Jan 28, 2013
Jeremiah 1:4-5,17-19
Psalm 71: 1-6,15-17
1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
Luke 4:21-30
God's words in today's First Reading point us beyond Jeremiah to
Jesus. Like Jeremiah, Jesus was consecrated in the womb and sent as
a "prophet to the nations" (see Luke
1:31-33).
Like the prophets before Him, Jesus too faces hostility. In today's
Gospel, the crowd in His hometown synagogue quickly turns on Him,
apparently demanding a sign, some proof of divine origins - that
He's more than just "the son of Joseph."
The sign He gives them is that of the prophets Elijah and Elisha.
From their colorful careers Jesus draws two stories. In each, the
prophets bypass "many...in Israel" to bestow God's blessings on
non-Israelites who had faith that the prophets were men of God (see
1
Kings 17:1-16; 2
Kings 5:1-14). "None...not one" in Israel was found
deserving, Jesus emphasizes.
His point isn't lost on His audience. They know He's likening them
to the "many...in Israel" in the days of the prophets. That's why
they try to shove Him off the cliff. As He promised to protect
Jeremiah, the Lord delivers Jesus from those who would crush
Him.
And as were Elijah and Elisha, Jesus is sent to proclaim God's gift
of salvation - not exclusively to one nation or people, but to all
who realize in faith that from the womb God alone is their hope,
their rescuer, their "rock of refuge," as we sing in today's
Psalm.
Prophecies, Paul tells us in today's Epistle, are partial and pass
away "when the perfect comes." In Jesus, the word of the prophets
has been brought to perfection, fulfilled in those who have ears to
hear, as He declares in today's Gospel.
Greater than the gifts of faith and hope, Jesus shows us how to
love as He loved, to love God as our Father, as One Who formed us
in the womb and destined us to hear His saving Word.
This is the salvation, the "mighty works of the Lord," that we, as
the Psalmist, are thankful to proclaim daily in the
Eucharist.