BECOMING A WITNESS TO THE TRUTH (HOMILY FOR THE 20TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME OF YEAR C

Theme: Becoming a witness to the truth

Homily for the 20th Sunday in the ordinary time of year c

Jeremiah 38:4-6; 8-10; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53

Central to the liturgy of the word today is the theme of conspiracy and hatred against the truth; and the theme of the fire of the Holy Spirit.  

Many times one is caught up in the profound reflection on why does the truth generate so much hatred, resentment and bitterness? Why is it that the one who is so much hated and persecuted is the one who speaks the truth? Seemingly, in our world of today, the destiny of those who witness the truth is that of mockery, travesty, ridicule, derision, disdain, caricature, persecution etc. A speaker of the truth, they say, has no friend; just as it is commonly said that whoever stands up for the should be ready to stand alone. This could probably be the case because the truth they say is indeed bitter. 

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, in the first reading from the book of prophet Jeremiah, we hear of the conspiracy and mobilization by the king's leading men to condemn Jeremiah, arrest him and put him into the well of Prince Malchiah in the court of the Guard; a well in which there was no water but only mud, with the intention that he may die in the mud. The narrative presents to us the reason for the conspiracy and condemnation of Prophet Jeremiah. It says: “He is unquestionably disheartening the remaining soldiers in the city and all the people too, by talking like this. This fellow does not have the welfare of the people so much as its ruin”. 

The leading men of the king felt that the prophecy of Jeremiah was dampening the zeal of the people and demoralizing the soldiers in the face of the battle for the retention of the city. Hence, we may ask the question: what exactly was the prophecy of Jeremiah that irritated the leading men of the king and the people? In Jeremiah 38: 2,  the prophet Jeremiah declared, “Yahweh says this, anyone who stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague; but anyone who leaves it and surrenders to the Chaldeans will live; he will escape with his life”. 

This was the prophecy that irritated the people and the king's leading men who turned against the prophet Jeremiah. The fact about the message is that in as much as it caused displeasure among the Israelites, the message bore the truth and nothing but the truth. The prophecy came to pass with the war against the city and the exile of the inhabitants to Babylon.

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, Truth is like oil, no matter how much oil you pour on it, it will always float. On matters of moral truth, Fulton Sheen in his book, “Life in Christ”, opined that “the majority is not always right. In the field of the relative, he maintained, the majority may be right but not in the field of the absolute. Truth, he declares, does not win when numbers alone become decisive. Numbers alone can decide a beauty queen, but not moral justice and truth. Beauty is a matter of taste, but justice and truth are tasteless. Right is still right if nobody is right, and wrong is still wrong if everybody is wrong”.

Friends in Christ, we live in a world where religious-moral judgments are passed mostly on the perception of the majority vote, disregarding the fact that Truth had often stood alone and can always stand alone, regardless of number. We have seen instances where jungle justice was carried out by an angry Mob based on the opinion of the simple majority regardless of the facts available.   Instances of countries concluding religio-moral matters e.g abortion, euthanasia, etc, are based on the numerical strength of the citizens against or in favour of the argument, even if it swims against the tide of absolute and moral truth.

Friends in Christ, something is obvious, in precarious and perplexing situations, God does not abandon his people; his providence and protection surely will abide with us. God did not abandon the prophet Jeremiah in decadence rather through the instrumentality of Ebedmelech, God came to the rescue of the prophet Jeremiah.  Ebedmelech said to the king, “My king, these men have done a wicked thing by treating the prophet Jeremiah like this, they have thrown him into the well where he will die”. At this, the king gave orders that Jeremiah should be removed from the dungeon. 

My brothers and sisters Christ, the psalmist tells us that in moments of distress, the Lord comes to our aid. “He drew me from the deadly pit, from the miry clay. He set my feet upon the rock and made my footsteps firm”. Let us be ministers of the truth as we cast our hope on the lord who would not abandon us at moments of distress. 

In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells us: “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled (Lk 12:49). This declaration should not be perceived negatively but positively. It is not the same fire which James and John desired to call down upon the Samaritan village that rejected Jesus (Lk 9:54-55); neither is it the image of the same fire which Elijah called down against the prophets of Baal (1kings 18:38); and also far from the fire the consumed the city of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24). 

Rather, it is the fire of God's love which had been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:3) appeared upon the heads of the Apostles which designated the saving love of God upon humanity. John the Baptist declared, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is more powerful than I am is coming after me...He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11). 

The fire being referred to is the fire of truth and love which clears all errors, falsehood, enmity and division; which destroys hatred and social injustices; The fire of holiness which destroys sin and evil; the fire for self-sacrifice which destroys pride and arrogance etc. 

Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, as baptized Christians (Temples of the Holy Spirit) we should also bring fire into the hearts of people around us. A fire that will burn away every dark force of the evil one and instil the presence of the Holy Spirit. A fire of justice and love; truth and holiness; forgiveness and peace. 

We pray that through this sacrifice of the Holy Mass we may be renewed with the fire of the Holy Spirit to become instruments and ministers of truth and justice in our family and society. May God grant us his help through Christ our Lord. Amen

Happy Sunday to you

Fr Remi osj