Word to the Wise
Friday, August 1, 2008 - St. Alphonsus Liguori, cssr - Bishop and Doctor of the Church
[Jeremiah 26:1-9 and Matthew 13:54-58]"Where did this man get all this?" And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house." And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.
In his hometown, Jesus gets a taste of what Jeremiah has been sharing with us all week! In today's first scripture, it's not the messenger but the message that bothers. The priests and people and rulers don't want to hear bad news. In Jesus' case, it is the messenger. "How can this guy know anything? We've known him since he was a little kid!" So they were not about to give any prestige to a local person! This prompts Jesus' comment about honoring prophets. Prophets, therefore, face a double dilemma. To gain any credence, a prophet has to be acceptable to the people personally and the message has to be something they want to hear! Hmmmmm. That sounds more like election year political rhetoric! In Jeremiah's time, prophets were part of the religious scene. However, many of them were chameleon-like and changed colors according to whatever they thought the situation demanded. Jeremiah did not do this and it continually resulted in his being persecuted. Jesus had a message that was somewhat familiar but he took it beyond what the people were willing to accept - namely that he was/is the Messiah! It might be instructive to ask ourselves about any religious message or preaching that challenges the way we believe and behave! How do we respond? Is the question one of the message or is it a question of the messenger? We might be surprised by our own answer. AMEN
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