FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (30 January 2022)

Hymns for Mass – Press Here

FIRST READING (A prophet to the nations I appointed you.)

A reading from the Book of the Prophet 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. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM (71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15,17)

r. I will sing of your salvation. (Cf. Ps 71:15ab)

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)

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)

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)

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)

(Long Form)

SECOND READING (So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.)

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (12:31-13:13)

Brothers and sisters: Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gift s. 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. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

(Short form)

SECOND READING (So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.)

A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the 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. —The Word of the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (Lk 4:18)

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to

proclaim liberty to captives. (R)

GOSPEL (Like Elij ah and Elisha, Jesus was not sent only to the Jews.)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to 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 in the days of Elij ah 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 Elij ah 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. —The Gospel of the Lord.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Jeremiah 1: 4-5, 17-19
1 Cor. 13: 4013 [short]
Luke 4: 21-30

“Preaching to Those We Love!”

In the Gospel we just heard, Jesus states clearly something most priests already know: “No prophet is accepted in his own native place!” In nearly 45 years of ordination and preaching in communities in such diverse languages as Kiswahili, Italian, Russian, occasionally in French or Spanish, and in my own native language of English – and embarrassed I have never been able to speak in Cantonese here – nonetheless, the only place I ever feel nervous preaching is in my own home parish.

I know this because sharing the Gospel with you own family is never as easy as it is sharing the Gospel with a stranger. On the other side, for someone listening to the Gospel from a family member is not always as easy as hearing someone else do it. Why is this?
Mulling this question over the years, I have come to believe that familiarity with another, such as the close familiarity we have with family members: parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, can tempt us to have a certain lack of clear conviction or confidence in our own Christian witness. I think of a Mass some 15 years ago, in front of a group of benefactors of my community, where as I was speaking – and in my humble opinion, speaking quite well – a voice cried out, “Oh come on! Who are you trying to kid!” Everyone turned to a woman in a pew close to the front and also watching my reaction until – as years erased the age of our faces – I recognized one of my closest friends from primary school! To the relief of EVERYONE, we both laughed, and I was able to continue the homily – thankfully without more interruptions. But it is true that sometimes when we are with those closest to us, witnessing to the truth of the Christian message may be difficult.

We also know from life that children may not put as much weight or confidence in the words of their parents, but more readily listen to their friends; and siblings may not be as open to hear advice from each other as from other people. We learn to become diplomatic.

Perhaps the reason for this experience is tha we are often far more critical of those we know well than those we do not know. It’s easy to allow our long history of familiarity to hinder our own openness toward other family members. This is especially the case with the negative experiences we have had over the years in our family. So often, we hold onto negative experiences and hurts from year to year, and we allow those experiences to become a filter for anything that a family member says or does.

And so, the statement from Jesus, that, “No prophet is accepted in his own native place!” should challenge us to make sure we not fall into this tendency. We should strive to make sure, year by year, that we do accept the prophetic witness shared with us from our own family members. But how?

The best way to do this is to make sure that we regularly work to purge any “baggage” we carry in those close relationships. Very often, we carry for years the baggage of hurt, anger, and resentment without even realizing it. We easily focus in on the weaknesses of family members since we easily witness their weaknesses because of being close to them. We also fail to see or accept the good things they have achieved or done – questioning praise or admiration we hear about them from their own friends.

In the light of our readings today, especially in the light of the beautiful Hymn to Love of St. Paul from his Letter to the Corinthians, we are invited today to reflect upon our family. For Paul – and for us – LOVE does not demand that the person we love be PERFECT. In fact, if she or he were perfect, we would not have to be “patient,” as Paul insists, nor would we have to “endure all things.”

As we read and meditate on the list of love’s attributes, let us also reflect upon whether or not we allow ourselves to look beyond the weaknesses or sins of those closest to us in our family rather than seeing the goodness of God at work in their lives. There si much that God – even now – wants to say to us through them.

Our Gospel today tells us that the people of Nazareth were fickle in their acceptance of Jesus. At first glance, they “all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” But soon enough they turned against him. Theirs was not the kind of Love described by Paul. They wanted a “messiah” who would work miracles, not one who would challenge them to live differently, to love unselfishly and wholeheartedly. Jesus, on the other hand, was more like the prophet described in our first reading from Jeremiah. He was one who was told to gird himself as if preparing for a strenuous battle. He had to be ready to face those who “will fight against you.” The prophet faced such opposition, and Jesus did as well, for the people of his own town rose up against him and wanted to hurl him over a cliff.

As we reflect on this Gospel, let us make sure we have not closed a door to those closest to us, nearest to us, related to us. Let us be willing – and this eve of the Lunar New Year with its messages of hope and life – to willing accept even them as a messenger of the Good News. This is St. Paul’s “MORE EXCELLENT WAY.”

Prayers

Celebrant: God is our stronghold and our refuge. Let us pray to this loving Father for all of our needs.

READER:  That Our Holy Father Francis, may continue to guide the Church in faith and love, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: That civil leaders may be strong in the courage of  Christ, using the gifts of faith, hope and love to acknowledge God and use their authority to be of true service to those they govern, especially the most needy, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: That we may not rely only earthly things, but place our hope in the God who never fails us, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: That those formed in the womb may be born in security and love, (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

READER: [SMC only] For God’s grace and strength for the recovery of Mrs. May CHAN, for whom this Mass is offered, and] For the intentions we carry in our hearts. (Pause) LET US PRAY TO THE LORD.

CELEBRANT: Almighty Father, hear the prayers of the people you gathered at this altar, and made one in faith, hope, and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. (all) AMEN.

About the Author