Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Official Translation

Reading 1 – Jeremiah 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.
I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

“You, gird your loins, arise,
and say to them all that I command you.
Be not dismayed because of them,
as though I would leave you dismayed before them.
For, behold, I have made you today a fortified city,
an iron pillar, and bronze walls,
against the whole land,
against the kings of Judah,
against its princes, against its priests,
and against the people of the land.
They will fight against you,
but they will not prevail against you;
for I am with you”, says the Lord, “to rescue you.”

Responsorial – Psalm 71.1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15ab+17 Resp. 15ab

R. My mouth will tell of your salvation.

In you, Lord, I take refuge.
Never let me be disappointed.
Deliver me in your righteousness, and rescue me.
Turn your ear to me, and save me.

R. My mouth will tell of your salvation.

Be to me a rock of refuge,
a safe stronghold.
You are my rock and my fortress.
Rescue me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,

R. My mouth will tell of your salvation.

For you are my hope, O Lord;
my confidence from my youth.
I have relied on you from the womb.
You are he who took me out of my mother’s womb.

R. My mouth will tell of your salvation.

My mouth will tell about your righteousness,
and of your salvation all day,
God, you have taught me from my youth.
Until now, I have declared your wondrous works.

R. My mouth will tell of your salvation.

Reading 2 – 1 Corinthians 12.31-13.13

Brothers and sisters:
Earnestly strive through imitation for the greater charisms.
And I will show you a way still beyond:
If I speak with the tongues of humans and angels, but do not have love,
I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
And if I donate all my possessions, and if I give my body to be burned,
but do not have love, it gains me nothing.

Love is patient; Love is kind;
Love is not jealous, nor bragging, nor proud, nor rude,
It does not seek its own way, nor is provoked to anger, nor counts up evils;
nor rejoices in unrighteousness, but rejoices together with the truth.
It bears all; believes all; hopes all; endures all.
Love never fails.

If there are prophecies, they will cease.
If tongues, they will stop.
If knowledge, it will cease.
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
but when the goal comes, the in part will cease.
When I was immature, I spoke immaturely,
I thought immaturely, I reasoned immaturely.
Since I have become a man, the immaturity has ceased.
For now we see in a mirror, enigmatically, but then face to face.
Now I know in part, but then I will acknowledge, just as I am acknowledged.
Now faith, hope, and love remain, these three,
and the greatest of these is love.

Gospel - Luke 4.21-30

Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying:
“Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
All witnessed to him
and wondered at the gracious words
which proceeded out of his mouth,
and they asked, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this parable:
‘Physician, heal thyself!
What we have heard was done at Capernaum,
do also here in your hometown.’”

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:
“Amen I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
Truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel
in the days of Elijah when the sky was shut up three and a half years,
when a great famine came over all the land.
Elijah was sent to none of them, but rather to Zarephath,
in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.
And there were many lepers in Israel
in the time of Elisha the prophet,
yet not one of them was cleansed,
but rather Naaman, the Syrian.”

Those in the synagogue were all filled with wrath
when they heard these things.
They rose up, threw him out of the city
and led him to the brow of the hill
that their city was built on,
that they might throw him off the cliff.
But he, passing through the midst of them, went his way.