Homily for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C
Readings: Lk
4:21-30 (Gospel); Jr 1:4-5, 17-19 (First Reading) and 1 Co 12:31-13:13 (Second
Reading)
From the Series: Reflections and Teachings in the Desert
HEAL
YOURSELF
‘Physician,
heal yourself!’(Lk 4:23)
The Gospel
for today is from Lk 4:21-30. Verses 21 and 22 say: Then he began to speak to
them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’ And he won the
approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from
his lips. They said, ‘This is Joseph’s son, surely?
Parallel texts are:
1. Lk
2:47 - and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his
replies.
2. Lk
4:15 - He taught in their synagogues and
everyone praised him.f Footnote f says “Another
favorite theme of Lk: the people admiring and praising Jesus: 4:22; 8:25; 9:43;
11:27; 13:17; 19:48; for similar themes, cf. 4:14+ (Christ’s growing
reputation), 2:20+ (the praise of God), 1:12+ (religious awe).”
3. Jn
7:46 - The police replied, ‘There has never been anybody who has spoken like
him’
Verses 23 to 25 says: But he replied, ‘No doubt you will quote me saying, ‘Physician, heal
yourself!’ and tell me, ‘We have heard all that happened in Capernaum,k
do the same here in your own countryside’’ And he went on, ‘I tell you
solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in
his own country. ‘There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in
Elijah’s days, when heaven remained shut
for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the
land (v. 25)… Footnote k
says “i.e., the miracles of which
Lk does not speak until after the visit to Nazareth, 4:33, etc.”
Parallel texts are:
1. 1
K 17:1 - Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead,a said to Ahab:
“As Yahweh lives, the God of Israel, whom I serve, there shall be neither dew
nor rain these years except at my
order.”
2. 1
K 18:1 - A long time went by, and the word of Yahweh came to Elijah in the
third year: Go, present yourself to Ahab, I am about to send down rain on the
land.
3. Jm
5:17 - Elijah was a human being like ourselves-he prayed hard for it not to
rain, and no rain fell for three and a half years;
Verse 26 says: but Elijah was not sent to any one
of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town.
Parallel text is 1 K 17:9 that says: Up and go to
Zarephath, a Sidonian town, and stay there. I have ordered a widow there to
give you food.
Verse 27 says: And in the prophet Elishah’s time
there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these were cured, except the
Syrian, Naaman.’
Parallel text is 2 K 5:14 that says: So he went
down and immersed himself seven times in
the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more
like the flesh of a little child.
Verse 28 says: When they heard this everyone in the
synagogue was enraged.
Parallel text is Jn 7:30 that says: They would have
arrested him there, but because his hour had not yet come no one laid a hand on
him.
Verse 29 and 30 say: They sprang to their feet and
hustled him out of the town; then they took him up to the brow of the hill
their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped
through the crowd and walked away.
Parallel text is Jn 8:59 that says: At this they
picked up stones to throw at him;s but Jesus hid himself and left
the Temple. Footnote s says “The claim of Jesus to live on the divine
plane (v. 58) is for the Jews, blasphemy, for which the penalty is stoning, Lv.
24:16).”
The First Reading is from Jr 1:4-5, 17-19. Verses 4
and 5 say: The word of Yahweh was
addressed to me, saying, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;e
before you came to birth I consecrated you; I have appointed you as prophet to
the nations. Footnote e says “To ‘know’ means for God, to choose and predestine, cf. Am 3:2; Rm 8:29.
On man’s ‘knowledge’ of God, cf. Ho 2:22.”
Parallel texts are:
1. Is
49:1-5 - Second song of the servant of
Yahweha. Islands,
listen to me, pay attention, remotest people. Yahweh called me before I was
born, from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name. He made my mouth a sharp
sword, and hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me into a sharpened arrow,
and concealed me in his quiver. He said to me, ‘You are my servant (Israel)b
in whom I shall be glorified; while I was thinking, ‘I have toiled in vain, I
have exhausted myself for nothing’; and all the while my cause was with Yahweh,
my reward with my God. I was honored in the eyes of Yahweh, my God was my
strength. Footnote a says
“Some reckon v 7 or 7-9a as part of this
song”; and Footnote b says “This
identification of the servant, hard to reconcile with vv.5,6, cf. 42:1+, is
probably a gloss suggested by 44:21.”
