In this passage, Jesus breaks with the environment of his own upbringing, and definitively expands the horizon of his ministry. While acknowledging and accepting his heritage — he does not turn his back on his own — he also refuses to be bound by the limitations they want to impose on him (to be merely Joseph’s son, the carpenter; or at best, the town wonder-worker, vv 22-23 — think of the tourist business he’d attract!). And so his own reject him. This rejection, in turn, becomes the open door for his ministry to reach out beyond.

Luke sees this event as establishing the pattern for the full meaning of Jesus’ entire ministry. Nazareth, a tiny provincial town, symbolizes the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (see Mt 15:24). Their rejection foreshadows the rejection of the Jewish leaders in handing Jesus over to the Roman authority to be put to death. His transfer of his "home base" to Capernaum, a prosperous commercial center of mixed population, embodies the same direction that the apostles took in expanding their preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles because of persecution in Jerusalem (see Acts 8:1-4). Jesus presents a difficult model for his followers here. The true Christian cannot flee from the world. We must accept the world as our own and must care for it with the love of Christ. But, by the same token, the world will reject us because our standards and ideals transcend those of the world, and point to what is beyond. To be in the world (to love and care for the well-being of all creation) and yet not be of the world (to be limited by the world’s self-centered, shortsighted standards) is the genuine test of love for a Christian, a love that endures in the face of trials, rejection, and suffering.

The prophetic call of Jeremiah, echoed in the heart of every Christian, is a fearsome challenge. Yet, God gives the assurance of strength to the prophet to fulfill his calling.

The praise of this psalm derives from the realization that God has been with his faithful servant through trials. Response: "I will sing of your salvation."

This eloquent hymn on Christian love is deservedly one of the best known passages in all Scripture. It ties together all that Paul has said or will say about Church order and spiritual gifts. Vv 12:31-13:3 show that all other gifts depend on love if they are to have any value whatsoever. Vv 4-7 show the personal obligation of this love, and vv 8-13 show the limited nature of other virtues and gifts in distinction to love which is enduring.

Chapter 14 can be understood only in the light of chapter 13. All spiritual gifts, no matter how striking or seemingly important, have value only when subordinated in a spirit of love to the order and building up of the Christian community as the body of Christ.

1. Discuss your own relationship, as a Christian, with the values of the world.

2. Discover and evaluate as many synonyms as you can for the concept of love as described by St. Paul.