Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
1 Corinthian 12:31-13:13 (or 13:4-130
Luke 4:21-30
If we ever have to choose a name for someone, and specifically a Christian name, it might be good to check out the Bible for some options.
But as we look in the Bible for some nice sounding names, please choose with caution.
At least, read up about the character whose name we are considering.
For e.g. “Stephen” is a nice name, right? Well my parents chose that name for me. It is also found in the Bible.
But as we know, Stephen, the one who was mentioned in the Bible, was stoned to death!
If my parents had known about that, I wonder if they would still choose that name for me.
Another nice sounding name found in the Bible is Jeremiah, or Jeremy, for short.
It was also the name of the prophet from which the 1st reading is taken.
If you want to choose the name Jeremiah or Jeremy for yourself or for someone else, it might be good to read up about this prophet in the Bible.
Jeremiah was a young man when the Lord called him, probably he was in his early 20s.
He was very reluctant to be God’s prophet and he tried to reject it, but in the end he still did what he was told.
So Jeremiah began to preach. He told his people bluntly that their only hope for survival was to reform their lives and turn back to God.
For that, Jeremiah got flogged in public, he was put in chains, he was thrown into a dungeon, and finally he was exiled from his homeland.
Things got so bad for him that he even cursed the day he was born.
So that’s the prophet Jeremiah. We may want to take after his name, but we sure don’t want to end up like him.
Another name which we will not take after is the name of Jesus. I don’t think anyone here has that name, out of respect, of course.
It is a nice name, but we know what happened to Jesus in the end.
At least today’s gospel gave us a snippet of what was in store for Him.
He faced rejection from the people of His own hometown, and it got so bad that they hustled Him out and wanted to throw Him down the cliff.
But He walked away, to preach another day.
But the end will come.
Jesus said that a prophet is not accepted in his own country.
But let’s face it – a true prophet is not accepted anywhere.
Because a true prophet has to speak the truth.
Yes, the truth will set us free, but first it will make us uneasy.
But in case you start to get uneasy, let me tell you a corny joke about truth.
Let me ask you: What is the difference between someone praying in church and someone praying in the casino?
Well, the one praying in the casino, his prayer is serious.
It can be as serious as this as he throws the dice – Our Father in heaven, give me a seven!
It sounds corny, but it can be that serious.
But of course, that doesn’t mean that our prayer in church is not fervent.
It may not be that serious, but it is nonetheless very fervent because we know that God hears our prayers.
Of course we have to be clear about what we are praying for.
A story has it that a woman went to see a holy man and asked him to pray to God to take her husband out of this world, because he was always quarrelling with her, and she could not live with him anymore.
The holy man paused for a moment, and then said to her : Very well, I will pray, but I must warn you that when I begin to pray, God will decide which of you is more guilty.
If God judges you to be more guilty, you will die immediately! So ….. how? You want me to start praying?
The woman thought for a while, and then said : Err…. Never mind, no need to pray anymore. And she left, hurriedly.
Well, the truth set her free, and it also made her flee.
Still, to be a prophet of the truth is never an easy task.
But to help us be prophets of the truth, the 2nd reading introduces the necessary aspect of love.
In other words, we speak the truth with love.
The only way to speak the truth is to speak it with kindness.
Because only the words of a loving person will be heard.
One of the biggest tests of a relationship is to speak to a friend about his/her faults.
And here we have to understand this. And that is, people don’t care about what you know, until they know you care about them.
If we speak the truth WITHOUT love, then as the 2nd reading puts it, we are just like a gong booming, or a cymbal clashing.
Nothing is happening, because nothing is going in.
Even we ourselves know from experience that no matter how many hard knocks we give a person, he won’t change.
In fact he might even build a wall against us.
We might know who St. Augustine is, and the story of his life. In his younger days, he was simply wild.
He kept delaying his conversion. He would even seriously pray like this: O Lord, make me good … but not so soon!
One day he happened to see his mother, St. Monica crying softly.
Now St. Monica was noted for this – she prayed for 30 years for her son’s conversion.
She had such perseverance because a priest told her that her prayers and tears for her son would not go unnoticed by God.
So St. Augustine asked his mother why she was crying. St. Monica replied : I am crying for you, my son. I cry because I love you.
St. Augustine did not respond to that, but it moved him, and that finally triggered his conversion process.
Yes, truth alone is too glaring ; we can’t take the naked truth.
But truth dressed in love will move hearts to build bridges and tear down walls.
So whatever name we have, we are all called to be God’s prophets. So what does it mean to be a prophet?
How am I to be a prophet?
Let me paraphrase the 2nd reading and tell you what it means to be a prophet.
A prophet is patient and kind. A prophet is not jealous or boastful or conceited.
A prophet is not rude or selfish. A prophet does not take offence and is not resentful.
A prophet does not take pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth.
A prophet is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes.
That’s what it means to be a prophet. That’s what it means to be a prophet of God’s love.