HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

Aug 17, 2025

876

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah (38:4-6, 8-10)

In those days, the princes said to the king: "Jeremiah ought to be put to death; he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such things to them; he is not interested in the welfare of our people, but in their ruin." King Zedekiah answered: "He is in your power"; for the king could do nothing with them. And so they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Prince Malchiah, which was in the quarters of the guard, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.

Ebed-melech, a court official, went there from the palace and said to him: "My lord king, these men have been at fault in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah, casting him into the cistern. He will die of famine on the spot, for there is no more food in the city." Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Cushite to take three men along with him, and draw the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he should die.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (40:2, 3, 4, 18)

(R) Lord, come to my aid!

I have waited, waited for the Lord, and he stooped toward me. (R)

The Lord heard my cry. He drew me out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud of the swamp; he set my feet upon a crag; he made firm my steps. (R)

And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God. Many shall look on in awe and trust in the Lord. (R)

Though I am afflicted and poor, yet the Lord thinks of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, hold not back! (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Hebrews (12:1-4)

Brothers and sisters: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lost heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (12:49-53)

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Once a young man volunteered to serve a monk so that he could learn something useful. He soon discovered that the monk was very demanding, requiring the young man to spend his days cleaning, cooking, gardening, and so on. In short, he was asked to do everything that was required of a disciple or a student. And above all, the monk insisted that the man should not sleep in the daytime, even in the heat of the day. Because he said that the daytime should be for work and prayer and the night should be for sleeping and rest. In spite of this instruction, though, the man soon discovered that every day the monk himself spent part of the afternoon lying on a bench with his eyes closed as if deeply in sleep.

The man asked the monk if he was sleeping during the day. The monk replied, "No. I am not sleeping. I am meditating and conversing with God in heaven." A few days later, when the monk rose from his usual meditation, he saw the man lying on a carpet, snoring. Kicking him in the leg gently, the monk asked, "Haven't I told you not to sleep in the daytime?" "I wasn't sleeping," the man said, sitting up, "I was meditating and conversing with God." "Oh!" said the monk scornfully. "And what was the nature of your conversation? What did God tell you?" The man replied, "Master, I asked God to share the precious wisdom that He gives you when you see Him every day, but He said that He has never heard of you."

A prophet is a messenger of God or a mediator between God and man. The prophet's primary duty is to speak with God to receive divine messages, teachings, warnings, or will, and then convey them to others without alteration or personal interpretation, even if they are unpopular or difficult. In other words, a prophet must speak the truth. The Bible describes many prophets as receiving God's messages through dreams and visions and conveying them to people - either through speaking or writing.

Today's readings feature two prophets: Jeremiah and Jesus. Prophet Jeremiah's story in the first reading illustrates his commitment to speaking truths, even though they were unpopular and often unacceptable to his own people and their leaders, Jeremiah (38:4-6, 8-10). Jeremiah's messages often included calls for repentance, warnings of impending punishment and judgment, and promises of restoration even amid devastation, exile, and suffering. As a consequence of his prophetic messages, Jeremiah started to face intense opposition from the very beginning of his ministry. He was mocked, accused, threatened, despised, and rejected by his own people and the leaders of Judah, which led to his imprisonment, physical torture, and emotional suffering.

He faced many attempts on his life, yet God saved him and warned him that his ministry would involve severe hardships and persecution. His suffering was so severe that at one point Jeremiah says that he wished his mother's womb had been his grave and he had never been born, Jeremiah (15:10). Yet, he felt an inner compulsion to preach. He described this feeling like a burning fire within him, preventing him from remaining silent, even when he wanted to, Jeremiah (20:8-9).

A horrifying ordeal that Jeremiah experienced occurred at the end of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem around 580 years before Christ. Jeremiah urged the then King Zedekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to surrender to the Babylonians to avoid destruction and death, but his message was met with resistance. Instead of heeding his warnings, royal officials charged him with treason, had him arrested and thrown into a cistern, a deep well, where he nearly died in the mud before being rescued by a kind court official Ebed-Melech and was then placed under guard in the courtyard of the soldiers, where he remained until the fall of Jerusalem.

