Scripture Reflection for January 31, 2010: 4th Sunday in O.T.: year C

The first reading reminds us that the Word of the Lord (at least as it came through Jeremiah) wasn’t particularly popular! The authorities tried to kill Jeremiah, but his friends saved him at the last minute, under the cover of darkness. And the Gospel reminds us that Jesus’ message of love of enemies, turning the other cheek, etc., will not be particularly popular, either. They nearly kill Him today at the beginning of His ministry in Luke, an act that will find its fulfillment at the end of the Gospel, with the story of the Passion. The advice of God to Jeremiah, then: “Gird up your loins!” is good advice for us, too. We need to be “prepared” if we want to live these teachings. They are easy to live, and they won’t make us overly popular if we live them! So, we need to be long-suffering, as St. Paul suggests, for in the end, it will be our acts of love that endure, and only those.