2. Lk
1:15 - …for he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must drink no wine,
no strong drink.j Even from his mother’s womb he will be filled with
the Holy Spirit. Footnote j
says “Several OT texts lie behind
this remark, especially the law of the nazirite, cf. Nb 6:1+.”
3. Jn
10:36 - Yet you say to someone the Father has consecrated and sent into the
world, ‘You are blaspheming”, because he says, “I am the son of God”.
4. Ac
26:17 - I shall deliver you from the people and from the pagans to whom I am sending
you…
5. Ga
1:15 - Then God, who had especially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s
womb, called me through his grace and chose…
6. Rm
8:29 - They are the ones he chose
especially long ago and intended to become true images of his Son,q
so that the Son might be the eldest of many brothers. Footnote q says “Christ,
the image of God in the primordial creation, Col 1:15+; cf. Heb. 1:3, has now
come, by a new creation, 2 Co 5:17+, to restore to fallen man the splendor of that image which has been
darkened by sin, Gn 1:26+, 3:22-24+; Rm 5:12+. He does this by forming man in a
still more splendid image of a son of God (Rm 8:29); thus, sound moral judgment
is restored to the ‘new man’, Col 3:10+, and also his claim to glory which he
had sacrificed by sin, Rm 3:23+. This glory which Christ as the image of God
possesses by right, 2 Co 4:4, is progressively communicated to the Christian, 2
Co 3:18, until his body is itself clothed in the image of the ‘heavenly man, 1
Co 15:49”.
Verse 17 says: So now brace yourself for action.
Stand up and tell them all I command you. Do not be dismayed at their presence,
or in their presence I will make you dismayed.
Parallel texts are:
1.
Jr 1:7-8 - But Yahweh replied, ‘Do not say, “I
am a child.” Go now to those to whom I send you and say whatever I command you
(v. 7).Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to protect you—it is Yahweh
who speaks (v.8)
2. Ezk
2:6 - And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them, do not be afraid when they
say, “There are thorns all round youd and scorpions under you.” Do
not be afraid of their words or of their looks, for they are a set of rebels. Footnote
d says “‘There are thorns all round you’ corr. Following Greek.”
Verse 18 and 19 say: I, for my
part, today I will make you into a fortified city, a pillar of iron, a wall of
bronze to confront all this land: the kings of Judah its princess, it spriest
and the country people. They will fight against you, but shall not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver
you—it is Yahweh who speaks.
Parallel text for verse 18 is Jr 15:20 that says: I will make you a
bronze wall fortified against this people. They will not overcome you, because I
am with you to save you and deliver you—it is Yahweh who speaks.
The Second Reading is from 1 Co 12:31-13:13.
Verses 31 to Chapter 12, verse 1 says: Be ambitious for the higher gifts. And I am
going to show you a way that is better than any of them. If I have all the
eloquence of men or of angels, but speak without love,a I am simply
a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. Footnote a says Love
(agape) has no possessiveness and is not a desire for satisfaction it wants to
satisfy the other. The supreme charity is God’s love for us, 1 Jn 4:19, that
made him give his Son so that sinners might be reconciled, Rm 5:8; 8:32-39; 2
Co 5:18-21; Ep:4-7; cf. Jn 3:16f; 1 Jn
4:9-10, and become not only Gos’s chosen ones, Ep 1:4, but God’s sons, 1 Jn
3:1. This love is attributed to God (the Father), Rom 5:5; 8:39; 2 Co 13:11,13;
Ph 2:1; 2 Th 2:16; cf. 1 Jn 2:15, but as it is identical with God’s nature; 1
Jn 4:7f,16, it is found in the Son, Rm 8:35,37,39; 2 Co 5:14; Ep 3:19; 1 Tm
1:14; 2 Tm 1:13, so the Son loves the Father as the Son is loved by the Father,
Ep 1:6; Col 1:13; cf. Jn 3:35; 10:17; 14:31, and as the Father loves us, so the
Son loves the human race, Jn 13:1,34, 14:21; 15:9, which he was sent to save, 2
Co 5:14f; Ga. 2:20; Ep 5:2,25; 1 Tm 1:14f; cf. Jn 15:13; 1 Jn 3:16; Rv 1:5.
