My friends, if you read the bulletin, you know that today the official Catholic church is remembering the Presentation of the Baby Jesus in the Temple—an act that all good Jewish parents did 40 days after the birth of their baby. It was also a time of purification for Mary, Jesus’ mother according to the laws of Moses.
And, as I said in the bulletin, the Feast of the Presentation, when it falls on a Sunday, as it does this year, supersedes the regular Sunday. But being that we have discussed this gospel reading twice already in the new Church Year, I am instead, uplifting the readings for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Additionally, we Christians should always be about “presenting” Jesus to our world, through our lives, so whether the feast is specifically named, the Presentation, we are bound to that action anyway, and always. Hopefully, that makes sense. Also, I think you will find that the chosen readings for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time do “present” Jesus quite well, and what our response should be.

Before getting into these alternate readings, let’s just take a quick look at the other choices for the Presentation so as to tie them into those of the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, as I think you will find that they blend nicely and move us into the adult actions of our brother Jesus where we left off last week.
The Old Testament reading from the prophet Malachi basically says, I am sending a messenger to prepare the way. We know that messenger to be John the Baptist whom we remembered during Advent.
The writer to the Hebrews lets us know that our brother Jesus “became human to help us” – we often say, “to show us the way.” And finally, once again, Luke tells us in the gospel on the Presentation that, “Jesus was filled with wisdom—that the grace of God was with him.” I believe we can see how all of the above is played out in the life of Jesus. Therefore, let us move into the readings just proclaimed for us from the prophets, Jeremiah, Paul, and Jesus for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The 1st reading from Jeremiah today gives us a wonderful image of our Loving God for each of us: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you” [!] This statement is really, in my mind, kind of neat to think on, and I believe we would each do well in our prayer this week to remember—that our God loved us even before our existence began! Such a love as this doesn’t seem to jive with the religious tradition and teaching prior to the Second Vatican Council—that the only reason for sending Jesus was to make up for the sins of humankind! Love and “settling a score” don’t seem to go together with the God that Jesus did in fact introduce to us.

Moving on then in Jeremiah’s reading, we see that this God who has loved us tremendously, trusts us with great things. When we attempt to do good in our world, standing up for the down-trodden, seeking justice for all, “many will fight against us,” we are told. But our God says, “do not be unnerved, or break down in their presence” – in other words, be strong. Jeremiah says further – “they will fight against you, but still not overcome you.”

Delving deeper into what Jeremiah is saying here, is the fact that when we know we are truly loved, as we are by our God, we can do what we might otherwise think impossible, such as speaking truth to power — a bishop, a president, or whoever is not being their best selves as our God challenges us to be. Jeremiah basically speaks a profound truth: “Don’t be afraid of what people will think,” by what you say is your truth, but by what God will say if you don’t in fact speak it! And granted friends, this isn’t easy, but then we were never promised that it would be. Sister Joan Chittister takes it a bit further saying, “Think what will happen to the whole truth, if you don’t speak it.”

The psalmist today in # 71 prays the prayer on our hearts in these trying times: “be [my] sheltering rock” – “you alone are my hope.” And this is probably a great time to raise up the fact that many of us feel overwhelmed in this New Year thus far as to what we can do in the face of so much apparent mean-spirited selfishness being dealt out in our country by those who should know better, and claim to be our leaders. I myself feel overwhelmed at times, and something that I do, and would recommend to each of you, is to ask our brother Jesus to help us carry it, because none of us is equipped to shoulder it all ourselves. The psalmist’s image of a “sheltering rock” is a good one.

And that having been said, let’s move on into Paul’s challenge to the Corinthians, and to us as well today on what our mission must truly be in this world, as we attempt to be true to Jesus’ message. Paul is clear: “If I speak with [angelic tongues], prophesy, and have all knowledge, faith to move mountains, give away everything I own, even hand my body over to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing [!]

This lovely reading is often used at weddings and is such a challenge – one-to-another. Paul then goes on to spell out just what love consists of: Love is patient, kind, not jealous, does not put on airs, is not snobbish, rude, or self-seeking –prone to anger, or broods over injuries – love does not rejoice over wrong, but over truth. Love has no limits; it trusts, hopes, and endures.

This is quite a message to a couple starting out. In the past when I have had the privilege of officiating at a wedding, I would encourage the couple, so full of hopes and dreams to look at this reading on their anniversary each year to see how they are doing, because as we all know, marriage takes the best we have to offer. Paul continues, there are three things that last – faith, hope, and love, and love is the greatest!

My friends, it is primarily from this reading and all that our brother Jesus teaches about “love” that causes, prompts me even, to tell you that love must always be the reason that we act in our world, even if we have to break a law – when it is a case of law versus love, we must always, in the memory of Jesus of Nazareth, do the loving thing!

The gospel from Luke for today let’s us know that “prophets never gain acceptance in their native place.” Jesus, as all prophets before and after, can’t “act” where there is no “faith.” Earlier we reflected on Paul’s words that “there are three things that last, faith, hope and love, and that the greatest is love.” I always think that the three work in tandem, and for “love” to come to its fullest, we must believe in, and hope for the best in ourselves and others. I always think that for Jesus to have returned home, and be rejected by his own people, had to have been very hard to take, and within that context, I think we can see why he was unable “to perform” for them.

