The
Word of God this Sunday takes us back to traumatic times for Ancient Israel.
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| Jesus in the Nazareth Synagogue |
God
calls Jeremiah to be a prophet, to speak on God's behalf. So Jeremiah describes Hebrew
infidelities against covenantal promises, proclaims a new covenant,
and urges people not to fight against Ancient Babylonia. He
encounters opposition. And yet, because Jeremiah believes God is
with him, he speaks God's message courageously.
The
author may be asking us whether we stand up for what's right or do we
simply go along to get along.
Paul,
in his letter to the Christian community in Corinth, poetically
describes in an ode or hymn the meaning of true love. Love, Paul
writes, is not showy gifts. It is not envious or rude or irritable.
Nor does it insist “on its own way.”
No,
love is like a prism that reflects myriad characteristics: patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, forgiveness, compassion,
self-discipline, peace, joy. And love never ceases because God is
love. Love is eternity in God's presence.
How
do we live those virtues?
In
the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus, like Jeremiah and Paul, pursues
his mission uncompromisingly. He proclaims that the kingdom of God
is breaking into our midst; that all people can share in this kingdom
by living a life of discipleship, a life of virtue.
Jesus
encounters opposition. And yet, because God is with Him, Jesus
continues, whatever the consequences.
The
question for us is: what energizes us? Where do we find purpose?
Some
argue convincingly that we find meaning in a mix of what we do, what
we experience and eventually in the mystery of our own suffering and
dying.
Here’s
an example. A newly minted medical doctor found purpose primarily in
his work. But then an inoperable spinal tumor gradually paralyzed
him. He couldn’t work.
So
he began to find meaning primarily in everyday experiences at the
facility where he was cared for. He talked with other patients:
entertained and encouraged them. He read good books, listened to
music, stayed in touch with his far-away family.
But
at length he couldn’t even do these things. He now had to find
meaning primarily in his own suffering and dying. So he became a
counselor to fellow sufferers, and an example by bearing his own
inescapable suffering bravely.
And
finally he had to let go and with faith in God, he made a leap into
the mystery of death and into the hands of God—like a trapeze
artist who trusts that his fellow artist will catch him.
Life
indeed was worth living for this physician. He found meaning in
every stage. In what he did. In what he experienced. Eventually in
the mystery of suffering and dying.
What are human beings
meant for? We are meant for something greater, something
transcendent, beyond ourselves: the human spirit. Always open to a
relationship with God.
Yes,
our purpose, no matter what our profession or stage in life, is to be
in relationship with God and one another forever.
