……from your Pastor’s Desk
… A reflection on todays Scripture readings
How many weddings have you attended in your life? And how many times have you heard, “Love is patient, love is kind . . . it is not rude”? It’s an all-time favorite. Yet, to make those wonderful words come true for the newlyweds, they need to take special note of the last part of that reading where we hear, “When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child . . . now that I am a man (or a woman), I put aside childish things.”
In other words, if they want such a beautiful kind of love in their married lives, then they must grow up and make sacrifices! Just like the prophet Jeremiah had to do . . . and Jesus, too! It wasn’t ever easy to face the stone-throwing that accompanied God’s truthful and loving message! Sacrifice always accompanies love!
Today’s first reading is about God’s choice of Jeremiah, one of the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.”
Jeremiah, knowing how badly people treated prophets, protested, but to no avail. God told him to prevail, promising that “I am with you to deliver you…” After he spent his life battling false religions and the cowardly fear of weak political leaders, he was finally stoned to death in Egypt! Jeremiah is often compared to Jesus, since both were consumed with love for the Father, and zeal for the truth, and both suffered death because of that love and that truth. The Gospel today demonstrates how Jesus, from the very beginning of His ministry in His hometown of Nazareth, suffered rejection from the very villagers He had grown up with! Here, it all boiled down to envious remarks like, “Who does He think he is?” “We know His family and His relatives!” “Where does He get all of this?” As Jesus’ fame grew, so too did the opposition from religious leaders who feared for their standing among the people. The words of the prophets will always anger and upset those who will not face their own sinfulness.
The power that drove both Jeremiah and Jesus to persevere to the end was their fire of love for the Father and for His Glory. At our baptism, the priest anointed us with Holy Chrism to be “prophet, priest, and king.” We, too, need a burning love for the Truth for our ministry as prophets. Are we willing to pay just a portion of the price that it takes to love as Jeremiah and Jesus did?
Father Ron
