In our scripture readings this Sunday we are presented with the rejections experienced by both Jeremiah and Jesus. Jeremiah had an unpopular message to deliver; it fell to him to predict a disastrous invasion of the country and the destruction of Jerusalem followed by the enslavement of most of the people in Babylon. His message was that this was because they had not sufficiently repented from their sin of turning away from the Lord. As a result of this he was attacked, beaten, put into stocks, thrown into a cistern and then eventually imprisoned.
All of this was because the people could not accept his message and failed to understand that he was one of God’s greatest prophets. But rejecting his message did not stop the disaster he predicted from happening. In the beginning Jeremiah was a very reluctant prophet and he initially resisted God’s call, claiming that he was unworthy and did not know how to speak. As we see from today’s reading God insisted that he be his prophet despite the opposition he would face. God then touched Jeremiah’s mouth giving him the gift of speech; so Jeremiah set about preparing himself for life as a prophet and eventually he began to proclaim the Word of God and to warn the people of the impending disaster. It was this that won him many enemies who plotted his demise and brought constant trouble upon him, but Jeremiah did not give up.
Ironically it was the invaders about whom he had warned the people who eventually released him from prison and let him live in good conditions. We see from the Gospels how Jesus was also rejected by many in Israel, maybe he did not have quite as many enemies as Jeremiah but the ones that he did have eventually brought about his death on the Cross. We see this process begin in his own home town of Nazareth. It was a bold thing to stand up in the synagogue and proclaim that you were the Messiah predicted by Isaiah. His listeners were enraged at his words and attempted to push him over a cliff.
The people were certainly outraged by Jesus presenting himself as the Messiah so long foretold, but this would have been exacerbated by the fact that they knew him and all his family very well. They would not have believed it possible for the Messiah to come from among their own people. From our perspective, we realise that the Messiah had to come from somewhere and Nazareth is as good a place as any. But the people there would not have seen it in those terms; according to them there was nothing to distinguish Jesus from anyone else. They were unaware of the circumstances of his conception and birth, they thought that he was just the same as them; in other words, unworthy and therefore unfit to be the Chosen One. This is a common failing: not seeing the extraordinary among the ordinary. Our eyes are so often accustomed to seeing ordinary things that we fail to spot the truly exceptional lying hidden in plain view. This was certainly something true of the people of Christ’s day who did not recognise him or his mission to the world. It was easier for people from other towns and villages to recognise that Jesus was an extraordinary man since they hadn’t known him from childhood but even they did not see him as the long foretold Messiah.
They rejoiced in his miracles and were captivated by his message but seeing him as the Messiah was probably a step too far for most of them. We are all called to be disciples of Christ, in other words we are asked by God to be prophets in the modern world. We are asked to be the ones who proclaim Christ’s message of salvation to the people around us. If we take on this role we will inevitably find that we are opposed and perhaps even persecuted for it. In certain circles we will find ourselves unpopular if not facing outright rejection. I suppose some of us might accept this role but not actually live up to the task. We might say we are disciples of Christ but not do anything about it and certainly not speak up for the Gospel when occasion demands. If we take this track we can only be regarded as failures. Some Christians, however, feel this responsibility very keenly. They feel that in order to be authentic they need to be constantly speaking up for Christ.
If fact some people like this go a bit beyond what we might consider to be prudent and almost seem to invite persecution. Now while we might admire some of those people who fall into this category we might not be quite so keen on some of the others who we might regard as taking things too far because they express views which seem to go beyond what the Church teaches. There will always be such extremists who go to Lourdes five times a year and hector the populace at Speakers Corner on a Sunday afternoon. But it is possible to take a middle course. It is possible to be a normal person and yet to stand up for Christ and his Gospel of love. It is possible to have firm moral convictions and to have views about personal responsibility while still remaining a reasonable person. And let me suggest it is this group that has the most credibility of all.
I don’t think that to be a Christian you need to be shoving the Gospel down other people’s throats. To me there is no need for fanaticism. Being a reasonable person who gives good example and who is a witness to the values that Christ stands for is, according to me, quite sufficient. I think that people are more impressed by those who go about their lives in a normal way yet who obviously show kindness to others and who express moral conviction at the right times. It is a life that is lived like this that is much more convincing to those who have no fixed convictions. We do not have to make a big noise as long as we don’t compromise our faith and as long as we stand up for our convictions when the occasion arises. The role Jeremiah was asked to perform was an exceptional one. We too have a role; we too have a path to steer through life. Our path may seem unexceptional, it might not expose us to harassment, but it ought to be convincing, it ought to be authentic, it ought to be faithful to Christ’s teaching and his message of universal love.