Prophets of the God of Love

The Catholic Liturgy for the 4^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feb. 3, 2019. Readings: 1 Cor. 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30. Theme: Prophets of the God of Love

Very often in our liturgy the gospels take up where we left off on the prior Sunday.  And such is the case today. Recall for a moment that last Sunday we heard about Jesus attending worship services in his hometown of Nazareth.  He read a prophecy from Scripture which spoke about God sending Israel an anointed Prophet to liberate them from their oppression. And then, while all his neighbors were looking on, Jesus informs that that He, the village carpenter who grew up with them, is this prophet called and chosen by God.

At first the people are impressed by his words, but then they recall his ordinariness, the fact that he is just like them, and they refuse to believe. They turn on Him, and on that day in Nazareth, Jesus got not only rejection but a death threat from the very people with whom He had lived and worked and socialized.

I think we all can relate in one way or another to what Jesus experienced. When we try to live the gospel ourselves, sometimes our family and friends might also start to wonder, like Jesus’ neighbors, “who in the world does he or she think they are speaking and acting like that?”  Our good intentions and sincere efforts can be misunderstood or even rejected by those who know us best. But that didn’t deter Jesus from carrying out His mission as prophet. And it shouldn’t stop us from carrying out ours, either.

Are you surprised to hear me say that you and I are prophets, called and chosen by God? This is the very teaching of the New Testament and of the Church. When we were baptized and then later confirmed, we received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and this sacred anointing with chrism made us prophets with Jesus, each one of us. We were anointed to go out and give witness to the Gospel, to a God who is love and goodness.

And the best way to give this witness is by our actions, our behavior, our lifestyle.  Of course, we also need to know our faith and be able to speak about it intelligently, but as we say “words are cheap” and “actions speak louder than words.” The best witness, the most believable witness is found in our actions, that others see that how we live is consistent with what we believe. And this must be true about all aspects of our behavior: at work, in politics, in our relationships and our social life. 

So that might make us ask: what does this look like? What does it mean to live the gospel message of Jesus among those with whom I live, work and socialize? St. Paul gives us the spot-on answer to this question in today’s second reading describing love.  He lays it out very clearly and simply for us, teaching us that it means being patient, kind, humble, forgiving, encouraging, uplifting, and hopeful.  This is how prophets of the God of love reflect Him to others. By witnessing our behavior, people should be able to get a glimpse, and idea, of what the God of love is like.

I was on a retreat once, years ago, and the retreat director used this exact reading from 1 Corinthians 13 on love. He reminded us that this primacy of love is the distinctive teaching of Christianity among the world’s religions, and that our being living examples of it is a precious contribution to making the world a better place.  He told us to go back to our rooms and slowly, mindfully, re-read the passage several times, substituting our first names for the word “love” in the reading. And then to ask God for the grace to make this passage a reality in our lives.

It was a very powerful and enlightening spiritual experience. I urge you to go home and try this yourselves today. Doing this personal meditation on 1 Corinthians 13 will help show you what it means for you yourself to live out your prophetic mission as a Christian, giving witness to our God who is love, among those with whom you live, work and socialize.