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Human beings are a rather fickle sort. Often our attention span is shorter than a winter’s day. Our loyalty lasts no longer than the popularity of an American idol. Our commitment rarely stands the test of time.On Wednesday a President who was hailed as a change agent a year ago addressed a nation which now doubts he can lead. This past week experts were predicting that the response to the crisis in Haiti would dwindle as the story leaves the front pages of our newspapers or no longer leads the nightly news. We are a fickle lot!The prophets of today’s Sacred Scriptures are classic victims of the fickleness of human nature. At the outset of his ministry, Jeremiah, a reluctant prophet, is fortified by the promise of God’s enduring support in the face of future rejection, suspicion and public disgrace by the very people he has been called to serve. Jesus, having inaugurated his public ministry in the synagogue with the prophetic words of Isaiah, is confronted by what appears to be an almost instantaneous turnabout. From a public outpouring of awe and acclaim to fury and the threat of bodily harm in seven short verses!The challenge of the prophet is to proclaim the will of God and fidelity to the law. This will be a risky business, not just because of human inconstancy, but also because, as Jesus demonstrates, that law is inclusive. The liturgy offers this “prophet’s dilemma” not so much as history as a case study of our own prophetic roles as disciples. It is an essential element of our discipleship to live out the very mission Jesus proclaims in his synagogue instruction. Having proclaimed the saving power of God, which everyone hailed, Jesus proceeds to demonstrate that power in action, which the people object to because it does not favor them. Therein lies the dilemma we face in our own discipleship. The Word which we embrace here has to be translated into action that is as inclusive as God’s love. St. Paul’s classic epistle establishes that criteria by spotlighting the centrality of the law of love. Unfortunately, this Pauline proclamation is most often used in the context of the marriage liturgy, so that its universal impact is somewhat muted. Paul is saying that there is no ministerial gift that can possibly surpass the law of love. That law is universal; that law is inclusive. Jesus made it clear that he would shatter long-held assumptions about God’s love. He would challenge the establishment when it failed to apply the law of love universally. He dramatically offers the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian as symbols of that inclusivity. He is offering his disciples the encouragement to do the same in their search for the reign of God. That “reign” must be inclusive and loving. That’s the consistent theme of Jesus’ mission and message. The Eucharist we celebrate will be an empty ritual if this message does not impact the way we live. Jesus offered himself without reservation in a divine sacrifice of unconditional love. He did that for you and me and asks us to “Do this in memory of me.”Where do we take this message? How would this play out in our public discourse? Different political philosophies need not polarize if they are expressed in the context of the law of love. How would this affect our attitudes towards those not of our community? Prejudice and suspicion would be less likely to poison our relationships with people of different ethnic backgrounds or lifestyles if the law of love prevailed. The emotional impact of Paul’s discourse on love belies the prophetic dilemma it imparts. Paul offers a not so subtle challenge to the effectiveness of our discipleship if love is not the center of our attitudes and behavior. If we as a community, as a Church, are finding our mission in the world coming up short, the prophetic voices of today’s liturgy would point us to examine how central the law of love is to our mission in the world. Do we have the courage that Jesus displayed in not only proclaiming God’s love, but putting it into practice regardless of the cost? Are we willing, as was Jesus, to be radically inclusive in our ministry and in all our relationships? Will we celebrate in our lives the Word of God we proclaim in our worship today? Or will we abandon it as we leave? Will we embrace the law of love in all its implications? Or are we just too fickle for the task?So faith, hope, love remain, these three;but the greatest of these is love.