OT IV Jer 1:4-5, 17-19; 1 Cor 12:31—13:13; Lk 4:21-30

On a fine morning with the rising of the sun the streets of Jerusalem were filled with the echo of a determined footstep. They saw a man walk straight into the presence of the King of Judah. He stopped before the throne and proclaimed boldly, O King of Judah, who sits on the Throne of David, do justice; do not do wrong to the alien; do not shed innocent blood.”

The listeners were taken aback by this proclamation. It came from a man whom they knew, the son of Hilkijah; a timid fellow who protested that he was a mere youth. He never dared before to speak in the public. Where did he get this vigour, strength and courage to walk into the palace of the king and warn him?  This intruder was Prophet Jeremiah, sent   by God to announce his message. He was empowered by God, and God’s power worked in him. His divine appointment wiped away his fear and equipped him with strength to carry out his mission.

The prophets trembled at the trials ahead of them – and with good reason. Israel had a long history of rejecting prophets (2 Chr 36:16; Jer 2:30; Amos 2:12; Matt 23: 37; Luke 13: 34; I Thes 2:15; Heb 11: 32ff.).  At least twice in his lifetime, the prophet Elijah spoke the truth of God to King Ahab of Israel concerning the King’s promotion of idolatry. As a result, Elijah was forced to flee into the wilderness where he suffered great privation (I Kgs 16-29-17: 3 and I Kgs 18: 16-19: 4).

Jeremiah was threatened with death several times, thrown into an empty and muddy cistern, imprisoned, dragged off to exile in Egypt, and, perhaps, most painful of all, was forced to watch the destruction of Jerusalem because its inhabitants would not listen to his message. Such severe ill treatment forced him to say, I will not speak anymore in His name, but his faithfulness to God made him go ahead with his task.

Today’s Gospel story is another example of why the prophets did not jump for joy at their career prospects. In the space of five verses, we see the people of Nazareth turn from amazement to such fury at Jesus’ words they seized Him and dragged him off to the cliff to murder him.

We see that Jesus was well received at His inaugural address in His home town Nazareth. They marveled at the words that came from his lips. Then they wanted him to work miracles only in their home town, not among the Gentiles. But he tells them that he won’t do it. He tells how the prophets Elijah and Elisha ignored their own people and helped foreigners instead. He tells them bluntly that he will help all of humankind, even at the expense of his own people’s perceived needs.

This was all terribly painful for the Jews of the time of Jesus because they believed that they were God’s chosen and that God’s love and favor were manifest only in and among the Jews. Jesus’ words at Nazareth offended the Jews, because he was reminding them that their belief about God’s exclusive favor was baseless. They grew furious. They rejected Him violently, they attempted to throw Him over a cliff.

The people of Nazareth rejected Jesus because He had challenged their belief.  History testifies that whoever has questioned what they commonly believed as truth was never accepted. Socrates, the great Greek philosopher tried to teach the people to think independently and find truth for themselves. It was unacceptable to the authorities and he was condemned to death.

When our beliefs are  challenged; when we are confronted with truth that requires  us to change, to change our attitudes towards people,  to change the way we live, to change our approach to people and to  change  our attitude to work we  should have the courage to do so.

Billy Sunday was the Billy Graham of a previous generation. He was conducting a crusade in a particular city. In one of his sermons he said something critical of the labor conditions for workers in that area. After the service, several prominent businessmen sent a message to him by one of the local pastors. The message was this---Billy, leave labor matters alone. Concentrate on getting people saved. Stay away from political issues. You’re rubbing the fur the wrong way." Billy Sunday sent this message back to them: "If I’m rubbing the fur the wrong way, tell the cats to turn around."

Speaking God’s truth by word or by deed is a risky business in every age. By our Baptism, God   calls us to be prophets like Jesus, sharing his prophetic mission.  The task of a prophet is to speak and to live out God’s truth.   We must never be afraid of this call, for it is Jesus who will supply us with the courage, the words and the deeds we will need to oppose the many evils in our society. 

Thousands of Christians have been killed these past years in Moslem countries and Communist countries. Christians are subjected to the white martyrdom of mental torture in advanced countries, including the U.S., by the agnostic and atheistic media and liberal politicians and judges, as forms of the media constantly ridicule and insult Christians with unprecedented vengeance.

We need to follow Christ, not political correctness, and to speak the truth of Christ without being hypocritical or disrespectful.  We must never remain silent in the face of evil for fear of being thought "politically incorrect."   Jesus was not against conflict if it promoted truth. He taught us to give respect and freedom without condoning or encouraging sinful behavior. That was the example given by Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and Archbishop Oscar Romero. Love does not tolerate destructive behavior, but it sometimes causes pain--just as a surgeon must sometimes hurt in order to heal.

As we continue with this Mass let’s ask for the grace and courage to stand up against evil and injustice, thus fulfilling our call as prophets in the world.