Peace or Division, Fire on the Earth: Reflections on the Readings for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
Psalm 40
Hebrews 12:1-4
Luke 12:49-53

Sometimes it seems that Jesus contradicts Himself. However, when looked at and analyzed more closely, we find that He is always consistent – it just takes a little effort to realize what He is saying. We’ll look into one of those situations today.

In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah (like Jesus) is being accused of riling up the people and telling them that they must turn back to the Lord and that they must leave Jerusalem or else they will be destroyed. Meanwhile, false prophets, who were not speaking on God’s behalf, have been telling the king and the people what they wanted to hear, with no actual connection to God’s wishes. While war was imminent they were insisting that there would be peace. Jeremiah’s prophecy was that the Lord had told him that Nebuchadnezzar (the Babylonian king) and the Chaldeans were acting on His (the Lord’s) behalf to bring justice to Judah because of Judah’s infidelity. Jeremiah’s enemies claimed that his prophesying weakened the resolve of the defenders of the city. For this Jeremiah was arrested and thrown into the cistern. However, through the action of Ebed-melech, Jeremiah was rescued. (Read more to learn how his prophesy worked out.)

The point of this story is that speaking on behalf of God can mean sacrifice and even danger to life and limb. Being Catholic and following God’s will does not mean we will avoid suffering. Jesus, of course, is the perfect example of that.

The responsorial is a thanksgiving psalm and reflects someone who has been rescued by the Lord. Some of its terms could easily relate to Jeremiah’s predicament in the first reading. Clearly, however, the message is the same as Jeremiah’s admonition to unfaithful Judah (and us): trust in the Lord and be delivered from the pit of destruction. Call to the Lord with humility and He will come to your aid.

The letter to the Hebrews also brings up the topic of suffering using Jesus as an example “the leader and perfecter of faith.” The selection also notes that Jesus was an example of humility, for “he endured the cross, despising its shame.” His example strengthens us so that we may not lose heart. Thus it is also a message of hope.

The letter also tells us how to persevere, by “keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.” It also implies how we may be called upon to shed our own blood as a means of resisting sin and persevering in our fight against it. As we have seen, this is akin to the message of Jesus who began His public ministry with the words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

This helps to set the stage for the message in the gospel where Jesus seems to contradict the soft theology of a kinder, gentler Jesus that we see so often today. Today Jesus tells us “"I have come to set the earth on fire.” This is a wake-up call for those of us who have become complacent and lukewarm about our faith. Jesus wants commitment. In the readings for next week we will see more of Jesus’ admonition about the difficulty of getting to Heaven. But the message of divisiveness is not new. Similarly, in Mark 13:12 Jesus talks about brother giving up brother. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible explains, “The demands of Christian discipleship outweigh even the sacred duties of family unity and loyalty.”

While this seems to contradict Jesus’ message of peace, a closer look shows that, in truth, it does not. At the Last Supper Jesus told His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27) As with today’s selection the peace of Christ differs from what the world considers peace and is dependent upon faith in Him.

Just as the letter to the Hebrews insisted that we must keep our focus on Jesus, this, too, reiterates the importance of putting God first, before all else, including family. Recall Matthew 10:37-38: ““Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.”

One only has to look at today’s world to realize the importance of this message. Without Jesus there is no peace. The secularized world has rejected God and Jesus, and the result is turmoil, strife, wars, and abominations such as abortion, euthanasia, transgenderism, and the gay lifestyle. It has even wormed itself into various aspects of the Church with many pro-LBGT bishops bringing gay activists and drag queens into their churches to visibly participate in the holy sacrifice of the Mass. There are too many prelates, supposed to be following the model of Jesus, the Good Shepherd (CCC 896), who are succumbing to secularization and moral relativism.

Jesus repeatedly told His followers that they would be persecuted for His sake. He did not soft-pedal the message of suffering as noted above in His demand to take up our crosses; hardly an image of gentleness. This comports with the possibility of shedding our own blood in defense of the faith, as implied in the letter to the Hebrews.

So where does peace come in? It comes in our trusting Jesus and following His commandments and His example. It is an inner peace we get relying on Him to be our help and our deliverer. We know that God has a plan for each and every one of us and with Him all things are possible (Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37, 18:27) but, as Jesus told the disciples at the Last Supper, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)