Well, given that bit of excess hubris and arrogance, the people in the pews are astonished. They start walking out by the pew-full. After Mass some of the more critical individuals even stand on the porch step and boo him as he comes out. Obviously, this guy is not starting out in the most favorable of conditions. Of course, it is all fiction. I could not imagine it happening in real life.

But it has happened in our church at certain points in history. Even popes and bishops who were well liked in their early tenure became intensely disliked later on because of the overbearing manner in which they chose to govern the church.

I realize that there are certain questionable comparisons in this story, but the scene resembles that described in the two readings for this Sunday’s liturgy. It is about prophetic speaking and working.

From the book of the prophet Jeremiah, the first reading we hear, the author is speaking about his call to prophecy and the anguish it will cause him. In contemporary language, the text says: “I God have formed you to take on the powers that are in place. I will make you a pillar of iron, a wall of brass. Do not worry, however. I stand beside you; kings and priests will not prevail against you. Put on your armor and go do battle with them.

That was Jeremiah’s charge: Take ‘em on, Jeremiah; clean up this unholy scene. That is exactly what Jeremiah did, and he took the heat along with it.

The scene in the gospel follows the same pattern: Jesus comes home from “seminary.” Filled with all this new knowledge, he is asked to read the scriptures and preach. Much to the great satisfaction of the synagogue attendees, Jesus chooses a soft passage from Isaiah the prophet and applies it to himself: He proclaims his role as a preacher of good news, advocacy for the poor and the oppressed. The audience was impressed. “Go get ‘em,” they say.

But then comes the surprise: “Get this folks, I’m not doing any of this good work among you folks; you are not worthy of God’s gracious words. I’m going on to other towns!

Ah, the anger that arose at that point. Here is a local young man, fresh from seminary, telling these people that they are not worthy of his prophetic preaching.

They kick him out of their town, threaten him with brute force. So much for the brave work of prophets.

It is important to notice, however, that these two scenes are not time limited. They are models of human reaction that could occur in any community when a prophetic speaker comes into their midst and preaches hard words.

Unfortunately, I believe that there are few people today, whether in secular of religious communities who pay much attention to prophets. Often they are considered as odd, or as crackpots or as people who always have an issue to settle. In short, they are considered bothersome people.

In this regard, I think of former Vice President, Al Gore who was one of the first to speak for greater control over climate change. He was mocked and is still considered something of an extremist in the scientific community. Any critique of a present condition that will make people uncomfortable is bad news.

All this may sound rather esoteric to most folks. Rarely do we consider it our business to speak out in public about a serious issue, which affects the community at large. Who wants the heat? Who wants to be bothered? After all, there are people elected to deal with such issues

The late Senator Thomas (Tip) O’Neill said it best: “All politics is local.” How true this is: Most issues that affect the common citizenry are local. The Supreme Court is not needed as judge in ordinary issues between on person and another.

The question, then, arises: Do prophets like Jeremiah, Isaiah, Jesus or even contemporary local prophetic types need to be considered rare? My ideal instinct tells me no, but reality speaks otherwise.

All that prophetic speech, therefore, leaves us not only with a question, but also with a charge. Who has the wisdom and insight to see the questions that will affect our futures? I hope it is not “the other person.”

The scriptures: Jeremiah 1: 4-5, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 12: 31-13-13;
Luke 4: 21-30