Reading 1 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.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15-17

R. (cf. 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
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. I will sing of your salvation.
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. I will sing of your salvation.
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. I will sing of your salvation.
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. I will sing of your salvation.

Reading 2 1 Cor 12:31--13:13

Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
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.

or 1 Cor 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.

Alleluia Lk 4:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 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 Elijah
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 Elijah 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.

From: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19

The Lord calls Jeremiah

[4] Now 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.”

Vision of the boiling pot

[17] But you, gird up your loins; arise, and say to them everything that I com-
mand you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. [18]
And 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 princes, its priests, and
the people of the land.[19] They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail
against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1:1-19. The book of Jeremiah is a collection of the prophet’s oracles arranged
more by subject than in chronological order and interspersed with stories about
his life. The heading (vv. 1-3), as in most of the prophetical books, introduces the
prophet and tells when he lived. Then, as an introduction to the book, comes an
account of the call of Jeremiah (vv. 4-10) along with two visions that give a good
description of the man (vv. 11-12 and 13-19).

1:4-10. This account of the call of Jeremiah gives a very good idea of the myste-
rious nature of every divine call — a call from all eternity and involving no merit on
the part of the person called, in which God makes known to a soul the why and
wherefore of his or her life. No one comes into being by accident, for everything
that happens is part of God’s providence (v. 5).God’s action in creating a person
is described graphically — “formed” you in the womb — a word used to describe
what a potter does when he models something in clay. The Lord “knew” Jere-
miah — a reference to his choosing him for a specific mission (cf. Amos 3:2;
Rom 8:29); God has a plan for each person, and he endows each with talents
that equip him or her to put that plan into effect. The passage also talks of a
“consecration”, that is, the earmarking of a person or thing for the service of
God. God’s plan for someone, made before the person is born, emerges in due
course, when he or she is old enough to take on the assignments that God has
been preparing him for. Glossing this passage, St John Chrysostom, has God
say this: “I am the one who knit you together in your mother’s womb. Your life
is not a work of nature, nor the fruit of suffering. I am the origin and cause of all
things: you should obey and offer yourself to me,” and he adds: “It does not
begin with I consecrated you: first, I knew you; then I consecrated you. Thus
is the original choice shown, and after the original choice, the particular calling”
(Fragmenta in Ieremiam, 1).

When the mystery of a person’s calling begins to be revealed, their initial reac-
tion can be one of fear, because they are very conscious of their limitations and
feel that they are not up to the tasks that the Lord entrusts them with. Jeremiah,
for example, argues that he is too young (v. 6).We do not know how old he was
at the time, for the word he uses to describe his age (na’ar) is imprecise. He was
probably only an adolescent (cf. Gen 37:2; 1 Sam 2:18; 3:1-21). In responding
to a vocation, one needs to listen, above all, to God who calls, who never leaves
his chosen ones on their own, and who always gives them the wherewithal to
carry out the mission he is charging them with (vv. 7-8).

The Lord’s symbolic gesture of putting out his hand to touch Jeremiah’s mouth,
as if to fill it with divine words, is similar to other gestures found in accounts of
the calling of prophets (cf. Is 6:7; Ezek 2:8-3:3; Dan 10:16). It is to tell the man
not to be concerned: he can rest assured that God will give him the right words
to express himself. It is a promise similar to that made by Jesus to his disciples:
he assured them of the Holy Spirit’s help when the time came for them to bear
witness to him (cf. Mt 10:19-20).

The assignment given to Jeremiah implies a heavy responsibility; he will need
fortitude if he is to carry it out (v. 10). It involves in the first place doing destruc-
tive things (plucking up, breaking down, destroying and overthrowing) and only
then come constructive roles (building and planning). St Gregory the Great will
apply the same idea to the attention that is called for in the pastoral care of the
faithful: “One cannot build up if what disturbs the foundation has not been des-
troyed. In other words, the sweet words of good preaching are sown in vain if
the thorns of self-love have not first been plucked from the hearts of listeners”
(Regular pastoralis, 3, 34).

