Listen to the Voice

I have been proclaiming the wonderful deeds of Jesus since I was a girl. Even if they threaten me, I will stand up and tell. His love changed my life. His story must be told: 

My job was to tend the fire outside the synagogue entry. I was just a girl. Every Sabbath, the men arrived to talk and argue about the law.  They never saw me. On this day, he saw me. He smiled at me as he went inside. 

The coals of the fire glowed red and orange. I placed another log on the flames. I heard his voice: “The Lord has sent me to set  captives free,” he said, “to give sight to the blind.” My heart pulsed like the embers in that fire. This was love. The men were awed at his preaching. He sat. He said, “Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your  hearing.” The silence was thick. I knew it then in my heart. This was the One we had been waiting for. 

His preaching was not enough for some. My father’s brother asked him to do a special miracle just for Nazareth. I knew my uncle, who only wanted something to boast about. That was not love. That was cold. Even a young girl could see that. I started to  object, but my father muttered, “Be still!” Jesus saw their coldness.  His eyes looked sad.

They grew angry. They wanted to hurt him. I don’t know how he got away. But he did. 

They can behead me if they like. I will be faithful to my call to speak of him. There has never been anyone so loving as Jesus. I will not be still. Like Jeremiah, I will speak! God will be with me, with a love that radiates like a fire in my bones.  

I will speak! 

Consider/Discuss 

• Today’s Gospel story is like a family reunion gone wrong. Jesus has come home. And some of his neighbors are not content simply to hear him  preach, even though “gracious words came out of his mouth.” They want their native son to put them on the map with signs and wonders. Jeremiah the prophet also found himself unwelcome in Israel. What is it about human nature that we listen least to those who are closest and are most  impressed by those from far away, especially more than fifty miles away?  Why do we do that?
• We are all called to speak of the love that we have received. Evangelization is not just for priests and preachers. In the early church, ordinary people  told the story of Jesus, even if it meant death, even if it meant being  ostracized by family. How are you and I called to speak today?

Living and Praying with the Word 

Living Word, thank you for vocal cords. Texts and emails are fine,  but thank you for the warmth of a voice. There are some voices that  we no longer hear, ones that we hope to hear, and voices that we  haven’t always appreciated until they are silent. Help us to savor the  voices of those who love us, those who are close by. Help us to really  hear them. They are a gift to us. Thank you for the gift of voice. Help  us to use it well.