Year C Epiphany IV Jeremiah 1:4-10 Psalm 71:1-6 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Luke 4:21-30

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; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

The idea that God forms a child in its mother’s “womb” was accepted by the early Hebrews, and in today’s first lesson we learn that God has known Jeremiah since his first moment of existence – both intellectually and in his capacity for action. Put simply, God chose Jeremiah to be a prophet before he, Jeremiah, was born. God dedicated him, separated him for His purposes; consecrated Jeremiah to serve Him. And so, at the fullness of time for Jeremiah, God calls him to be the prophet he was born to be.

Jeremiah’s response isn’t one of joy. Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy."

Jeremiah isn’t alone in being unenthusiastic about God’s call. Moses wasn’t thrilled either. These men whom God calls to do His work know perfectly well that their lot in life is not going to be easy and may well be very unpleasant. They know the political and spiritual times in which they live. In Jeremiah’s case, seated on the throne at the time of his birth was the worst king Judah has ever known, under whose rule Judah has suffered serious social and religious deterioration.

There is a new king now, Josiah, and it is a time of serious reform, but times of reform are always times of tumult and discord, and Jeremiah, wisely, is afraid of what awaits him as prophet. He attempts to excuse himself by claiming he is “only a boy”, by which we can gather he must have been about twenty years old.

God is quick to reassure the young man that he has nothing to fear since his ministry is authentic, and God will protect him against every conceivable adversary that is to be found among his own people. But youth isn’t Jeremiah’s only excuse for not wanting to accept the mantel of a prophet. He has also voiced the concern that he does not know how to speak.

Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

Jeremiah’s mission is daunting; to do away with corruption and to promote ethical conduct and godliness. Will he acquire wealth and prestige, recognition and support, appreciation and riches as he does so? The answer to all these questions is, “No!” Despite his intimate relationship with God, Jeremiah will be spurned, thrown headlong into a cistern, and generally abused by those unwilling to hear the word of God. His will be a life of faith, but also a life of hardship and suffering.

Jeremiah knows what he’s in for, but he answers God’s call, and though never fully reconciled to his vocation, remains a faithful but reluctant prophet all his days. Why does he acquiesce to God’s call? Because, in his heart he knows the Truth – with all the trials and tribulations he must face, Jeremiah belongs to God in the way that means God’s love and support are with him always.

In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus read from the book of the prophet Isaiah, and began to say, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.

When Jesus came to his hometown of Nazareth and began to teach, the local Jewish community was quite proud of Him. After all, they had heard of the things that He had done at Capernaum and were convinced that He was some sort of prophet from God. They believed that Jesus was now about to shower them with God’s favor because, after all, He was one of them, so of course that is what He would do. Besides, they agreed with what He was saying – at least at first. As long as they were pleased, they were proud and they wanted to preen in the light of special favor from God.

The locals know Jesus well, "Is not this Joseph's son?" And the reverse is true for Jesus. He also knows all of them and what they’ll be expecting.

He said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Doctor, cure yourself!' And you will say, 'Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.'"

These are folks like us. They have families, and with them and their friends they attend worship services on the Sabbath. You can hear everyone agreeing with Him as he accurately says they must be expecting Him to do as He did in Capernaum. They’re all smiling and eager to see what Jesus will do next, so what He says comes as a shock. He begins by commenting, Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown.

Then He starts talking about the blessing going not to those in His midst, but further abroad, to gentiles. He uses stories of Elijah and Elisha where God healed and included people that were not part of the usual fold. Jesus reminds them of instances of persecution and disgrace where God has helped foreigners (both women and men) rather than Israelites. He teaches that God’s liberation is more inclusive and abundant than the exclusive covenant that the people in the synagogue believed God had with them.

With this, everything changes. When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage.

Jesus will not do miracles for them, and He implies God favours others over them. What they don’t understand is that what they expect of Jesus betrays them. Jesus doesn’t do miracles to entertain nor to prove who He is. Jesus does miracles for people who have, in faith, come to Him for help, and to reinforce the faith of those who already believe. The locals want a good show from the local boy-made-good, and they want proof, proof He is who He says He is. Jesus is not going to give them either.

We, you and I, the baptized, are the ones who are called to have faith, to believe. We do have a special relationship with Jesus, because we belong to Him, we are His. But we have some strange ideas about what this means.

Like Jeremiah, when we are called on to suffer indignities and dangers, any kind of pain, for Jesus, we aren’t too thrilled. Sometimes we actually blame God for our “misfortunes”, rather than seeing them as gifts, rather than accepting them and finding through them the path to holiness. And when faced with challenges that require our faith to be strong, to give us courage, we sometimes run away.

Like the local folks in Jesus hometown synagogue we assume in an incorrect way that we are special to Jesus, and we want Him to do miracles for us, prove He loves us, prove He cares, prove He is God. We don’t factor in any possibility of the suffering through which we achieve holiness.

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.

We are His people, we are His sheep. But somehow, though we can always ask Him for what we need, we forget that this does not mean we are in the position to make demands, and we are sorely disappointed when our childish expectations are not met. We belong to Him. That word, “belong” can be misinterpreted. It is not “belong” as in “slavery”, but belonging as being part of, embraced by, supported, guided and loved by that which is all wisdom, all joy, all Love.

We can always decide to say, “No”. Jeremiah chose to say, “Yes,” and to suffer whatever unpleasantness might befall him – and much did. The people in Jesus’ synagogue chose, “No”, and thus missed the opportunity for which they were waiting and hoping, missed the Messiah.

What do we expect from our Lord, from God? Are we, like Jeremiah, afraid that not everything He asks of us will be pleasant? But is our faith such that we nonetheless say “yes”? Or, are we, like the people of today’s Gospel reading, waiting for signs and miracles, looking for proof, before we will allow Jesus to guide our lives? We are His people and the sheep of His pasture, but the choice, to say “yes” or “no” to His call is always ours.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, You created us and most lovingly care for us. We accept all our sufferings most willingly, and as truly obedient children resign ourselves to Your holy will. Grant us the strength to accept generously Your loving visitation, and never let us grieve Your faithful heart by giving in to impatience and discouragement. We offer You all our pains; and in order that they may be acceptable to You and fruitful for our salvation we unite them with the most bitter pains of your beloved Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.