L'omelia nella Bibbia, la Bibbia nell'omelia

The Bible is a Word addressed and, directed to the people, the assembly, the community. In the Old Testament as in the New Testament, it sets the stage for this destination. The most salient episode in this regard is in Luke 4 where Jesus not only proclaims the text of Isaiah 61, but also comments on it, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled for you who hear it” (Luke 4:21). The Study Day of the Department of Biblical Theology aims to explore this vocation of the biblical Scriptures to the “word of encouragement” (Acts 13:15) that is the homily. This will be done by reading more closely biblical texts of the “homiletic” type, but also by interrogating the ancient rabbinic tradition and finally by proposing a reflection on the communicative pact of the homily.

In his essay The Preached Word, pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906- 1945) writes, “The Word freely emerges from the Bible and takes the form of a homily. It is Christ himself who goes out to the community as a homilist.” Thus in Luke 24, when the risen Jesus explains the Scriptures to the two disciples on the road and to the community inJerusalem. These then are “words which set hearts on fire” (Evangelii Gaudium § 142).