The word of the LORD came to me saying, "Before I formed
you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you...Do not
say, ‘I am only a boy’ for you shall go to whom I send you…Now I have put my
words in your mouth." [Jeremiah
1:4-5a, 7b, 9b]
In you, O LORD, have I taken refuge; let me never be
ashamed...you are my crag and my stronghold. [Psalm 71:1, 3b]
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not
have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal...And now faith, hope, and
love abide...and the greatest of these is love. [1 Cor 13:1, 13]
All spoke well of him…[then] they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” And
[Jesus] said, "Truly no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown...…all
in the synagogue were filled with rage…they drove him out…he passed through the
midst of them and went on his way. [Luke 4:22, 24, 28-29a, 30]
“Do not say, I am only a boy,” God said
to Jeremiah when he balked at God’s appointment of him as a prophet, citing his
lack of skill to speak. In contrast, the synagogue congregation in Nazareth
whispered about Jesus saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” as if to say, “who is
this boy preaching to us?” Jeremiah’s lack of confidence was bolstered with
God’s insistence that God would be present and give him the words he would need
in his prophetic work. Jesus, however, was very confident in his statement that
Isaiah’s words were being fulfilled in and by him in their hearing. Following
that, after pointing out that no prophet is accepted in his or her hometown and
giving a few unpopular examples, the outrage led to Jesus being driven from the
town and barely escaping being thrown from a cliff. (I like the part where
Jesus seems to slip away from the angry crowd apparently unnoticed and imagine how angry they were when they did notice.) At first,
they are complimentary, spoke well of him and were amazed… Then, it was
more likely a sudden realization and insult that Jesus, of low birth, is
teaching them with such a sense of authority and influence.
It IS
important, here, to acknowledge that this passage, in the wrong hands, however
well-intended, might have anti-semitic overtones. Some commentaries highlight the
anger of the men of the Synagogue as a religious patriotism of sorts. The Jews
had positive relationships with Gentiles in those times; in fact, there was a Court
of the Gentiles in the Jerusalem Temple. This reading is less about
what Jesus said and more about who/what Jesus was to them.
Jeremiah and Jesus
were similar and different in other ways. Jeremiah was living in the times that
saw the destruction of Solomon's Temple, Jerusalem itself, and the beginning
of the Babylonian exile. His prophecies were understandably unpopular and resulted in frequent physical
attacks on him and finally he lived out his days away home, in Egypt. Jesus returns to
the home of his childhood, and it obviously didn't go well.
The Psalmist is reassuring to those of us who
are reluctant to emulate Jeremiah or Jesus in public or even in private. There
is something unnerving about being open and vocal about our individual faith,
especially if we are less than confident about our beliefs, why we have them,
and what they are based on. Yet the Psalmist is reminding us that God is our
refuge, our hope, our confidence, and our strength. All we need to do is to turn
in God’s direction.
For me, of the four
appointed readings for this Sunday, the significance of the reading from 1st
Corinthians cannot be understated. It is
so very much more than a pretty thing to recite at a wedding. In the context of
all the readings for this Sunday, it brings the Word to now, to our
time, to our space. It is helpfully and clearly instructive. I see it as a
blueprint of our inner spiritual selves, our internal faith home, where some
rooms are still under construction, some are in serious need of renovation, and
still others are only vaguely outlined. As we look outside in this complex
world, there is no denying the dissension, hatred, intolerance, and rage in
seemingly every facet of human life through war, religion, race, gender, and so
much more. There is a cacophony of clanging voices of politicos, power mongers,
and everyday people, disparaging everyone who is not one of them. Their
supporters and detractors escalate the decibels to unbearable levels where few
have a clear tone, or a calming demeanor that defuses the raging. But, turning
inside, if we listen we can hear as so many have sung, All You Need is
Love, Love is the Answer, How Deep is Your Love, Endless Love, I Just Called to
Say I Love You, etc., etc., etc. Love is the ultimate goal of all
human endeavor, the path to eternal life.
When the when irritation begins its churning, when the
resentment seeps in, and before the anger is boiling, we can step back and take a breath
and discover a more excellent way to live. Let us first seek ways to experience
love and acceptance from within ourselves for ourselves. God is our
refuge and our strength to grow and to act consciously with confidence in
faith, in hope, and especially and intentionally, to live with and by love. Easy?
Of course not, but building a room one floorboard at a time moves us closer to
a solid foundation to stand in faith. It strengthens our resolve to leave the
inside to build an outside community that grows in love. A supportive loving community
of faith can grow beyond its boundaries by spreading out to foster a more
loving hometown crowd. Love doesn't mean agreement in all things. It does mean
acceptance and tolerance of the differences that divide, and welcoming the
caring that connects. Let us not meet fire with fire, rage with rage. A simple statement such as "you and I will disagree on that" may help defuse rather than escalate. From one
hometown to another, love may not solve all problems but it will make a
positive difference in everyone it inhabits. "Home is where the heart is,"
said Roman author and philosopher Pliny the Elder, who was about 10 when Jesus
was crucified. Let's set our hearts on each other and through the Christ within
us, we can build a loving home for all our hearts.
LET
US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, You knew us,
and formed us, and consecrated us before our earthly birth. Guide us to put
away childish ways of envy, boasting, and arrogance to follow Your call to
reveal Your endless Love in all that we are, and in all that we say and do.
O
God, our Refuge, our Strength
RESPONSE: Deliver us from the wicked
~
O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, grant our mortal tongues the
words of justice, mercy, tolerance, and compassion to calm fear, dissolve rage,
and to fill the hearts and souls of all who hold power in countries and
communities across this planet. We pray especially for: add your
own petitions
O God our Refuge, our Strength
Deliver us from the wicked
~
O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, sustain the faith of all who
suffer with chronic pain, depression, or disease, and refresh the energy of
those who assist with their care. We now join our voices to pray aloud for
those in need…add your own petitions
O God our Refuge, our Strength
Deliver us from the wicked
~
O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, soothe the hearts of those who
grieve as the heavens erupt with rejoicing for our loved ones now
arriving. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O God our Refuge, our Strength
Deliver us from the wicked
~
O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, we pause in this
moment to offer You our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions,
petitions, and memorials, aloud or silently…add your own petitions
O God our Refuge, our Strength
Deliver us from the wicked
~
O Lord, our Hope and our Confidence, nourish the gifts of our
anointed pastors who join with us in a community of worship, enrich our faith, and inspire us to
step beyond ourselves in this life’s short journey to seek fulfillment in
Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O God our Refuge, our Strength
Deliver us from the wicked
The
Celebrant adds: O Constant,
Righteous God, embolden our Faith, invigorate our Hope, and permeate our cells
with Your purest Love, that we may rejoice in Your truth as living,
conscious, and steadfast reflections of Your Enduring Word. We ask through
Jesus, the Incarnation of Love; and the Holy Spirit, the Breath of Faith; who
together with You reign as One Holy and Eternal God. Amen.
