Daily Readings - Sun Feb 03 2019

⁴Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,⁵"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."¹⁷But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.¹⁸And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.¹⁹They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you."

1 Corinthians

Chapter 13

⁴Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant⁵or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;⁶it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.⁷Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.⁸Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part,¹⁰but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.¹¹When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.¹²For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.¹³So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Luke

Chapter 4

²¹And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."²²And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"²³And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself.' What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well."²⁴And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.²⁵But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land,²⁶and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.²⁷And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."²⁸When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.²⁹And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.³⁰But passing through their midst, he went away.

Sermon

The readings today invite us to reflect on the call to serve God and others, the nature of love, and the challenges of living out our faith. In the first reading, Jeremiah is called by God to be a prophet, even before he was born. Despite his initial hesitation, God assures him of His presence and strengthens him for the mission ahead. This passage reminds us that God’s call is not limited by our perceived weaknesses or doubts; He equips us for the task. In the second reading, St. Paul’s beautiful hymn to love reminds us that love is patient, kind, and enduring. Love is not self-seeking or envious; it rejoices in truth and bears all things. This passage challenges us to examine how we love and whether our actions reflect the selfless love of God. In the Gospel, Jesus is rejected by His own people in Nazareth because they cannot see beyond His humble origins. He reminds them that prophets are often rejected at home and that God’s grace is not confined to one people or place. This rejection leads to anger, but Jesus calmly walks away, showing us how to respond to hostility with peace and trust in God. These readings are connected by the theme of trust in God’s plan and the call to live out that trust in love and humility. Jeremiah’s call and Jesus’ rejection both emphasize that following God’s will often requires courage and perseverance in the face of opposition. St. Paul’s teaching on love reminds us that our actions must be rooted in selfless love, which is the foundation of all Christian life. Together, the readings call us to trust God’s plan, remain humble, and love without condition, even when it is difficult. In our daily lives, we are called to live out this love and trust. When we face challenges or rejection, we can draw strength from God’s promise to be with us, just as He was with Jeremiah and Jesus. Let us examine how we love those around us—do we love patiently and kindly, or do we allow envy or selfishness to creep in? Let us also reflect on how we respond to rejection or criticism. Do we react with anger, or do we trust in God’s plan and walk away with peace? Today’s readings remind us that our faith is not just about belief but about living out that belief in love and humility. May we strive to be instruments of God’s love, even when it is hard, and may we trust in His presence to guide and strengthen us.