13-19. Jeremiah is shown a pot that is beginning to boil over (v. 13). He is given
to understand the meaning of the disquieting news that is reaching Jerusalem —
rumours of advances by foreign armies that threaten the holy city from the north
(vv. 14-15). These reports are a warning that God sends his people to encourage
them to admit their unfaithfulness (v. 16). In this way the Lord is beginning to an-
nounce a future punishment, which we shall hear much more about as the book
develops — a chastisement to be inflicted on the people of Judah and Jerusalem
for failing to keep the Covenant.

It will be up to Jeremiah to speak to them, reproaching them for their sins and
explaining the reasons for events (vv. 17-18) — not an easy task, but God will
give him the strength to perform it (v. 19).

This passage outlines the framework, the setting, of the oracles and narratives
contained in the book. God never forgets his people and, in a time of crisis, when
the kingdom of Judah is about to collapse, he chooses Jeremiah and sends him
out on his mission. God means him to show the people the real reasons for all
the distress they will meet and, once all the various disasters have come to pass,
he intends Jeremiah to console them and assure them that God never abandons
them.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

[31] But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you still a more excel-
lent way.

Hymn to Charity

[1] If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy
gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] And if I have prophetic powers, and understand
all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing. [3] If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my bo-
dy to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. [4] Love is patient and kind;
love is not jealous or boastful; [5] it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist
on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [6] it does not rejoice at wrong, but
rejoices in the right. [7] Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things.

[8] Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they
will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. [9] For our knowledge is imper-
fect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect
will pass away. [11] When 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. [12] For
now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I
shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. [13] So faith, hope,
love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

31. “Earnestly desire the higher gifts”: according to some Greek manuscripts
this can be translated “earnestly seek the greater gifts.” St Paul is encouraging
his Christians to put greater value on those gifts of the Holy Spirit which contri-
bute most to the goal of the Church than on those which are spectacular. He pro-
bably has in mind the teaching he will develop (chap. 14) about the superiority of
graces and charisms to do with teaching and catechesis.

“A still more excellent way”: this undoubtedly refers to charity, which he goes on
to describe and praise (chap. 13). Therefore, what is called his “hymn to charity”
is not a digression, much less a later addition, but an outpouring of the Apostle’s
soul, which perfectly explains why charity is the greatest of all gifts, a sure route
to holiness and salvation, and the identifying mark of the Christian: “the first and
most necessary gift is charity, by which we love God above all things and our
neighbor because of him. [...] This is because love, as the bond of perfection and
fullness of the law (cf. Col 3:14, Rom. 13:10), governs, gives meaning to, and per-
fects all the means of sanctification. Hence the true disciple of Christ is marked
by love both of God and of his neighbor” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 42).

1-13. This wonderful hymn to charity is one of the most beautiful pages in Pau-
line writing. The literary style of the chapter is designed to present charity in all
its splendor. St Paul sings the praises of love as seen from three points of view
— the superiority and absolute need of this gift (vv. 1-3); its features and practical
expression (vv. 4-7); and the fact it endures for ever (vv. 8-13).

Love, the charity of which St Paul is speaking, has nothing to do with selfish de-
sire for physical passionate possession; nor is it restricted to mere philanthropy,
whose motivation is purely humanitarian: charity is a love which is to be found in
the new order of things established by Christ; its origin, context and purpose are
radically new; it is born of the love of God for men, a love so intense that he sacri-
ficed his only-begotten Son (In 3:16). The Christian is enabled to respond to this
love of God by this gift of the Holy Spirit, charity (cf. Gal 5:22; Rom 15:30), and
by virtue of this divine love he discovers God in his neighbor: he recognizes that
all are children of the one Father and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ: “Our
love is not to be confused with sentimentality or mere good fellowship, nor with
that somewhat questionable zeal to help others in order to convince ourselves of
our superiority. Rather, it means living in peace with our neighbor, venerating the
image of God that is found in each and every person and doing all we can to get
them in their turn to contemplate that image and learn to turn to Christ” (St. J.
Escriva, “Friends of God”, 230).

