HOMILY FOR THE 2OTH SUNDAY, YEAR C To be a Christian and refuse to ‘cause trouble’ and division is against the gospel! Christians must expect to cause trouble and division because of what they belief and teach. The word of God that we proclaim must make some people uncomfortable, otherwise it may be that we are being complacent and too careful with what we believe and preach. It is not surprising then that Christ says ‘I have come not to bring peace, but division’ (Lk 12:51). Christ teaches us not to be afraid if the word of God causes division in a household making two against three, father against son, mother against daughter, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and vice versa (Lk 12:49-53). The Christians, to whom the letter to the Hebrews is written, are facing increasing opposition because of their belief and conversion to Christianity. Some are attacked, deprived of their goods and even imprisoned as we are told in Hebrews 10:32-34. Some are, therefore, considering the possibility of leaving their faith. But they are encouraged not to lose heart but to run the race of salvation, always encouraged by the example of Christ, the Master of our faith, who endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has since taken his seat at the right hand of God’s throne (Hebrews 12:1-4). When we find ourselves in situations similar to that of these Jews, the same encouragement is meant for us. In the first reading (Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10), the prophet Jeremiah meets with inflexible opposition, stiff rejection and hard persecution because he prophesies a simple truth, as God reveals to Him. What is this truth? The City of Jerusalem is heavily besieged or overwhelmed by the powerful army of Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king. The situation is so bad and desperate that the Jews are dying of hunger, starvation and thirst. But the military officers want to fight and resist, at all costs. Zedekiah, the king of Judah lacks the courage to stop these army generals. But this poor man of no consequence, Jeremiah, moved by God, tells them the truth bluntly: “whoever stays on in the city will die in war or of starvation or disease. But those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will not be killed; they will at least escape with their lives’’ (Jer. 38:2). For this open truth, because he calls a spade a spade and refuses to compromise the word of God, Jeremiah is thrown into a cistern or deep pit to die gradually! But God, surprisingly, uses Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian, to save Jeremiah. We need ‘Jeremiahs’ and ‘Ebed-Melechs’ in our families, churches, schools and places of work today; we need people who would not compromise the word of God and the truth, come what may. We need those who are ready to cause trouble and division because of their belief and the word of God and the truth they announce or proclaim. It may be tough and rough with us but God has a way of saving His own. Are you ready to be a Jeremiah and an Ebed-Melech for God?
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 05:04:23 +0000
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