Reading I
Jer 1:4-5, 17-19
The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
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.
But do you gird your loins;
stand up and tell them
all that I command you.
Be not crushed on their account,
as though I would leave you crushed before them;
for it is I this day
who have made you a fortified city,
a pillar of iron, a wall of brass,
against the whole land:
against Judah’s kings and princes,
against its priests and people.
They will fight against you but not prevail over you,
for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.
Psalm
Ps 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15-17
(cf. 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
I will sing of your salvation.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
I will sing of your salvation.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength.
I will sing of your salvation.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
I will sing of your salvation.
reading II
1 Cor 12:31—13:13 or 13:4-13
Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in human and angelic tongues,
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy,
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.
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 interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.
Gospel
Lk 4:21-30
Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying:
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say,
‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said, “Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away. |
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Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:
The Programmer, through The Holy Wireless Connector, told me that I had been programmed before I was conceived. I was programmed with the purpose of telling the nations about future downloads.
So, your orders are to strengthen yourself and tell them all that I tell you what I want you to tell them.
Don't let them disrupt your programming, but know that I'll always be with you.
I have made you so strong you'll be able to stand up to them, the whole nation's power structure.
They will try to erase you and your programming, but they won't be able to do so, for I, The Programmer, will save you from them.
I will sing of The Programmer's power to help me. I will be safe in His strength. Don't ever let me be erased or modified by lesser programmers and programs. Save me from them.
Please hear my requests for programming assistance. I will joyfully tell others of Your ability to do so. Let Your programming secure me in strength. You are all I have.
O Programmer, save me from those who embrace errors, and I will joyfully tell others of your ability to do so. You are my hope, O Programmer of all, and have been since before I was born, in the early days of being programmed.
I will joyfully tell others of your ability to save me. I will tell of your justice and salvation. You have downloaded Your programming within me since my youth, and I tell all of Your programming power.
I will go on joyfully telling others of Your power.
You who have been saved, try hard to download the most important spiritual gifts. I'll tell you how, just download love and share it with all you see. It doesn't matter what I do, if I speak in tongues, or have the gift of prophecy, or great wisdom and knowledge, or have enough faith to move mountains, all those are worthless unless I love God and my neighbor as He has ordered.
No matter how generous I am, or if I sacrifice my own body, I get nothing from it if I don't love The Loving Programmer and my neighbor.
(How do we know what love is?) Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, pompous, self-important,
or hurtful to others' feelings. It doesn't work to help itself, it's not hasty to make judgments, and it doesn't carry a grudge.
Love isn't happy with errors in programming, but rejoices with The Program and those who believe and obey.
Love can be attacked with all kinds of errors, and believes that all good will come, so it endures whatever goes wrong.
Love conquers all. Prophecies, speaking in tongues, and knowledge will disappear with the human programs. We are only programmed to understand and know a little of The Creation Program, but we will be uploaded into it and become part of it.
When a child, I spoke and programmed in childish ways.
When I grew up, I went to more important things. Now, we can't see Him clearly. Soon, we'll see Him directly.
Now, I know a little. Then, I'll know all that I've been programmed to know. To get there, I'll need faith, hope, and love, but the most important program is Love.
Jesus Christ (The Programmer's Program in perfect, living, human form, told the congregation "Today, The Programmer's Program is here."
Everyone was impressed and amazed at how well He described things.
But, they also said, "Isn't he just another human program like us?"
He knew what they were thinking, and said, "You'll quote the proverb, "Physician, heal thyself", and ask me to do miracles here, at home, like we heard you did in Capernaum.
Truly, I tell you, no prophet is believed in his own homeland. Remember Elijah? There were lots of widows in Israel when there was a three and a half year famine.
Elijah wasn't sent to those widows, but to one in Sidon.
When Elisha was telling people about future downloads, there were lots of lepers. The only one cured was Naaman, the Syrian."
When the people heard this, they were enraged because He'd told them they were less favored than hated foreigners.
They were so filled with hatred that they rioted, drove Him out of town, and tried to kill Him by throwing Him off the cliff on which their town had been built.
But, the Power of The Living Program was such that He just walked through the angry mob and went away. |