This is the same love that the Holy Spirit, Rm 15:30; Col 1:8, gives
Christians, Rm 5:5; cf. Ga 5:22; to help them to carry out, Rm 8:4, the
essential commandment of the Law, which is love of God and neighbor, Mt
22:17-40p; Rm 13:8-10; Ga 5:14. To love friends, and enemies, Mt 5:43-48p, is
not only the necessary consequence of God’s love, 1 Jn 3:17; 4:20f, and it is
the new commandment laid down by Christ, Jn 13:34f; 15:12,17; 1 Jn 3:23, etc.,
and how they love him, Col 1:8; 1 Th 3:6; etc. Love presupposes sincerity,
humility, selflessness and self-sacrifice , Rm 12:9f; 1 Co 13:4-7; 2 Co 6:6; Ph
2:2f; service, Ga 5:13; cf. Heb 6:10, mutual help, Ep 4:2, cf. rm 14:15; 2 Co 2:7f. Love shows itself in the way
we behave, 2 Co 8:8-11,24; cf. 1 Jn 3:18, and the way we obey the Lord’s
command, Jn 14:15; 1 Jn 5:2f, etc. and givce effect to our faith, Ga 5:6; cfHeb
10:2. Love holds the community together, Col 3:14, cf 2 P 1:7, and it covers up
many sins’, 1 P 4:8; cf. Lk&;47. Since love of neighbor springs from love
of God, its motive cannot be fear, Rm 8:28-39; cf. 1 Jn 4:17f. Nor can we be
charitable without truth, Ep 4:15, cf. 2 Th 2:10, and it is this that enables
us to make moral judgments, Ph 1:9, and gives us spiritual understanding of the
divine mystery, Col 2:2; cf. 1 Jn 4:7, and spiritual knowledge of the otherwise
unknowable love of Christ, Ep 3:17-19; cf. 1 Co 8:1-3; 13:8-12. Since Christ,
Ep 3:17-, and the whole Trinity, 2 Co 13:13+; Cf. Jn 14:15-23; 1 Jn 4:12, live
in the soul that has his love. It fosters the theological virtues, cf. Rm
1:16+; 5:2+, in any person where it is the dominant characteristic, 1 Co 13:13.
Love is the only eternal virtue, 1 Co 13:8, and will only be perfect in the
vision, 1 Co 13:12; cf. 1 Jn 3:2, when God gives the lovers the gift he has
promised, 1 Co 2:9; Rm 8:28; Ep 6:24; 2 Tm 4:8; cf. Jm 1:12; 2:5.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Rm 8:31 - After saying this, what can we add? With
God on our side, who can be against us?
2.
Rm 14:15 - And indeedc if your attitude
to food is upsetting your brother,d, then you are hardly being
guided by charity. You are certainly not free to eat what you like if that
means the downfall of someone for whom Christ died.
Footnote c says “‘And
indeed’; var. ‘But’ or ‘Now’; Footnote d says “By
his taking bad example, or by being scandalized at an action his conscience
does not approve.”
3.
Col 1:8 - and it was he who told us all about your
love in the Spirit.
Verses 2 and 3 say: And if I have the gift of prophecy,
understanding all the mysteries there are, and knowing everything; and if I
have faith in all its fullness, to move mountains, but without love, then I am
nothing at all. If I give away all I possess, piece by piece, and if I even let
them take my body to burn it,b but I am without love, it will do me
no good whatever.
Footnote b says “Var. ‘I may give all my goods to the poor so
that I can boast of it’.”
Parallel text is Mt 7:22 that says: When the day comese many will
say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in
your name, work many miracles in your name? Footnote e says “The
day of the final Judgment.”