To make this clear St Paul mentions those gifts which appear to be most excep-
tional — the gift of tongues; knowledge; and heroic actions.

Firstly, the gift of tongues. St Thomas Aquinas comments that the Apostle “right-
ly compares words lacking in charity to the sound of lifeless instruments, to the
sound of a bell or cymbals, whose sound though clear is a dead sound. The
same occurs in the speech of someone who has no charity; no matter how bril-
liant it be, it comes across as something dead, because it is of no help as far as
meriting eternal life is concerned” (”Commentary on 1 Cor, ad loc.”). By way of
emphasis St Paul speaks of the tongues of angels as the highest degree of the
gift of tongues.

“I am nothing”: this conclusion could not be more emphatic. A little further on (1
Cor 15:10), St Paul will himself say that “by the grace of God I am what I am”, to
make us see that from God’s love for man (grace) derives man’s love for God and
for his neighbor for God’s sake (charity).

Knowledge and faith, which need not ever be separated, also acquire their full
meaning in the Christian who lives by love: “Each one according to his own gifts
and duties must steadfastly advance along the way of a living faith, which arou-
ses hope and works through love” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 41).

Strictly speaking, martyrdom is the supreme act of love. St Paul is referring here
as in the previous points to hypothetical cases or merely external gestures,
which seem to be token detachment and generosity, but are in fact mere appea-
rances: “If someone does not have charity”, St Augustine says, “even though he
may have these gifts at the moment, they will be taken away from him. What he
has will be taken away because he is missing the main thing, that whereby he
will have everything and which will keep him safe [...]. He has the power to pos-
sess, but he has no charity in what he does; and because he lacks charity, what
he has in his possession will be taken from him” (”Enarrationes in Psalmos”,
146, 10).

4-7. In his listing of the qualities of charity, St Paul, under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit, begins with two general features — patience and kindness — which
the Bible attributes to God. Both of these lead on to thirteen particular ways in
which love expresses itself.

Patience is a quality often praised in the Bible: in the Psalms God is said to be
slow to anger (Ps 145:8); patience means great serenity in the face of injury;
kindness has to do with being inclined to do good to others. St Thomas Aquinas
explains this by starting with the etymology of the word: “Kindness [”benignitas”,
benignity] is like good fuel [”bona igneitas”]: just as fire causes solid substances
to become liquid and start to melt, charity sees to it that a person does not keep
his things for himself but distributes them to others” (”Commentary on 1 Cor, ad
loc.”). Since to charity are attributed qualities which in the first instance apply to
God, we can see the excellence of this virtue: “Charity towards our neighbor is
an expression of our love of God. Accordingly, when we strive to grow in this vir-
tue, we cannot fix any limits to our growth. The only possible measure for the
love of God is to love without measure: on the one hand, because we will never
be able to thank him enough for what he has done for us; and on the other, be-
cause this is exactly what God’s own love for us, his creatures, is like: it over-
flows without calculation or limit” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 232).

“Love is patient”, St Gregory the Great comments, “because it bears serenely
the injury it suffers. It is kind, because it repays evil with good. It is not jealous,
because it covets nothing in this world: it does not know what it is to envy world-
ly prosperity. It is not boastful, because it yearns only for spiritual reward and it
is not carried away by external things. It is not arrogant, because it thrives only
on the love of God and neighbor and avoids whatever would take it from the path
of righteousness. It is not covetous, because although it ardently pursues its
own spiritual goals, it does not desire the goods of others. It does not insist on
its own way, because it scorns as alien those things it temporarily possesses
here below: it seeks to hold on only to what is enduring. It is not irritable, and
even though injuries seek to provoke it, it does not let itself have any desire for
vengeance, for no matter how difficult a time it may have in this life, it hopes for
greater rewards in the next. It is not resentful, because it has invested its thought
in the love of purity, and having rooted out all hatred it is incapable of harboring in
its heart any type of aversion. It does not rejoice at wrong, because it feels affec-
tion for others and does not rejoice at seeing the ruin of its enemies. It rejoices
in the right, because by loving others as it loves itself, it is as pleased to see
goodness in them as if it were indeed something to its own personal advantage”
(”Moralia”, X, 7-8, 10).

