Catechism Links[1]
CCC 436, 1241, 1546: Christ as prophet
CCC 904-907: Our participation in Christ’s prophetic office
CCC 103-104: Faith, the beginning of eternal life
CCC 1822-1829: Charity
CCC 772-773, 953: Communion in the Church
CCC 314, 1023, 2519: Those in heaven behold God face to face
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| “Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1630 |
Commentary:
Reading I: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
Commentary on Jer 1:4-5, 17-19
This is the beginning of the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah. It is clear that the author sees the call of the prophet from before his birth (See Isaiah 49:1, 5; Luke 1:15; Galatians 1:15-16. I knew you: I loved you and chose you. I dedicated you: I set you apart to be a prophet.)
Moving forward several verses Jeremiah is told to prepare himself for his mission. The prophet is commanded to proclaim the Lord to the nations. He is given the protection of the Lord who will overcome all obstacles. (“They will fight against you but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.”) The passage concludes with a warning that his prophetic vision will not be easily accepted, but he will be successful with God's help.
CCC: Jer 1:5 2270
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15-17
R. (cf. 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
Commentary on Ps 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15-17
Psalm 71 is an individual lament. In this section we hear a profession of faith in the saving power of God. In the third strophe we also find a link to the call of Jeremiah before his birth (Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19). In both cases the servant is known by God and prepared for his service from the womb.
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Reading II
Longer Form:
Commentary on 1 Cor 12:31—13:13
St. Paul shifts his focus from the diversity of the different functions within the Body of Christ (which is the Church), to the gifts common to those enlightened by Christ. First among these gifts is love which informs all reason, directing the Christian to the love of Christ.
“In speaking of love, Paul is led by spontaneous association to mention faith and hope as well. They are already a well-known triad (cf 1 Thessalonians 1:3), three interrelated features of Christian life, more fundamental than any particular charism. The greatest . . . is love: love is operative even within the other members of the triad, so that it has a certain primacy among them. Or, if the perspective is temporal, love will remain (cf. "never fails,") even when faith has yielded to sight and hope to possession.” [5]
CCC: 1 Cor 12 1988, 2003; 1 Cor 13 735, 800; 1 Cor 13:1-4 1826; 1 Cor 13:4-7 1825; 1 Cor 13:5 953; 1 Cor 13:8 773; 1 Cor 13:12 163, 164, 314, 1023, 1720, 2519; 1 Cor 13:13 1813, 1826, 1841
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Or
Shorter Form: 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
Commentary on 1 Cor 13:4-13
This shorter version of St. Paul’s discourse on the characteristics of Christian love (faith and hope) omits the beginning verses, but retains focus on the unselfish and selfless nature of the relationship between members of the community, imitating Christ’s love for the Church.
CCC: 1 Cor 13 735, 800; 1 Cor 13:1-4 1826; 1 Cor 13:4-7 1825; 1 Cor 13:5 953; 1 Cor 13:8 773; 1 Cor 13:12 163, 164, 314, 1023, 1720, 2519; 1 Cor 13:13 1813, 1826, 1841
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Gospel: Luke 4:21-30
Commentary on Lk 4:21-30
This Gospel passage places Jesus at his home town speaking in the synagogue. Some of those present, presumably those less familiar with Jesus’ local origins, praised him. Others there were questioning his authority, since they knew him as a child and knew his family. This selection is his response to their questioning his status and authority.
We understand why the people were upset when we consider that, in his analogy explaining why he could accomplish no works from God, he used Elijah going to a widow in Sidon (not Israel) and Elisha curing Naaman (a Syrian not an Israelite). This would have placed Jesus on a par with the great Prophets, blasphemy in the eyes of his old neighbors. Perhaps even more upsetting to the people would have been that their God would not reveal himself to them because of their lack of faith.
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Homily:
While it does not seem possible, the beginning of Lent is only a month away. Given the temperatures of the past week, that does not seem possible does it. Here in the depths of winter’s grip, it is difficult to think about spring being right around the corner. I think that’s why those who developed the calendar made this such a short month – just to speed up our time sense. The progression of the seasons is frequently used as an analogy for our lives. Spring – Summer – Fall – and Winter: are frequently attached to the stages of our lives. It is the march of time.
