Why this homily matters?
In a world gone wrong, those who speak the truth will be opposed. The more authentically religious you are, the more you are going to be opposed. We like to think of Jesus as a unifying figure. The reality is that Jesus is a source of division before he is a source of unity. Hatred, cruelty, self-absorption, grudges, and all manner of sin must burn away. If others are not willing to put such things away to follow Jesus, they will oppose you. Expect society to treat you harshly, just like Jeremiah in the cistern. We know where following Christ will lead us.
Key Points
Authentic Religion Will Burn Away Sin and Be Disruptive
In a world gone wrong, those who speak the truth will be opposed. If you are authentically religious, you are going to be opposed.
On the other hand, one of the indicators of a false prophet is that he is universally popular. Jesus said beware when men speak well of you. They treated the false prophets in just that way.
Jeremiah Sinks into the Mud of the Empty Cistern
The first reading shows this principle in relation to Jeremiah. People should read Jeremiah, if they think the life of a prophet is glamorous. Jeremiah received a divine call. God told him to convey that the Israelites should surrender to the Babylonians. This went against every instinct in the society at large. They were a proud nation. God chose their people and their nation was under attack from a foreign power. After all, God had delivered them from Egypt. Why would he not then deliver them from the Babylonians?
So when Jeremiah delivered this message, they rose up against him.
The people say: Jeremiah should be put to death. He is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in the city and all the people by speaking such things to them. He is not interested in the welfare of our people but their ruin.
This sounds like a social media backlash. Popular opinion is against Jeremiah.
They took Jeremiah and lowered him into a cistern. While there was no water in it, he sank into the mud.
Jeremiah the great prophet is speaking God’s word. But in a world gone wrong, people do not want to hear God’s word. Jeremiah did not care about popular opinion. Nor did he care about playing politics. As a result, the whole society turned against him. They put him in the lowest possible place symbolically.
If you think being a prophet is a chance for you to be popular, think again. The King puts you at the bottom of a cistern where you end up in the mud.
Popular Views of Catholic Social Teaching
Apply this to our time.
What if you were to speak about the Church’s social teaching?
Speak out against:
- abortion,
- euthanasia,
- capital punishment,
- the hyper militarization of our society,
- gun violence, or
- gross disparities in wealth.
Speak up for the poor, the sick and marginalized. Note that we have gone both left and right on our political spectrum.
Would society honor us? More likely we would be put in our society’s version of a muddy cistern instead. Note too, that Jeremiah was talking to a very religious society. Today we face a much more secularized one. Society will not honor us undoubtedly. It will aggressively oppose us.
Jesus Will Divide Before He Unites. Like a Wildfire Will Burn Away Vegetation
In the Gospel today, we hear Jesus has come to set the earth on fire and how I wish it was already blazing. Consequently, do not imagine a warm fire or an illuminating light.
No, this is a harsh message. Think of a California wildfire burning forest and cities alike. Jesus says do you think I have come to have peace on earth? No but rather division.
Remember the principle, in a world gone wrong, they will see the one who speaks the truth as a dangerous figure. Evidently, Jeremiah was and this explains his treatment. Jesus was as well and so they nailed Him to a cross. Jesus lit a fire which indeed had destructive purposes.
First nation peoples set controlled fires to remove trees and underbrush. They cleared out the land so that new growth could appear.
Burn Away Sinful Lives
Old forms of life predicated on sin must burn away so that something new may come into being.
When we let the real Jesus in, he is going to burn away:
- Hatred,
- cruelty,
- your self-absorption,
- old grudges and
- the sins you have been playing with for years and not dealing with.
Jesus will burn these away if you let him in.
From now on, families will become divided. This is provocative language. This is true up and down the centuries and into today. When Jesus comes into people’s lives, phony and false forms of community need to give way. Disruption is necessary before a dysfunctional family can become a new family of the kingdom of God.
Jesus is a source of division before he is a source of unity.
Something new requires foundations first.
Do we have the courage to listen to Jeremiah and to listen to Christ? Will you let Christ light a fire within you also? Do you accept that Christ burn away what is required.
Will we accept that He breaks up phony and false forms of community? In so doing, the true community of the kingdom of God can be born.
Suggested Homily
https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-ywatb-1294472
Scripture References
Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
Psalms 40:2-4, 18
Hebrews 12:1-4
Luke 12:49-53