7. The repetition of the word “all” reinforces the absolute, essential, value of cha-
rity. This is not hyperbole, much less a depiction of utopia: it is recognition of the
fact, as the Word of God confirms, that love lies at the very source of all Christian
virtue. “Since we are all children of God,” the founder of Opus Dei reminds us,
“our fraternity is not a clichÃ© or an empty dream; it beckons as a goal which,
though difficult, is really ours to achieve.

“As Christians we must show that affection of this kind is in fact possible, what-
ever cynics, skeptics, those disappointed in love or those with a cowardly out-
look on life might say. It may be quite difficult to be truly affectionate, for man
was created free and he can rebel against God in a useless and bitter way. But
it is possible and people can attain it, because it flows as a necessary conse-
quence of God’s love for us and our love for God. If you and I want it, Jesus also
wants it. Then we will obtain a full and fruitful understanding of the meaning of
suffering, sacrifice and unselfish dedication in ordinary life” (”Friends of God”,
233).

8-13. Love is enduring; it will never disappear. In this sense it is greater than all
God’s other gifts to man; each of those gifts is designed to help man reach per-
ection and eternal beatitude; charity, on the other hand, is beatitude, blessed-
ness, itself. A thing is imperfect, St Thomas comments, for one of two reasons
— either because it contains certain defects, or because it will later be superse-
ded. In this second sense knowledge of God and prophecy are overtaken by see-
ing God face to face. “Charity, on the other hand, which is love of God, does not
disappear but, rather, increases; the more perfect one’s knowledge of God, the
more perfectly does one love him” (St Thomas Aquinas, “Commentary on 1 Cor,
ad loc.”).

St Paul is constantly reminding us to pursue the goal of charity, the bond of per-
fection (cf. Col. 3:14). Following his example the saints teach the same mes-
sage; St Teresa of Avila puts it in this way: “I only want you to be warned that, if
you would progress a long way on this road and ascend to the mansions that we
desire, it is not a matter of thinking much, but of loving much; do, then, whatever
most arouses you to love. Perhaps we do not know what it is to love; that would
not greatly surprise me; for love consists, not in what most pleases us, but in the
strength of our determination to desire to please God in everything and to endea-
vor to do everything we can not to offend him, and to pray him ever to advance
the honor and glory of his Son and the growth of the catholic Church” (”Interior
Castle”, IV, 1, 7).

11-12. “Then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood”: the
Old Testament usually avoids mentioning God by name; these words in effect
mean “Then I will know God as he knows me.” The knowledge which God has of
men is not merely speculative: it involves an intimate, personal union which em-
braces a person’s mind and will and all his or her noble aspirations. Thus in Sa-
cred Scripture God is said to know someone when he shows a preferential love
for him (1 Cor 8:3), particularly when he chooses him out to be a Christian (Gal
4:8).

Happiness in heaven consists in this direct knowledge of God. To explain this
better St Paul uses the simile of the mirror: in those times mirrors were made of
metal and produced a reflection which was blurred and dark; but it is still easy
for us to understand what St Paul means; as St Thomas explains, in heaven “we
shall see God face to face, because we shall see him directly, just as we see a
man face to face. And by seeing in this way we become very like God, becoming
sharers in his beatitude: for God has knowledge of his own substance in its very
essence and therein his happiness lies. Therefore does St John (1 Jn 3:2) write:
‘When he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is”’ (”Summa
Contra Gentiles”, III, 51).

