lord Jesus is made manifest. In the whispered silence of a confessional, the anxious busy confines of a hospital ward, or the unexpected encounter on the street, the real presence of the Alpha and Omega of all time stretches his divine hands through us to touch the sorrows and tribulations of our time with his eternal mercy and wisdom.
Your lives, these sacred oils, the rituals and words of timeless tradition bring the real presence of Christ Crucified to the lives of our brothers and sisters who come to us, who call out to us. Jesus standing amidst the congregation in Nazareth, was the firstborn of priests as he boldly proclaimed, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” As he stood for us then, so we stand with him now proclaiming, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” We are sacramental brothers with Christ the High Priest whose body and blood, soul and divinity we should make present and real for the lowly, the brokenhearted, the captive, and the prisoner.
The ministry Jesus has entrusted to us should place a diadem of delight on those who mourn, the oil of gladness on the sorrowful, and a glorious mantle on the listless spirit. For we have been named priests of the Lord and ministers of our God.
These words are intended for all those baptized into the royal priesthood of Jesus Christ. Still, we, upon whose hands the priestly chrism has been impressed, should be the real and living presence of the one who “loves us and has freed us from our sins by his Blood.” Our own personal testimony should echo the words of Jesus in the gospel, "Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” encouraging others to listen and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd.
By no merit of our own, our hands lift up the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus in every Eucharist we offer. This precious proximity should daily fuse our lives to this holy mystery so that there is a holy harmony between minister and Messiah. In the synagogue of Nazareth Jesus spoke for all whom he has chosen with a brother’s love. May our lives always speak of him.