Who are the Chosen People? By their own declaration and by our own perhaps begrudging admission, the Jews. The Jews are the Chosen People of God. Now, when you hear me say that, how do you feel? Does it make you feel a little uncomfortable? Do you feel a little resentment, a little jealous? Perhaps because it makes you feel inferior? After all, why should God choose the Jews and not, say, the Koreans or the Italians? Are not Italians the true master race? Everyone knows there are only two kinds of people in the world: Italians and those who wish they were Italians.
Is not our reaction to the Jews being chosen by God the same as today’s Gospel reaction of the Jews to Jesus? “Just who does he think he is? We know him! We know his family. Where does he get all this?”
The curious thing in today’s Gospel, the Jews in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth had just been praising him. A prophet has risen among us! God has blessed us through him. This proves how special we are!
Now Jesus could have kept his mouth shut and just let them inflate his ego. “Ha! You think I’m just a prophet? I’m not just a prophet. I’m the Son of God. You people have no idea of just how blessed you are to have me here with you today.”
But Jesus didn’t say that. Instead he popped their bubble by reminding them that while God truly does love them, he loves others too, including non-Jews. He pointed out that his mission was to let all people in the world know just how beloved and blessed they are. The famous line of Scripture, John 3:16, (that we see at many baseball games) doesn’t say “For God so loved the Jews that he gave us his only Son” but rather, “God so loved the world…” That includes us.
The Jews rightly feel special. After all, through them God revealed salvation, the Bible and Jesus, the savior of the world. But God also allowed the Jews to suffer in terrible ways throughout their history. Why? To show the world that suffering does not mean you are cursed or abandoned, but rather how God is with you even in your darkest hour.
Just because the Jews are the Chosen People doesn’t make other peoples less beloved by God. In fact, God chose the Jews to be the light to the Gentiles. That’s us. God chose them in order to bring his truth and salvation to us in Jesus Christ, who was born, raised, lived and died as a Jew. We are the reason God chose the Jews! We are the reason God chose Jeremiah while he was still within his mother's womb. Jeremiah was persecuted for bringing God's light to the nations. Jesus was crucified for bringing God's salvation to the world. On the cross, the darkest hour for all people, mankind rejected God, but God blessed all mankind.
God does not love us because we are special; we are special because God loves us. You should recite this each morning as soon as you awaken and at night before you sleep. “God does not love me because I am special; I am special because God loves me.”
The question, the challenge today is: just how have we accepted God’s love? How have we allowed God’s love to transform our minds and change our life?
The second reading from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is a perfect description of love. You can take out the word “love” and substitute the word “Jesus” and take out the word “it” and substitute “he” and it reads, “Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. He is not jealous, he is not pompous, he is not inflated. Jesus is not rude, he does not seek his own interest, he is not quick tempered, he does not brood over injury. Jesus does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Jesus bears all thing, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
So far so good. Now let’s test ourselves. Let’s see just how Christian we are. Look at that same passage in today’s second reading and instead of the words “love is” put in “I am.” Here’s how I would read it: I am patient, I am kind. I am not jealous, I am not pompous, I am not inflated. I am not rude, I am not easily angered...."
How far can you go down the list without laughing or without being embarrassed? Those are the areas you need to work on. Certainly I am not so patient and not always kind. Sometimes I can be very rude and often get angry. This exercise shows me just how much farther I need to travel on the road towards spiritual perfection.
As Catholic Christians it is our duty to constantly convert to this life of love. But this is not just for our own good so that we can feel holier or superior to others, rather it’s for others who may not be our relatives, may not be Korean or Catholic. Like Jesus, we must share our good news, our blessings with the whole world. And like Jesus, we must be prepared when people misunderstand us, when they do not accept us, when they reject us, oppose us, and persecute us.
Because the Jews are the Chosen People, Jesus chose us. Because Jesus chose us, all people are now the Chosen People. Because all people are the Chosen People, the only master race is the human race.
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