In this connection the Church’s Magisterium teaches that “in the usual provi-
dence of God, the souls of all the saints who departed this world [...] see the di-
vine essence with an intuitive and even face-to-face vision, without the interposi-
tion of any creature in the function of object seen; rather, the divine essence im-
mediately manifests itself to them plainly, clearly, openly [...]. We also define
that those who see the divine essence in this way take great joy from it, and that
because of this vision and enjoyment the souls of those who have already died
are truly blessed and possess life and eternal rest” (Benedict XII, “Benedictus
Deus, Dz-Sch”, 1000f).

13. Faith, hope and charity are the most important virtues in the Christian life.
They are called “theological” virtues, “because they have God as their direct and
principal object” (”St Pius X Catechism”, 859), and it is he himself who infuses
them into the soul together with sanctifying grace (cf. ibid., 861).

When discussing the superiority of charity over faith and hope, St Thomas Aqui-
nas says that the greatest of these virtues is that which most directly unites one
to good: “Faith and hope attain God in so far as we derive from him the know-
ledge of truth or the acquisition of good; whereas charity attains God himself that
it may rest in him, not that something else should come to us from him” (”Sum-
ma Theologiae”, II-II, q. 23, a.6).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Luke 4:21-30

Jesus Preaches in Nazareth

[21] And He began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in
your hearing. [22] And all spoke well of Him, and wondered at the gracious
words which proceeded out of His mouth; and they said, “Is not this Joseph’s
son?” [23] And 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 al-
so in your own country.’” [24] And He said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is ac-
ceptable in his own country. [25] But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows
in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six
months, when there came a great famine over all the land; [26] and Elijah was
sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who
was a widow. [27] And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet
Elisha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” [28]
When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. [29] And they
rose up and put Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow on the hill on which
their city was built, that they might throw Him down headlong. [30] But passing
through the midst of them He went away.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

21. Christ’s words in verse 21 show us the authenticity with which He preached
and explained the Scriptures: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hea-
ring.” Jesus teaches that this prophecy, like the other main prophecies in the Old
Testament, refers to Him and finds its fulfillment in Him (cf. Luke 24:44ff). Thus,
the Old Testament can be rightly understood only in the light of the New—as the
risen Christ showed the Apostles when He opened their minds to understand the
Scriptures (cf. Luke 24:45), an understanding which the Holy Spirit perfected on
the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:4).

22-29. At first the people of Nazareth listened readily to the wisdom of Jesus’s
words. But they were very superficial; in their narrow-minded pride they felt hurt
that Jesus, their fellow-townsman, had not worked in Nazareth the wonders He
had worked elsewhere. They presume they have a special entitlement and they
insolently demand that He perform miracles to satisfy their vanity, not to change
their hearts. In view of their attitude, Jesus performs no miracle (His normal res-
ponse to lack of faith: cf., for example, His meeting with Herod in Luke 23:7-11);
He actually reproaches them, using two examples taken from the Old Testament
(cf. 1 Kings 17:9 and 2 Kings 5:14), which show that one needs to be well-dis-
posed if miracles are to lead to faith. His attitude so wounds their pride that they
are ready to kill Him. This whole episode is a good lesson about understanding
Jesus. We can understand Him only if we are humble and are genuinely resolved
to make ourselves available to Him.

30. Jesus does not take flight but withdraws majestically, leaving the crowd para-
lyzed. As on other occasions men do Him no harm; it was by God’s decree that
He died on a cross (cf. John 18:32) when His hour had come.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
Jeremiah 1:4-5,17-19 ©

In the days of Josiah, the word of the Lord was addressed to me, saying:

‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;

before you came to birth I consecrated you;

I have appointed you as prophet to the nations.

‘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.

‘I, for my part, today will make you

into a fortified city,

a pillar of iron,

and a wall of bronze

to confront all this land:

the kings of Judah, its princes,

its priests and the country people.

They will fight against you

but shall not overcome you,

for I am with you to deliver you –

it is the Lord who speaks.’

Psalm
Psalm 70:1-6,15,17 ©