Today as we bask in the return of above zero temperatures we can be reminded that our lives are also measured in terms of spiritual growth. It is extraordinary to reflect upon the series of texts we have been given on this Forth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Our spiritual lives start with baptism. Most of us were baptized as infants and in that sacrament we were formerly called, even though God made us in our mother’s wombs and gave us the great gift of life. In the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, we were told how the prophet was also called from his first moments of life.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.”
Even though we believe the gift of adoption by God was initiated in the sacrament of baptism, we were each called by God; invited to participate in his creation.
Of course as newly baptized most of us could not understand that call or what it meant. We needed to be taught what it meant to be God’s children and again, for most of us, that duty fell to our parents. It was from the very beginnings of our memory that we saw God’s love for us in the arms of our parents. It was in our mother’s arms that carried us and nurtured us that we felt God’s first embrace; it was our father’s protecting hands that showed us that God’s love was unselfish and steadfast.
While we hear the wonderful love song from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians mostly at weddings, it has a special place in our hearts as we see it in the relationship between, first parents and their children, then later between members of the extended family in the domestic church – the church of the home. While it is difficult, we need the constant reminder that our attitudes toward our family members must also reflect the litany:
“Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.”
Learning the lesion of love is one of the hardest things we do as Christians. It needs to have a constant reminder and, in our pray and worship, the Great Commandment is constantly stressed for that purpose. Not only does our adoption by God fortify us to receive this message, it compels us to proclaim that invitation through our words and actions, just as the Prophet Jeremiah was compelled, and just as Jesus was compelled.
In the Gospel from St. Luke, we find Jesus first visit home after he was baptized by St. John in the Jordan, driven into the desert to be tempted, and then returned to take up his public ministry. He performed many signs and wonders in the region of Galilee and his fame grew. In the verses immediately preceding the Gospel passage just proclaimed, these verses described his success:
“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.” (Luke 4:14-15)
So when he returned home expectations were high. He had been baptized and the Holy Spirit had been experienced by those who had seen him. It must have surprised him when, with the people he had known since he was a boy, were not affected the same way. He quickly understood the reality that even with the help of God and in spite of the intense love he felt for them, his message and its miraculous affects would not be felt by those who knew him too well.
This understanding is part of our own spiritual growth as well. We are baptized and infused with God’s love and sent to participate in his gift to mankind but the message, like the Lord’s will be rejected by many, especially those who know us well. They cannot understand that their parents or siblings or aunts and uncles can be God’s instruments.
For us, this is were it gets difficult. We cannot give up. To do so would be like withholding a miracle cure from one who was dying. So we must not only continue to try but we must also work to equip ourselves to be more effective in bringing the message of love to others.
Today’s scripture reminds us that we were called by God, just as Jeremiah and just like St. Paul who said similar words in his letter to the Galatians. We were strengthened by baptism and taught the great lesson of love by our parents. Now we find that the message we are to deliver is not going to be easily accepted. What do we do?
First, we rely on the basics, personal and family prayer, communal worship, especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, sacraments of reconciliation and healing, and actively growing our own faith. We are fortunate to have many opportunities to do this. We have the Alfa program which has done wonders in our own parish as well as internationally. We have prayer groups and fraternal groups such as the Knights of Columbus. We have small faith sharing groups including a vital Christian Family Movement within our parish. All of these opportunities are directed to build our greater faith community into a vibrant assembly dedicated to the mission of building and equipping each of us to do the work we were called to do from our mother’s wombs.
Perhaps the hardest part is making the commitment to take that step. Consider this your personal invitation to help save a life.
We have been called, we have been loved, we have been sent. Let us not forget and commit to serve God who loves us.
Pax
In other years on this date: Memorial of Saint Blase, Bishop and Martyr
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem
[5] See NAB footnote on 1 Corinthians 13:13.
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