Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time - February 2, 2025 (Year C)

In listening to Jeremiah's words in the First Reading, he reiterates God's importance in our life, which is reiterated in the Psalm.  To paraphrase these: God is our salvation, the source of our strength, the backbone that keeps us upright.  God is our refuge and our protector, and will provide solace in times of need.  This rings true especially to me, as I am reminded of my need to place more importance to be mindful of God's influence and more gracious of the gifts provided to me.  I find myself too often distracted by the problems of the day and feel like I must tackle them all alone.  Jeremiah words reassure me that God is here and will provide aid, whether directly through those gifts given or indirectly through those sent into my life.

I'm sure we're all familiar with the Second Reading, or at least the latter part of it, due to its popularity in use at wedding ceremonies.  The first part of the reading is bracketed* this week, and provides a great introduction for the part we usually hear.  In this first part, the importance of Love is laid out - as St Paul demonstrates how without Love, all is for naught.  It is important to be anchored in Love - Love for God, Love for others, and Love for yourself.  I promise I didn't plan this, but here is my post earlier this week about how important Love has been for me in finding direction in life.  We must use this Love as the lens through which we view the world, allow it to soften our hearts and to drive our decision-making.

And finally, in the Gospel, it begins in a similar setting from last week where Jesus is reading in a synagogue, and yet it takes a turn as those present turn on Him.  As Jesus relates to the miracles performed by Elijah and Elisha to non-Israelites, they become seriously offended by this, which Jesus had set up in saying that no prophet is accepted in their home.  As the Gospel ended, the reading is following those in the synagogue as they crowded and pushed Jesus to the edge of a hill or mountain that the town is on, with the intent to throw him over.  Jesus moves through them and slips away.   This makes me wonder what when through their minds as the arrived at the edge and looked around only to find that Jesus was no longer there.  I have two takeaways from this scenario.  First, I need be happy and accepting when God gives gifts to others, whether they're in my family, friends, or co-workers.  It is easy to be angry and jealous about other's fortunes, but I need to be loving and supportive and trust that God will or has provided for me.  My second takeaway is that if I get angry at God or Jesus for this (or any other reason), and try to push away from them, there is a chance that I may get to the end of the road to find myself alone, all by my own doing.


*Side note on bracketed readings, I feel like I always find that it provides greater context for the reading (or at least since I've been grown up paying more attention to the readings, and not when I was kid and length was more important than content...).  This greater context gives the Word a wider range of appeal, allowing it to more easily translate to our life.

Disclaimer: This will be at the bottom of all reflections, but I’m not intending to put out any sort of professional critique, attempt at a homily, or investigation into the historicity of the readings, but will “let the Spirit move me” as some say, to share what has spoken to me in my reading and reflection on the set of Readings for each week. 

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