Even the people we view as heroes or saints sometimes need a bracing pep talk. When Jeremiah received his call from God to be a prophet to the nation, he was appalled and responded with fear and doubt. He felt very lacking in credibility — he was too young, unskilled at speaking and not likely to inspire confidence in others. This was reported in the verses omitted from today’s reading but it is important to place God’s response in the context of Jeremiah’s reaction.
God pointed out to Jeremiah in very forceful terms that the prophetic role was not his doing and did not rely on his powers or abilities. This was to be God’s undertaking and God would therefore empower and strengthen Jeremiah. The strength and protection promised by God was not negligible. Jeremiah would be a fortified city, iron pillar and a bronze wall, and no power would be able to withstand him. But God ordered him to stand tall and deliver, and above all not to “lose it” when faced with the resistance of his enemies. All of this would be possible because God would be with him.
Human projects often reflect human desires and concerns far removed from the divine will. If we are truly called by God to play a certain role or to embark on some undertaking fear and doubt should not be an option. When the ego with all of its fears and insecurities is in control serious difficulties arise and failure becomes a distinct possibility. In facing challenges we might wonder if God is with us. The better question might be, “Are we truly with God?” If so, we have nothing to fear.
Paul’s beautiful description of love is so well-known that it has been hijacked by sentimentality and superficiality. It makes a nice poster, banner or coffee cup. Close examination, however, reveals a hard-hitting and demanding spirituality. First of all, love is defined almost entirely by our reactions to other people rather than our feelings, sentiments or attractions. Secondly, all of the typical human reactions miss the mark when measured against the requirements of love. Love calls us out of ourselves to patience and acceptance of others. It demands that we be sensitive to the feelings and needs of others rather than focusing on self. It is the most demanding but rewarding spirituality in the world, and without it most of our actions — even seemingly good ones — ring a bit hollow. We might keep in mind an observation attributed to St. Theresa of Avila: “Love makes labour light. Love alone gives value to all things.”
As an old saying goes, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” The people in Nazareth knew Jesus and His family and they had seen Him grow up. It is sometimes difficult to imagine great things from those whom we know too well and to whom we are very close. Even though His words at first made a favourable impression, these doubts soon took hold of their minds. Who did Jesus think He was? Wasn’t He overstepping boundaries and pretending to be someone far beyond His humble background? Their doubts were then confirmed by the challenging references to Israel’s past in the
Scriptures. He pointed out a couple of instances in which God displayed compassion and mercy to those not of Israel. In one case — that of Naaman the Syrian — the recipient of divine favour was a hated enemy and military leader.
The two stories related by Jesus drove home an essential element of His message: God is far bigger than we think and divine compassion includes everyone without exception. God is not merely a reflection of human prejudices, fears and desires. People are never comfortable with a message of this sort for it shakes their internal worldview. The crowd tried to do violence to Jesus; such was there anger and defensive fear.
Lest we feel in any way superior to the crowd, we should know that Jesus would have a challenging image of God to present to us today. Those with an emotional or material stake in the status quo would probably react in the same way.
When we encounter the living God it is seldom in ways that we expect — God is a God of surprise, change and challenge.