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| “Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem” by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1630 |
Reading I: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
The word of the LORD came to
me, saying:
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.
But do you gird your loins;
stand up and tell them
all that I command you.
Be not crushed on their
account,
as though I would leave you
crushed before them;
for it is I this day
who have made you a fortified
city,
a pillar of iron, a wall of
brass,
against the whole land:
against Judah’s kings and
princes,
against its priests and
people.
They will fight against you
but not prevail over you,
for I am with you to deliver
you, says the LORD.
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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.)
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 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.”).
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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.
In you, O LORD, I take
refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me,
and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and
save me.
R. I will sing of your
salvation.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me
safety,
for you are my rock and my
fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the
hand of the wicked.
R. I will sing of your
salvation.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my
youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother’s womb you are
my strength.
R. I will sing of your
salvation.
My mouth shall declare your
justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me
from my youth,
and till the present I
proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R. I will sing of your
salvation.
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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. 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:
Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the
greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still
more excellent way.
If I speak in human and
angelic tongues,
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a
clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of
prophecy,
and comprehend all mysteries
and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to
move mountains,
but do not have love, I am
nothing.
If I give away everything I
own,
and if I hand my body over so
that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain
nothing.
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.
If there are prophecies, they
will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be
brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we
prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes,
the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to
talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a
child;
when I became a man, I put
aside childish things.
At present we see
indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I
am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain,
these three;
but the greatest of these is
love.
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Commentary on 1
Cor 12:31—13:13
“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.”[4]
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Or
Shorter Form: 1
Corinthians 13:4-13
Brothers and sisters:
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.
If there are prophecies, they
will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be
brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we
prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes,
the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to
talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a
child;
when I became a man, I put
aside childish things.
At present we see
indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I
am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain,
these three;
but the greatest of these is
love.
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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 the focus on unselfish and selfless
nature of the relationship between members of the community; imitating Christ’s
love for the Church.
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Gospel: Luke 4:21-30
Jesus began speaking in the
synagogue, saying:
“Today this Scripture passage
is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the
gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Isn’t this
the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you
will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’
and say,
‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were
done in Capernaum
And he said, “Amen, I say to
you,
no prophet is accepted in his
own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel
when the sky was closed for
three and a half years
and a severe famine spread
over the entire land.
It was to none of these that
Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in
Zarephath in the land
of Sidon
Again, there were many lepers
in Israel
during the time of Elisha the
prophet;
yet not one of them was
cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the
synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with
fury.
They rose up, drove him out
of the town,
and led him to the brow of
the hill
on which their town had been
built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But Jesus passed through the
midst of them and went away.
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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 who
were 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 because of their
lack of faith.
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Homily:
I don’t know how many of
those present are familiar with the Star Wars movies; but there is an analogy I
hope to draw from them today so bear with me as I explain the part of this
science fiction saga to which I am referring.
It takes place in the second of the sixth film (The Empire Strikes Back) which was made back in 1980 (which seems
incredible to me). The hero, Luke
Skywalker is sent to complete his training with a Jedi master named Yoda who, with
Pennsylvania Dutch syntax, speaks he does.
Luke is supposedly learning
to control the “force” and is trying to telepathically lift his space craft out
of a swamp into which it sank on his arrival.
He is attempting to levitate the ship.
But when his rational mind sees how big it is, he loses faith in his
ability and fails. The ship, which
started to rise as he applied himself, sinks back into the swamp.
There are other examples of a
person’s rational mind stepping taking over and confounding faith. We use this one because it is well known in
popular fiction but rings true. Those of
you who are old enough may remember learning to ride a bicycle for the first
time. Do you recall that you got started
with a parent or an older sibling pushing you and running alongside to get you started? Then when they let go the first time, your rational
mind took over and you realized that balancing on those two skinny tires was
impossible and you fell. Right?
The Gospel story tells of
Jesus home coming once he has taken up his public ministry. Rumors would have reached Nazareth about his
miraculous cures and the other miracles he performed in Capernaum. So there were great expectations. As the Gospel began in today’s selection,
Jesus has just finished reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. It is one of the prophecies about the coming
of the Messiah. Did you notice, he
concluded by saying “Today this Scripture
passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
In saying those words, Jesus told those present that he was the Messiah! We notice their immediate response was one of
amazement. The Holy Spirit, no doubt, proclaimed
inwardly that this was truth!
Then, their rational minds
took hold of them. The questioned the thought that had first occurred. The asked “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” (According to tradition, Joseph
would have died some years earlier, before Jesus was Baptized by John.) They
knew this boy, now a man and prophet.
How could he be the Messiah? Jesus
immediately sees their disbelief and realizes he will not be able to bring
faith to those closest to him.
Instead of just letting it
pass, the Lord, seeing their expectation tries to explain why he will not give them
any signs. He points first to the
Prophet Elijah and how the miracle of the bottomless oil and flour jars (1 Kings 17:10-16). How Elijah did not go to a Hebrew widow but
to a widow of Sidon where God’s power was manifest through him. This would have set the local Jewish
congregation on edge. Then he followed
with another example, this time it’s Elijah’s protégé, Elisha, who cures a
Syrian, Naaman, of Leprosy (2
Kings 5:1-11); again, not a Hebrew – a Syrian. These two examples enraged the congregation
to a point where they wanted to kill Jesus.
Ask yourselves why did they
get so angry; was it because they thought Jesus would not perform miracles for
them? Or was it because he reminded them
how many times throughout history God had offered himself to them in the form
of the Law and the Prophets, yet they had rejected God’s offer. Was it not because, by Jesus reminding them
of this just after he had told them he was the Messiah and been rejected they
saw the truth and hated him for it? They
had looked back and realized it was impossible to balance on a bike; it was
impossible for the foster son of Joseph to be God as well as man.
How important this story is
for us! We come to Mass today with the
promise of a miracle taking place, don’t we?
Perhaps it has been promised so often, we sort of expect failure. When we come forward later, after seeing the
bread and wine transubstantiated, through our prayers changed into the essence
of Christ’s Body and Blood, can we see the truth of that event? Does not our heart leap, at least for a
moment and then, does our rational mind set in saying; “This is just a wafer of
bread. Didn’t we see it poured into the vessels to be distributed?” Does our faith allow us to recognize the gift
of life we are being offered? Or have we
looked back and realized it is impossible to balance our bike on two small
wheels?
When Jesus came back to
Nazareth, where he grew up and he was known his whole life, he could not show
them signs, their faith was not able to allow it. It is a warning to us. When we come to this familiar place and hear
those familiar words, do we tune out? Do
we go on autopilot, saying the words without listening to their meaning? It is a trap we all face and one we must all
work diligently to avoid.
Lent is fast
approaching. Let us make a special
effort this coming season to revitalize our faith. Let us embrace the truth of the Eucharist and
once more marvel at the gift God’s Only Begotten Son has left for us.
Pax
[2]
The picture is “Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem ” by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn,
1630
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
See NAB footnote on 1 Corinthians 13:13
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