Within our universal Church, we have just completed a 2-year synodal process where we were asked to weigh in, sharing ideas to hopefully make our Church better, with the supposed idea that our truth would be listened to, and now upon reflection, at its completion, comes the realization that so many hopes and dreams for inclusion were simply not heard, or if they were, were rejected . Faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.

I know many faith-filled, committed People of God, whom I believe were inspired by the Spirit to submit needed ideas for our Church to grow and become one that is worthy of the memory of our brother Jesus. Looking at the decisions made at the conclusion of this Synod on Synodality, and by the way, the word, “synodality” comes from the Greek, meaning, “journeying together,” –this word is a Church term meaning, “a way of living out one’s faith by listening to others and the Holy Spirit.” I would say that “love” was not acted upon with all those who are still not included, nor recognized – women, LGBTQ+ sisters and brothers and more. One does wonder how Jesus would have handled the faith-filled requests made to Pope Francis and the bishops, cardinals and all…

But lest we end on a negative note, let us remember who we ultimately answer to, and continue to do all the good we do, in faith and hope, that one day, love will be acted upon! Amen? Amen!

My friends, on this 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, we are really, as I said in the bulletin, given a template—guidance, so to speak, of how we should be in our world, as followers of our brother, Jesus. In the first reading from Nehemiah, who is known in 1st Testament history, as, “the Builder,” that is, of the walls of Jerusalem, we hear through the priest Ezra, a bit of the story of the Israelite people returning from Exile. The people are understandably sad with regard to their relationship with God whom they feel they have failed. But Ezra reassures them that they should not fear, should not be sad or weep because, as he basically tells them, “Our God will always give you a second chance, as long as you are willing to try again.

Those of you old enough to remember Church teachings before the Second Vatican Council will remember that we Catholics grew up being taught to have the same feelings as the people in Ezra’s time, approximately in the 5th Century B.C. We learned that we had failed God, and had done so grievously, to the point that God “demanded” reparation for our sins in the form of the death of Jesus, “his” own son.
Now, of course we don’t believe this anymore as by “breaking open the Word” more fully after the Council in 1965, we came to understand and believe that our God loves us so much more than we humans can fully imagine. And we know this to be true through such New Testament stories as the Prodigal Child, and that of the Good Shepherd, who would leave the 99 and go in search of one-lost-one. In the story of the Prodigal, we see the “Loving Parent” [God] not just receiving the errant one back,
but running to meet this one, returning home. So, we see the 2nd Vatican Council, through the inspired work of Pope John XXIII, and the experts he gathered around him, were able to unearth and uplift this “old” idea of a God who loves us beyond all imagining.

This theme of a God who loves us in an over-the-top way continues and moves us to the next step in Paul’s selection today to the Corinthians. We learn here that God’s love is universal and equal with regard to us all. Paul basically says, we are different, “many parts, but one body—no one is indispensable, and no one can say to another, I don’t need you.” Additionally, Paul tells us that our love must go further, “if one of you suffers, [we all] suffer with that [one].” [Likewise], “if one of you is honored, we all [should] feel their joy.”

It seems my friends, that according to Paul, our God “constructed” us this way to be “of this vision”—what hurts one, hurts all, and what brings happiness to one should be a joyous thing to all. And he goes even further to say, that we should “care especially for the least among us.” Even the psalmist in number 19 today affirms this thought, “your command,” your precepts, “are clear” –[they] “give light to [our] eyes.” Our National Council of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) finally came out this past week, (saw the light we might say), speaking against most recent executive orders out of Washington targeting, “the least among us!”
And the messages from Scripture today are completed in Luke’s account of Jesus returning to his hometown. As I just read, Jesus proclaimed the words of the prophet Isaiah, in his synagogue, before his family and friends, and even though the Gospel reading didn’t include it today, we know that many rejected his interpretation of the prophet’s words. Jesus spoke of how the long-awaited Messiah would appear and what he would do, reading simply and eloquently: [this One will] “bring glad tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives, (remembering) that people in our world can be held captive, not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually too). Additionally, this One will recover, “sight to the blind,” and again, blindness can be present in many-faceted ways. And finally, the Messiah would give, “release to prisoners,” [setting them free not only from physical chains, but from emotional and spiritual ones too.

And the piece that the people couldn’t seem to accept was Jesus’ words, that, “Today this Scripture reading is fulfilled in your hearing.” Those who thought they knew him best, basically said, “Who do you think you are?—we know where you come from!”

And my friends, as I pondered the entire message here, I found myself thinking, in a very humble way, shouldn’t we as Jesus’ followers, if we are really intent on “following him,” be able to say too, “Today, in your hearing, the Scriptures are fulfilled”[!] Shouldn’t each of us be about “bringing glad tidings, proclaiming liberty, and release to prisoners,” and recovering of sight to the blind”[?]—not to the degree of course that Jesus did these actions, but just the same, shouldn’t these actions be part of our lives?

You all know my love of Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister. She teaches that we followers of Jesus must, in living and acting in our world, listen with the “ear of the heart.” I believe we were blessed with such a model to follow in the person of Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde in a National Prayer time address aimed at the 47th president of the United States appealing to him to show mercy in the name of the God of us all. This past week we all have seen many actions coming out of Washington that appear to be simply, “mean.” And again, finally our own bishops have come to say as much. Upon further reflection of this word, “mean,” we see that the first two letters spell, “me.” If we are going to claim to follow Jesus, we simply must be better than this. Amen? Amen!