Almost two years ago, the Archbishop called me in and said, “ Kevin, I want you to go to Incarnate Word as the next pastor there.” Having just settled in at my previous assignment, I was looking for a way out; I didn’t want to move so soon. Naturally, I turned to Scripture to save me. “Archbishop”, I replied, “that is my parents’ parish and you know what happened when Jesus went back to his hometown synagogue and preached? They tried to throw him off a cliff!” Archbishop Carlson dismissed my concern immediately and simply said, “Don’t worry, there are no cliffs in Chesterfield.”
Today we hear two stories that highlight the challenges of speaking truth, especially to people who know us well. First up is Jeremiah who was given the task of prophesying to the King and upper class of Jerusalem. After completing that difficult job, he was told by God to speak to the everyday people. By the time he was done, he wasn’t very popular. Because of his challenging message to return to God, many rejected him and he was persecuted, attacked, even left to die in a cistern. Despite all this suffering, often at the hands of those who were his friends and neighbors, Jeremiah remained true to the Word he had been given. He wouldn't stop preaching or soften the message. He complained that he wished he could keep quiet, but the Word of God was burning like a fire within him. He had to share God’s message no matter how it was received.
Jeremiah sensed that God has created him for a special purpose, to proclaim His truth in a specific way that no one else could. Despite the difficulties, how could he run away from that? Certainly the Lord’s words, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you" must have helped him along. God was telling Jeremiah that he had picked him out to be his prophet before Jeremiah was even conceived. And this is not just true for Jeremiah. The reason we reverence every single human life as sacred is because, before each of us was born, or even conceived, God knew us and had a role to play in the universe. How incredible! God knew you and me before our mothers and fathers ever met. He was excited to bring us into being. He is thrilled to call us to proclaim His truth. We are not just random results of nature. God has been thinking about us before time began.
One of the things all of us have in common, regardless of of our upbringing, job, or vocation is a responsibility to speak and live God’s truth. As a human being, created in the image and likeness of God, we cannot fail to do our part in sharing God’s message with others, especially as it relates to fundamental values like human rights, the family, marriage, and the right to life. We should keep in mind the Lord’s encouragement to Jeremiah, "They will fight against you, but I am with you to deliver you." He will be with us as we proclaim the authentic way of life, living for the Kingdom of God.
In the gospel we read about Jesus returning home to proclaimed the truth about his relationship to the Father. His homies had heard about his miracles and they wanted Jesus to perform some for them, as if he were a magician or some sort of entertainer. But they to believe; they couldn't get past His family background. When he told them the truth, that he could only work miracles for those who had faith, people like heathens and non-believers, they wanted to kill Him. Instead of examining their hearts in light of the Truth, they tried destroy truth. True to his word, God took care of his truth-teller. Ironically the people got a miracle. He walks though their midst and they are unable to throw him off the cliff. But their hearts were hardened and they couldn’t see it!
If Jesus and Jeremiah were rejected and persecuted for speaking God’s truth, we can expect the same. There are people who don't want to hear God's truth because it is deemed too challenging or extreme. We should not be surprised if we are mocked, vilified, or dismissed. Some may try to push us off the cliff of respectability. If you’ve ever experienced this, you know how hurtful, unfair, and awful that can be.
But the One who called us before we were conceived, will not desert us. His way, his truth will prevail. Those who live it and speak it with charity will be vindicated. There is nothing anyone can do to us that will take God from us. If he is for us, who could be against us? We have to proclaim all that is right and moral and true, but how do we do it? Our wonderful second reading makes it clear, we have to deliver truth with charity. We are to proclaim God’s truth with patience and kindness, and not with all the negatives St. Paul describes. We cannot proclaim God's love if we are arrogant, jealous, selfish, angry, and vengeful. If others cannot see the love of God behind our words and actions, then we are not proclaiming His Kingdom properly. We cannot use the truth like a 2x4 to beat people into submission. If we let anger determine our actions, we will get nowhere. God is calling us to be patient and kind with others, even, and perhaps especially, those who do horrendous things.
Let’s spend some time this week reflecting on the fact that God has called us, even before we were in our mothers' wombs, to proclaim his Truth. He has given each of us a unique set of gifts and a personality to help the people we interact with as part of our personal and professional circles. Sometime that Divine Truth will be well-received and welcome. Other times it will be rejected. May we, like Jeremiah, always be authentic to who we are, a daughter, a son of God. May we believe that God has a purpose for our lives that is unique and irreplaceable for the good of the world. And as long as we live and speak His truth with love, He will always be with us.
