Fourth Sunday in ordinary time – Year C

THE PROPHET: AN UNCOMFORTABLE PERSON

Fourth Sunday in ordinary time – Year C

Introduction

There are unexpected and unintended tribulations, but there are others that are the result of choices made. The price to pay for those who agree to carry out the unrewarding and challenging mission of a prophet is persecution. Even the nicest people, when they are interpreters of the message of heaven, though it may seem strange, can become irritating, annoying, unbearable, and be marginalized. A prophet is never praised for long by the crowds and still less by those in power, both political and religious. At first, he can also be appreciated for his preparation, intelligence, and moral integrity, but soon he is looked upon with suspicion, is opposed, and persecuted.

Jesus has not deceived his followers; he did not promise an easy life. He did not guarantee the approval and consent of people. He insistently reiterated that adhering to him would entail persecution: “A student is not above his teacher, not a slave above his master… . If the head of the family has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of the family” (Mt 10:24-25). “Still more—he added—the hour is coming when anyone who kills you will claim to be serving God” (Jn 16:2).

Regretfully recalling his past, Paul will acknowledge: “I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God” (1 Cor 15:9). However, he will also declare to have done it, “moved with zeal” (Phil 3:6), convinced to defend God and the true religion. It could happen again today.

• To internalize the message, we repeat:

        “You, Lord, are my hope, my trust from my youth.”

 

First Reading: Jer 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.

 

We are in 627 B.C., and Jeremiah perhaps was not yet twenty when the Lord calls him to be a prophet. He is a sound, sensitive, and an intelligent young man who wants to raise a family and live in peace in Anathoth, the village of his ancestors. Instead, even before being conceived in the womb of his mother (vv. 4-5), he is chosen for a dangerous and challenging mission. He is called to proclaim a message contrary to the expectations of his countrymen. In a time when “from the smallest to the largest, all commit covetousness; from prophet to the priest, everyone tells lies … and everyone is convinced doing so is good” (Jer 8:10-11), Jeremiah is sent to proclaim aloud: ‘Doing so is not good.’ His life is a succession of tragedies and failures.

A prophet is the one who sees the world through the eyes of God. He is gifted with a solid spiritual sensitivity that makes him immediately aware of the distance that separates the Lord’s plan from the works of people. He experiences a deep bitterness when the people choose paths of death when unjust relationships are institutionalized in society and when those supposed to protect the weak, defend the orphan, and the widow take the side of the powerful.

Then he can no longer suppress the anger; he cannot remain silent. An uncontrollable divine force rages in him and urges him to raise his voice to denounce sin, oppression, abuse of power, violence, and the ineptitude of those who lead the people to ruin. Jeremiah, the shy and gentle young man, is called to this challenging mission; he is destined to become the object of strife and “dissension throughout the land” (Jer 15:10).

In the second part of the reading (vv. 17-18), God tells Jeremiah what will happen to him. He does not delude him nor promise an easy life. He will be—he says—as a soldier hunted by enemies, as a fortress besieged by a blood-thirsty army. Why does God send him if he already knows that his prophet will face defeat and be the victim of the hatred of his opponents? The reading ends with words of hope and comfort. The Lord announces to Jeremiah: “They will fight against you but they shall not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue you” (v. 19).

 

Second Reading: 1 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.

 

In Corinth—as we have noted in the past Sundays—there were disagreements and envies because of charism. After stating that all gifts come from the Spirit and are intended for the building up of the community, Paul shows to the Christians a way above all: love. It is curious: he is speaking of gifts—and love is certainly a charism—and, instead of continuing in the same vein, he introduces a new image, that of the way: “I’ll show you—he says—a much better way” (v. 31).

Charity, the greatest of God’s gifts, is progressively received by people. Only the Father is love (1 Jn 4:8) in fullness. Man—a limited being—can only move towards this goal. Charity is a way, a long way to go with fatigue. The passage begins with a eulogy of love (vv. 1-3). He says that charity is superior to all other gifts: to languages, prophecy, faith, charitable assistance, and even immolation of one’s own body in the fire, a gesture considered as the highest expression of courage at that time.

This love should not be confused with the selfish passion that seeks only one’s interests and pleasure. We call to love the desire to own an already existing asset or even the mere physical attractiveness. In this sense, we speak of the love of a young man for a beautiful girl. But, in reality, this often is reduced to nothing but a craving to possess, to have her all to himself.

The love of which Paul speaks is rather like that of God. He does not find the good but creates it. It is in this context that the phrase Jesus often said must be understood: “The last will be first and the first will be last” (Mt 20:16). For us, the first is the good ones, and the last is the bad. God overturns this list. His preference is for sinners, the neediest of his love. When they let themselves be invaded by his love, they become the first. They may have many fine qualities, may put forward wonderful initiatives. Still, if they are not moved by totally free and disinterested love, if they cultivate vanity and the desire to assert themselves, they do not have ‘charity.’

In the second part of the Reading (vv. 4-7), Paul speaks of love as if it were a person. He presents it with a set of fifteen verbs. He says that it is patient, bears injustice, and controls resentment. It is lovable, is always willing to do good to all. It is neither jealous; nor proud or disrespectful. It is disinterested and cares about other people’s problems. It does not give in to provocations and always triumphs over evil.

In the third part (vv. 8-13), charity is compared to other gifts. They pass away, will no longer be necessary, will be forgotten, will be like the games of childhood that, at some point, there’s no more fun and are abandoned; charity instead will be eternal, it will never end.

Gospel: 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.