Verse 4 says: Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous;
love is never boastful or conceited;
Parallel texts are:
1. Rm
13:8-10 - Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love
your fellow men you have carried out your obligationsc (v. 8). All
the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall
not steal,d you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this
single command: you shall love your neighbore as yourself (v. 9).
Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbor; that is why it is the
answer to very one of the commandments.f Footnote c says “Lit. ‘fulfilled the law’-apparently law in
general, not only the Mosaic Law”; Footnote d says “Add
(Vulg.)’you shall not bear false witness’”; Footnote e says “In
Lv the ‘neighbor’ was a fellow countryman, here it is any member of the human
family which is made one in Christ, Ga. 3:28; Mt 25:40.”; Footnote f
says “Lit. ‘that is why love is the law in all its fullness’.”
2. 1
Th 5:14-15 - And this is what we ask you to do, brothers, warn the idlers, give
courage to those who are apprehensive, care for the weak and be patient with everyone
(v. 14).Make sure that people do not try to take revenge; you must all think of
what is best for each other and for the community (v.15).
Verses 5 and 6 say: it is never rude or selfish, it does not take
offence, and it is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins
but delights in the truth;
Parallel text for verse 5 is Rm 12:9-10 that says: Do not let your love be a pretense, but sincerely prefer good to evil
(v. 9) Love each other as brothers should; and have a profound respect for each
other d (v. 10). Footnote d says “Or ‘outdo each other in mutual esteem’.”
Verse 7 says: it is always ready
to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.
Parallel text is Pr 10:22 that says: Hatred provokes disputes, love
covers all offenses.
Verse 8 says: Love does not come to an end. But if
there are gifts of prophecy, the time will come when they must fail; or the
gift of languages, it will not continue for ever; and knowledge- for this, too,
the time will come when it must fail.
Parallel texts are:
1. 1
Co 13:13 - In short,e there
are three things that last:f faith, hope and love; and the greatest
of these is love. Footnote e says “Or
‘Meanwhile’”; and Footnote f says “Or ‘In short, then, we are left with these three things.’ This
association of the three theological virtues, which is found earlier in 1 Th
1:3 and which was probably in use before Paul’s time, recurs frequently in his
letters, though the order varies: 1 Th 5:8; 1 Co 13:7,13; Ga 5:5f; Rm 5:1-5;
12:6-12; Col 1:4-5; Ep 1:15-18; 4:2-5; 1 Tm 5:11; Tt 2:2; CfHeb 6:10-12; 10:22-24; 1 P 1:3-9,21f. Faith
and charity are associated in 1 Th 3:6;
2 Th 1:3; Phm 5; faith and fortitude in 2 Th 1:4, love and fortitude in 2 Th
3:5, Cf. 2 Co 13:13.”
2. Ac
11:27 - While they were there some prophetsm came down to Antioch
from Jerusalem,n Footnote m says “Like
the OT prophets, Dt 18:18+; 2 P 1:21; Mt 5:12, those of the NT are
charismatics, 1 Co 12:1+. Who speak in God’s name, being inspired by his
Spirit. Under the New Covenant this charisma is bestowed even more generously,
Ac 2:17-18, and at times it is enjoyed by the faithful at large, Ac 19:6; 1 Co
11:4-5; 14:26,29-33,37. But particular individuals are so specially endowed
with the charisma that they are always referred to as ’prophets’, Ac 11:27;
13:1; 15:32; 21:9,10. These normally occupy the second place after the apostles
in the order of charisma, 1 Co 12:28-29;l Ep 4:11; but cf 1 Co 12:10; Rm 12:6;
Lk 11:49; this is because they are the appointed witnesses to the Spirit, Rv
2:7, etc., 1 Th 5:19-20, whose ‘revelations’ they communicate, 1 Co 14:6,26,30,
Ep 3:5; Rv 1:1, just as the apostles as witnesses to the risen Christ, Rm 1:1+;
Ac 1:8+, and proclaim the kerygma, Ac 2:22+. They do not simply foretell the
