Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 72
Reading I
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.
Responsorial Psalm
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.
1 Cor 12:31—13:13
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.
OR:
1 Cor 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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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 in the days of Elijah
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.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
The promises that God makes to us today through the Prophet Jeremiah defines the relationship that He wants to have with us. He knows us completely. Every perfection and every imperfection are known and is loved. I remember, many years ago, reading those first lines in the prophetic book, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you…” It was God speaking directly to me. He is speaking directly to all of us. We are known. We are loved. We are important. At that moment, that is exactly what I needed to hear. I started to cry. I felt God’s presence and it overwhelmed me. God does not want us to feel alone or separate from Him. He knows us completely and wants us to know Him. There is an intimacy that we can achieve with God if we just allow our relationship with Him to progress on its natural course.
We must remind ourselves that the point of entry into a relationship with God is Him knowing everything about us and still loving us completely regardless of the bad stuff.
God does not want preconditions set before a relationship can be established with Him. He is not like that. We are expected to approach Him broken and desperate. It is through Him that we are made perfect. There is no need to feel embarrassed about our past, God already knows everything, it is the present that matters along with a future with God. As the present is experienced, it quickly goes into the past where it cannot be changed. There is no need to feel regret for things that could have been done better. There should only be joy that we are now with our God and that we are now willing to allow Him to do the work necessary to makes us into better men; the way He wanted us to be all along.
God made Jeremiah a promise and it also extends to us. When we enter into a right relationship with Him we will be open to divine revelation. Things that we once thought were difficult will become easier to do. We will know and understand more about the world around us. A higher awareness will be achieved. With that will come an understanding of what to do and what not to do. These are some of the benefits of being intimate with our creator. When we are, regardless of what circumstances we find ourselves in, we will be watched over and protected. Even though there will opposition to our new way of life and opposing forces which find themselves rooted in evil, God will ensure that no harm comes to us. When we are walking with God, we are partakers in His glory and benefit from everything that flows from it.
The Love of God is an unstoppable force which nothing can oppose. It is what brought all of creation into existence and made us who we are; each person unique and a wonderful creation of God’s. It can be seen and felt in all things if we just take a moment to recognize that it is there. Nothing makes sense without it. No questions can be answered without it being a guiding principle. It is amusing how we can easily forget just how central God’s love is to our existence when we take back our will from God and try to act like Him. That is when we get ourselves into trouble. We cannot be the master. We cannot be the king. It is when we usurp God’s authority and do things without the remembrance of His love, that we get into trouble. God should always be first, along with the acknowledgement that He loves us completely. He knew us before we were formed. He knew us before we experienced consciousness. He was celebrating our birth before our birth. That is how much He loves and cares for us. To be receivers of His love can only bring about good things with us being benefactors of everything.
I am right in the middle of my middle-age experience. I am 51 years old with all of my children grown, the youngest being 25. For the past couple of years, I have found my self looking through old photo albums and reminiscing when my family was younger. I cannot get over the smiles on their mischievous faces when they were young. The weight of the world and the problems of life were nothing to them. They were loved and they loved without abandon. There was a time when film for a camera was very expensive. We didn’t have smartphones which could take countless amounts of pictures without paying any type of price. My daughter got a hold of my camera and started taking a countless amount of pictures of herself looking into the camera. I only discovered this later when I paid for the development of these pictures. To this day, those pictures are among my prized possession. It shows an innocence and love that could never be described. I cannot help but look at the pictures and laugh. Those pictures and what they express are what God is all about. To live, laugh, and love. What a beautiful concept.
The more that we are in tune with love, the more we will experience happiness and joy. This whole concept of love is a natural occurrence that is seen throughout creation. Why is it that we are the only ones who struggle with it and its positive effect that it has on everything? The Apostle Paul describes the three Theological Virtues that define who we are, with love being the one that triumphs over all things. Love comes from God and God is love. Nothing can outlast or defeat it because nothing can defeat God. To experience love is to experience God. God knew us before we were formed. He claimed us as our own. That is how much He loves us. To experience Him completely requires us to accept that love and return it to Him.
Deacon Tom
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