 

Today’s passage resumes from the last verse of last Sunday and recounts what happened in the synagogue of Nazareth when Jesus proclaimed the beginning of the year of grace (v. 21). The difficulties of this text are few, and also the interpretations given are varied. It is not clear why the inhabitants of Nazareth suddenly pass from admiration for Jesus to insults and then the attempt to lynch him. He did not say anything provocative. Why do they react this way?

It is not even clear why he cites the two proverbs: “Physician, heal yourself” and “no prophet is accepted in his own country” (vv. 23-24). The latter, in particular, seems out of place: why does he speak so if—apparently—they’re praising him? Mark says that he could work no miracle because of their unbelief (Mk 6:5). Luke instead suggests that they believe him to be capable of performing miracles. So why doesn’t he perform miracles?

Finally, we would like to know also how he managed to escape from so many angry people. Has he miraculously vanished? But then he made the miracle that the villagers asked him. It cannot be so.

When reading the Gospel, we come across details that appear strange and improbable; there is reason to rejoice: they are valuable signs; they are an invitation to go beyond the mere matter of record and seek the deeper meaning of the episode. There is a fact that more or less explicitly, is reported by all the evangelists: the inhabitants of Nazareth and Jesus’ own family did not believe in him (cf. Mk 3:21; Jn 7:5). Matthew and Mark place this refusal at the end of the preaching in Galilee (Mk 6:1-6; Mt 13:53-58). Luke instead anticipates it at the beginning of his public life for a theological and pastoral reason.

What happened in the synagogue at Nazareth is like an overture of the whole mission of Jesus. In this prelude to the main themes of his message (the salvation of the poor, the weak, and the oppressed), the initial favorable welcome, then misunderstanding, rejection, and condemnation to death are emphasized. The attempted lynching implemented in Nazareth parallels the scene of the passion when Jesus is led out of the city to be executed. And the expression: “Physician, heal yourself!” recalls the mockery made to him at the foot of the cross: “Let the man who saved others, now save himself” (Lk 23:35).

Having analyzed the evangelist’s theological objective, we see why the fellow villagers of Jesus react so aggressively to his words. The passage begins with the unanimous approval of the discourse given by Jesus in the synagogue: “All agreed with him, and were lost in wonder while he spoke of the grace of God” (v. 22). The meaning of the text can only be different. Otherwise, it becomes difficult to explain the sequel of the story.

The audience’s reaction is motivated only if Jesus has said or done something that has impacted their sensitivity. And one reason perhaps of the hostility can be discovered. During the celebration, it is a custom that he who proclaims the second biblical text reads at least three verses of the book of a prophet. In the poor synagogue of Nazareth, probably not all the books of the prophets are there except that of Isaiah. It is likely that—read and reread every Saturday—everyone knows it by heart. The passage chosen by Jesus, by the way, is one of the best known.

The irritation of the listeners may have been determined by the fact that Jesus abruptly stopped reading after a verse and a half. Why has he not gone further? If one reads what comes next, one can deduce the reason. After “I was sent … to announce the Lord’s year of mercy,” the text continues: “and the day of vengeance of our God” (Is 61:2).

That was the phrase that everyone wanted to hear. The inhabitants of Nazareth, like all the Israelites,craved for this revenge; they eagerly wanted the punitive intervention of God against pagans who had oppressed them for so many centuries. Now that the time of reckoning has arrived, here, instead of vengeance, Jesus announces a ‘year of grace,’ the remission of all debts, and the unconditional benevolence of God to all.

His ‘gracious words’ contain an unacceptable, unprecedented message. All in the synagogue are witnesses to the partisanship of his approach to the holy books. Who does he think he is? Is he not the son of Joseph, the carpenter? The contrast between the traditional mindset that expects a glorious, winner and avenger Messiah and the gracious words spoken by Jesus is radical and will resurface throughout the public life. It is the conflict predicted by Simeon: “He is a sign established for the falling and rising of many in Israel, a sign of contradiction … out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed” (Lk 2:34-35).

Jesus is not trying to ease the tension, to soften the differences explaining that everything is born from a simple misunderstanding. No, he heightens the tension with two proverbs: “Physician, heal yourself” and “no prophet is honored in his own country” (vv. 23-24), causing a second disappointment in his countrymen. They heard about the wonders he worked in Capernaum, expecting to witness those miracles that would mark the beginning of the Messianic era. The two proverbs are a denial of their expectations, a distancing from their beliefs, a rejection of their dreams, and a sentence on their illusions.

In the second part of today’s Gospel (vv. 25-27), the tone of discussion rises further and becomes a provocation. Jesus explains why he does not repeat the works done in Capernaum in his village: he behaves like Elijah and Elisha, who helped foreigners instead of aiding the needy persons of their people.

This is just too much! The inhabitants of Nazareth understand what he is getting at. Israel is not the only recipient of the promises made to Abraham and his descendants. They already did not like Jesus’ choice of leaving his village and moving to Capernaum, a market town full of pagans where life is not always conducted in compliance with legal purity. Now they realize that his was not an isolated act but a clear sign that God’s salvation has been extended to all peoples.

His gracious words irritate the assembly; they are a challenge to the pettiness and meanness of their religious convictions. At this point, the reaction of his listeners is no surprise: all are taken by anger; they get up, drive him out of the city and try to throw him down the cliff (v. 29).

The last verse: “But Jesus passed through their midst and went his way” (v. 30), does not refer to his miraculous disappearance. It is a message of consolation and hope that Luke wants to give to the Christians of his community who are facing opposition, misunderstandings, disagreements, and hostility. The risk they run is to forget what happened to all the prophets, and their Teacher is being repeated in them. Luke ensures that protected by God, they, too, will pass through the midst of persecution and continue confidently until they reach their goal.