Jesus is fully God, but during his earthly ministry, he also fulfilled the role of a prophet. He delivered God's messages and performed many miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, multiplying food, and controlling nature - miracles similar to those performed by the prophets Elijah, Elisha, and Jeremiah. He also presented His teachings as truthful pronouncements. He frequently used phrases like "I tell you the truth" and "Truly, truly, I say to you" to emphasize the importance and authenticity of his words. He stated that He spoke on God's behalf, asserting His words were a direct command from the Father, not His own initiative. The Gospel of John records Jesus saying, "I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father, who sent Me, has instructed me to what to say and how to speak", John (12:49).

Like Jeremiah, Jesus proclaimed God's messages that were unpopular with the religious and political establishment of his time, prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and was deeply saddened by the people's spiritual failings. In the same way, just as Jeremiah endured immense personal suffering, betrayal, and rejection while faithfully serving God, Jesus faced profound hardships, including rejection, mockery, and ultimately a violent death, though his suffering was unique in its divine purpose to atone for sin.

In today's gospel, Jesus declares that his purpose of coming to the earth is to bring division, not peace, and to cast fire upon the earth which will cause division within families and communities. Here, Jesus' declaration of bringing division, not peace, does not mean that He desires and encourages physical conflict and violence, but rather His message and the choice to follow Him would inevitably lead to families split and with members divided for and against His teachings. This division, though causing social and spiritual separation and a rift between those who accept Him and those who reject Him, will be temporary and ultimately will lead to true lasting peace and reconciliation with God for believers amid worldly troubles.

This is the peace that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel of John when He said, "Peace I leave with you: my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give you", John (14:27). And Jesus' saying that He comes to "cast fire upon the earth" means that He intends to bring intense spiritual purification, transformation, and judgement through the Holy Spirit and the radical demands of His gospel, much like a refiner's fire that separates impurities to reveal the pure metal, Malachi (3:3). The "baptism" Jesus speaks about does not refer to the ritual of water baptism which He had already undergone, but to His mission and impending suffering and death on the cross, and resurrection. Jesus was willing to undergo the baptism of fire, because the people were not comfortable with His message.

What is the message for us?

During the baptismal ceremony, after the anointing with the Oil of Chrism, the priest says to the baptized, "As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, so may you also live always as a member of His body, sharing everlasting life." This declaration implies that the baptized is called to share in Christ's threefold mission, as a priest offering worship and service; as a prophet proclaiming the Gospel and standing for truth; and as a king serving with humility and justice, and leading by example to build God's kingdom on earth. So, by virtue of our baptism, we are called as prophets to act as living signs of God's presence, reflecting Christ's light through our words and actions, guiding others to understand God's plan in their daily lives, speaking the truth in love against sin and injustice, thereby helping the Church to build up God's kingdom, though not in the same sense as those of the Old Testament. Unfortunately, we often fail to live up to our prophetic vocation - that is to stand up for Christ the Lord and His Word. Many of us probably do not even think of ourselves as prophets and often give in to the "go along or get along" mentality.
We are in a world where a lot of people do not want to hear the truth from the Bible. They want to hear only what pleases them, rather than what God wants or the truth. They are just satisfied with what the preacher says to them. In his second letter to Timothy, Saint Paul reveals that, "The time is coming, when people will no longer endure sound doctrine, but following their passions, they will surround themselves with teachers to please their itching ears", 2 Timothy (4:3). Yes. In a culture increasingly hostile to Christian teachings and values, speaking and standing for the truth is not easy, as it can lead to humiliation, rejection, disagreement, conflict, losing relationships, and even persecution in our own families, neighbourhoods and communities.

Yet, the lives of Jeremiah and Jesus encourage us to persevere in truth, by demonstrating unwavering commitment to God's message despite intense opposition, persecution, and personal suffering. Like them we too must hold firm to truth and never back down because Jesus says, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free", John (8:32). For us, Christians, Jesus Himself is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life", John (14:6). So, knowing and accepting Jesus, the Truth, will set us free spiritually from the bondage of sin, not from political and physical restrictions. This spiritual freedom will come from a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, showing us a path to liberation from sin, guilt, anxiety, and fear, inner peace and joy, authentic living, purposeful life of faith and love, and eternal life.

We shall pray that the Lord may have mercy upon us, and give all baptized Christians greater grace, strength and courage to carry out our prophetic mission on earth, even in difficult circumstances.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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