January 30, 2022
Fourth Sunday Ordinary C
It was 45 years ago. January 28, 1977. National Weather Service had predicted a snowstorm but that was expected for Buffalo and WNY in the winter. It had been a cold January. Lake Erie was frozen and covered with snow. Around 11:30 AM a winter blizzard with winds up to 69 miles an hour blasted Buffalo and suburbs. I was doing my communion calls and lucky to make it back to the rectory only five blocks away. Everyone old enough will remember the Blizzard of 1977! We didn’t see it coming and when it hit, we couldn’t see anything. It was frightening.
In the Gospel according to St. Luke, Jesus returns home, enters the synagogue on the Sabbath day, stands to read verses from the prophet Isaiah, sits down for a one sentence homily, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.†First reaction, those in the synagogue speak highly of him and are amazed at his gracious words. But then (we don’t see this coming), they dismiss Jesus because he is a local. “Isn’t this the son of the carpenter?†Jesus knows their thoughts. He tells them forthright that you are expecting me to do wonderful things you heard me do in Capernaum. No prophet is accepted in his native. Consider Elijah and Elisha. People in the synagogue are full of indignation and fury. They take Jesus out with intent of hurling him off the crest of the hill on which the town is built.
We wonder why the reaction of hostility. Our first reading, Book of Jeremiah, gives us insight into human nature. Jeremiah tells us that the Lord formed him in the womb and dedicated him to be a prophet to the nations but forewarns him that he will be “crushed†by opposition. Facing such rejection, Jeremiah will cry to God in anguish, “You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped; you were too strong for me, and you triumphed. All day I am an object of laughter; everyone mocks me.†(Jeremiah 20:4) It is a difficult task, to speak God’s word of truth, of judgment and of salvation, to those with vested interest like the King and his royal court.
We must be honest about our own resistance to taking correction or advice. We are not inclined to receive admonishment or encouragement to change our behavior. I wonder how the Church at Corinth, received St. Paul’s letter with the beautiful reflection on love. “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 interest, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all thing, believes all things, hope all things, endures all things.†1 Corinthians 13:4-7) How many of us can say, “we do not brood over injury� Married couples will choose these verses from the Letter to the Corinthians for their wedding ceremony. St. Paul sets the bar high for love – passionate, friendly, and sacrificial. He can write these words because he has experienced such love in Jesus Christ.
Are we willing to welcome Jesus into our assembly and attentively listen to the Word of God? Like listeners in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus will both comfort and challenge us. The Bread of the Word and Sacrament of his Body and Blood, Holy Communion, will nourish us as we endure the storms of life that are bound to come our way. Remember when the disciples are tossed about in a wicked storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus calms the wind, the waves and fear in their hearts. Be still. God is with us in Jesus Christ.
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Third Sunday Ordinary Time C
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Fifth Sunday Ordinary C
