Breaking Open the Word
By James Cavanagh
Jan.31: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Scripture readings:
• Jeremiah 1:4-5; 17-19
• Psalm 71:1-6, 15-17
• 1 Corinthians 13:4-13
• Luke 4:21-30
Overview: God’s love and mercy is for everyone. Although this message was first communicated to one, particular people—the Jews—it was meant for every race and nation. In this week’s first reading Jeremiah describes his calling. Chosen by God long before he was born, Jeremiah was called to be “a prophet to the nations.” The son of a priest Jeremiah grew up in Anathoth, a small town located about two miles northeast of Jerusalem. Jeremiah witnessed one of the most tumultuous periods in Israel’s history when Assyria, which had long dominated Judah, fell to the Babylonians. Religious syncretism and idolatry had undermined the Jewish nation, and eventually led to Jerusalem’s downfall. The history of the chosen people has always been closely bound up with that of her neighbors and so Jeremiah’s mission was not solely limited to Israel, but “to the nations.” This reading sets the stage for Christ’s appearance in the synagogue, where he announces the Gospel of salvation. The second reading is one of the most beautiful and inspiring passages in the whole Bible. Often referred to, simply, as St. Paul’s “chapter on love,” this reading sums up the essential Gospel message. Of all Christian virtues, “the greatest of these is love.” In this week’s Gospel Jesus began his public ministry preaching in the synagogue at Nazareth. At first, the people “were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” But then their mood quickly changed. They became so furious that they tried to kill him. His allusion to Elijah and Elisha communicated to his audience how God will punish them and bless the Gentiles unless they lived up to their divine calling as the holy people of God and “light to the nations” (Is 60:1-3).
Key verse: “A prophet to the nations I appointed you” (Jer 1:5).
“Catechism of the Catholic Church”: “As sacrament, the Church is Christ’s instrument. ‘She is taken up by him also as the instrument for the salvation of all,’ ‘the universal sacrament of salvation,’ by which Christ is ‘at once manifesting and actualizing the mystery of God’s love for men’” (No. 776).
Pope Benedict XVI: “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16). These words from the First Letter of John express with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of God and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny. In a world where the name of God is sometimes associated with vengeance or even a duty of hatred and violence, this message is both timely and significant” (“Deus Caritas Est,” 1).
Life application: The Catholic Church is Christ’s instrument of love and mercy in the world. We have been called, like Israel before her, to be a holy people and a light to the nations. This divine calling is fulfilled only to the extent that each of us “strives eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts” the greatest of which is love.