future, Ac 11:28; 21:11, or read hearts, 1 Co 14:24-25; cf 1 Tm 1:18. When they
‘edify, exhort, console’, 1 Co 14:3; cf. Ac 4:36; 11:23-24, they do so by a
supernatural revelation: in this they resemble those who ‘speak strange
languages’ Ac 2:4+; 19:6, but their gift is greater because their speech is
intelligible, 1 Co 14. Their chief work was evidently to explain the oracles of
scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, especially those of the OT
prophets, 1 P 1:10-12, and thus expound the mystery of the divine plan, 1 Co 13:2;
Ep 3:5; Rm 16:25+. For this reason they are named with the apostles as the
foundation of the church, Ep 2:20+. The Revelation of St. John is a typical
example of this NT ‘prophecy’. Rv 1:3; 10:11; 19:10; 22:7-10, 18-19. For all
its dignity, the prophetic charisma communicates knowledge that is imperfect
and provisional, being bound up with faith, Rm 12:6, which is itself destined
to vanish in face of the beatific vision, 1 Co 13:8-12”; and Footnote n
says “Western Text adds ‘and there was great rejoicing. While we were together,
one of them…If this reading is correct, this is the first of the ‘We sections’,
cf 16:10.”
3. Ac
2:4 - They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign
languages as the Spirit d gave them the gift of speech. Footnote d says “One
element, vv. 4.11,13, of the Pentecost Miracle is the gift of glossolalia
common in the early Church: see 10:46, 11:15 19:6, 1 Co. 12-14; cf. Mk 16:17,
cf early prophecy in Israel, Nb. 11:25-59, 1S. 10:5-6,10-13, 19:20-24,
ik.22:10,cf. the promise of Joel, 3:1-5, quoted by Peter, vv. 17f.”
Verses 9 to 12 says: For our knowledge is imperfectc
and our prophesying is imperfect; But once perfection comes, all imperfect
things will disappear. When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and
think like a child, and argue like a child, but now I am a man, all childish
ways are put behind me. Now we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror; but
then we shall be seeing face to face. The knowledge that I have now is
imperfect; but then I shall know as fully as I am known.d Footnote c
says “Lit ‘in part.’”; and Footnote
d says “I.e.,
by God.”
Parallel text for verse 12 is 1 Jn 3:2 that says: My dear people, we
are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet
been revealed; all we know is, that when it is revealed we shall be like him, because
we shall see him as he really is.
Verse 13 says: In short,e there are
three things that last: f faith, hope and love; and the greatest of
these is love. Footnote e says “Or
‘Meanwhile’”; and Footnote f says “Or ‘In short, then, we are left with these three things.’ This
association of the three theological virtues, which is found earlier in 1 Th
1:3 and which was probably in use before Paul’s time, recurs frequently in his
letters, though the order varies: 1 Th 5:8; 1 Co 13:7,13; Ga 5:5f; Rm 5:1-5;
12:6-12; Col 1:4-5; Ep 1:15-18; 4:2-5; 1 Tm 5:11; Tt 2:2; CfHeb 6:10-12; 10:22-24; 1 P 1:3-9,21f. Faith
and charity are associated in 1 Th 3:6;
2 Th 1:3; Phm 5; faith and fortitude in 2 Th 1:4, love and fortitude in 2 Th
3:5, Cf. 2 Co 13:13.”
Parallel texts are:
1.
Rm 5:4 - and patience brings perseverance, and perseverance
brings hope,
2.
Ga 5:6 - …since in Christ Jesus whether you are
circumcised or not counts makes no difference –what matters is faith that makes
its power through love
3.
Ep 1:15 - That will explain why I, having heard
about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and the love that you show q
towards all the saints.
4.
Ep 4:2 - Bear with one another charitably, in
complete selflessness, gentleness and patience
5.
Col 1:4 - Ever since we have heard of your faith
in Christ Jesus and the love that you show towards all the saints.
6.
Phm 5 -Because I hear of the love and the faith which
you have in the Lord Jesus and for all the saints.
No comments:
Post a Comment