4th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jer 1: 4-5, 17-19; 1 Cor 12: 31- 13: 13; Luke 4: 21-30
Dc. Larry Brockman
Isn’t it wonderful! Isn’t it wonderful how unique and special each one of us is? In fact, I get excited every time I hear the words of the first reading. “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”. Because, isn’t it exciting that each one of us is known to almighty God, even the least of us by world’s standards?
In today’s world, “the least” include all the disadvantaged of the world- the young, the old, the poor, and the handicapped. And if we are honest with ourselves, that’s all of us at one time or another in our lives. But yes, God takes a special interest in each one of us. We were made in his image and likeness, and formed by God in our mother’s womb to be just exactly the person we are!
Now the reading also says that we were dedicated, and appointed as a prophet to the nations. That is exciting too, because it says that each one of us has a Mission. Yes, God has dedicated each of us to a Mission, our own specific Mission. I think that we all lose sight of that fact by becoming embroiled in the things of this world- including the joys, the pains, and the distractions.
So, just what is or was our Mission? Well, we were born into a particular family at a particular time in history. Another way of saying that is that now is our time; and that we are charged to bloom where we were planted. When we get older, we can sometimes see how that Mission unfolded. We can see the fruits of our labor; we can see the family tree for which we are the roots; and we can see how good many of our experiences were. We can even see how we have benefited from our mistakes because those were learning experiences. And all well-meaning people take away a resolve to do better from their mistakes, particularly if we are sorry and have resolved to change.
You see, God is relentless in his pursuit of us. He coaches us at every fork in the road to return to His favor. But more often than not, we cannot see how all our lives fit into God’s overall plan. In other words, we just can’t see how we fulfill our roles as “appointed prophets”?
Many of you probably watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” over Christmas. It’s a great way to see how a seemingly common, yet well meaning, man’s life influences others for the good. Just like the Jimmy Stewart character, each of us has blessed other people’s lives; fulfilling God’s appointed mission for us in some ways that we often-times cannot even begin to imagine.
Rather than seeing our value, we are focused on how we haven’t succeeded at this desire or that want; or how we weren’t given this gift or that gift, usually some “thing”; or how we are limited by time and age in what we can do; or how others have fared better in the World’s eyes than us.
In the second reading, St. Paul explains that each of us should “Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.” Indeed, that is the way that each of us can discern God’s plan for us, our Mission, present and past. Paul goes on to list them: faith, understanding, knowledge of the Lord, the gift of prophecy, and others. But he prefaces this list with the words: “But I shall show you a still more excellent way”. And so, as he lists the spiritual gifts we should all seek, he makes it clear that the gift that eclipses all of them is Love. If we love one another in all of our contacts with one another, then we cannot go wrong- ever- in fulfilling God’s Mission for us.
And the love Paul speaks of is: “Love is Patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) 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”. And that kind of love for others is often hard for us. But it is the way all of us hope God will treat us. And so, it is the way all of us should treat others.
As background for this Gospel, recognize that Jesus has just been Baptized And has spent 40 days in the desert using spiritual gifts to discern his mission. Very confidently, he reads from Isaiah the prophecy of a savior; and boldly proclaims that the reading has been fulfilled in him. Jesus certainly did what Paul recommended. He loved all that he came in contact with.
We need not search for our Mission too far. It is hard, but it is ultimately very simple. We need to rejoice because the time and place we have been given in life is God’s gift to us. We need to embrace the challenges of our lives, and to love all those placed in our lives by God. That’s recognizing how wonderful we really are in God’s eyes; that’s blooming where we are planted. And we will reap the rewards of our love for others, which is a form of Loving God, by experiencing the everlasting love of God in the Kingdom of God.