Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - Between A Rock and a Hard Spot!_081819

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Between a Rock and a Hard Spot”

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Jeremiah finds himself in a tight spot. He is accused of “demoralizing the soldiers who are left in the city”. The princes want to put him to death. The charges are correct: Jeremiah has been demoralizing the soldiers and all who remained in Jerusalem. Jeremiah disheartened the inhabitants of the city because he told them the Truth…He spoke the words that God wanted them to hear… that everyone who remained in the city would die. It seems that the false prophets, i.e. the liars, were telling the people that there was no need to worry, that everything would be fine; Jerusalem would be safe because their enemy would break off their siege and withdraw from the city. The false prophets were convincing because… the people wanted to believe them. They wanted to be lied to in order to keep the status quo and life as usual. The people wanted to continue on their evil ways and shun the prophet Jeremiah who spoke the Truth.

Well, as we read today, those who were unwilling to listen to the truth, i.e. God’s Word, toss Jeremiah into a dry cistern so that he would die. But, God comes to his aid and Jeremiah is rescued and continues as God’s messenger to a reluctant people.

Today the Word of God remains unfashionable. We turn our backs on him in order to pay homage to the false prophets of our day who say all the right words that keep us snug and comfortable in the cozy world we have fashioned around us. God’s Word calls us out from our comfort zone so we can find “life in the fullest” just as Jeremiah struggled to encourage the people of his day to be faithful to God’s ways.

God’s Word is always relevant. It speaks to us today as it has to the people throughout the millennia. The challenge for us is to discern what God is saying and then to live life that way. That’s how we will find true happiness in our troubled and chaotic world and dispense with the false prophets who would lead us astray from all that God has in store for those who love him.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom