Scripture Study for

Having assured him of his prophetic call, God prepares Jeremiah for the fate that lies ahead of him. God will fortify the prophet as one would fortify a city.  While the metaphor connotes extraordinary defense, it implies the possibility of massive assault. Jeremiah’s assailants will be the very people to whom he is sent to prophesy. They will include both the Jerusalem establishment and the people of the land. That is why he must prepare himself for battle. However, the passage ends with words of encouragement. His adversaries will not prevail against the prophet, because the Lord will be with him. 

Paul’s praise of love is one of the best-known biblical passages. Last Sunday,  Paul insisted that all gifts bestowed upon individuals by the Spirit function for the building up of the community. Today he concentrates on love, the “more excellent way.” He then contrasts life in this world with life in the next. Despite all of the gifts we receive from God, they are only partially realized here. The fragmentary nature of this life is compared to seeing but a reflection, while the perfect nature of the next life is like looking at someone face to face. 

The scripture to which Jesus refers in this reading is a passage from Isaiah read as part of last Sunday’s Gospel (Isaiah 61:1–2). It announces the ultimate age of fulfillment. It provides a glimpse into the kind of messiah that Jesus will be, namely one who will refashion society for the sake of the oppressed. Here  Jesus insists that God even goes beyond the confines of Israel into the territory of the Gentiles. This filled the people in the synagogue with fury. To think that the prophetic promise of fulfillment would be extended to the Gentiles was, in their estimation, pure blasphemy. In indignation, they rose up against Jesus. They drove him outside the city limits and sought to cast him down, but he escaped unscathed.