"Jeremiah thrown into a cistern for prophesizing the ruin of Jerusalem"
an engraving from European School, 17th century.
My Sisters and Brothers:
Can you imagine what it would be like to have enemies who would throw you into a deep, dark pit, and then leave you there all the way at the bottom, and sinking into the mud? What a perilous predicament that would be! This isn’t a very pleasant thought, but according to our first reading today, this is exactly the fate that had befallen Jeremiah the Prophet (see Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10). As a servant of God, he had warned the people about the consequences of their unfaithfulness, and it had angered them greatly. In retaliation, they punished him in this most dreadful way–most likely hoping he would then experience an agonizing death by thirst, starvation and/or hypothermia. Although unpleasant and somewhat extraordinary, I find Jeremiah’s plight, and the idea of “sinking into the mud at the bottom of a pit,” a good reference point as we reflect on today’s scriptures.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus warns his followers they will not necessarily be safe from harm if they are faithful to their calling. In fact, Jesus promises exactly the opposite! He told his followers “I have come to set the earth on fire . . . not to establish peace on the earth . . . but rather to create division” (cf., Luke 12: 49a, 51). He told them households would be divided . . . fathers against sons, mothers against daughters, etc. In other words, the presence of Jesus, and faithfulness to him, would surely lead to divisions, difficulties and perhaps even persecutions and sufferings. Very much like Jeremiah, Christians who would dare to give testimony to God by their word and example, and consequently who would potentially expose the unfaithfulness of others, likely would be put to the test, and they would probably suffer because of it. Good Christians might even have opponents and enemies within their own families, and such divisions would likely be the source of great anguish and pain. I believe this is what Jesus meant by setting the earth on fire, by not establishing peace, and by creating divisions. And all of that is certainly and symbolically akin to suffering the fate of “sinking into the mud at the bottom of a pit.” But who wants to do that?
Today’s message invites us to look beyond any “sinking in the mud” we might be required to do as people of faith. Even though difficulties and suffering apparently are part of the Christian calling, we are also encouraged never to lose heart. In the end, God will prevail and his people will experience that victory with him. I believe these ideas are behind the words found in today’s Letter to the Hebrews. The author wrote: “let us rid ourselves of every burden that clings to us, let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus who for the sake of the joy that lay before him, endured the cross; let us consider how he endured such opposition, and let us not grow weary and lose heart” (cf., Hebrews 12:1-4).
And so even though Jesus actually promises us we will face difficulties, and the burdens we carry at times may be heavy, we must never become so discouraged as to believe there are no escapes from the present struggles. We need not fear the expected fate of those who literally and/or figuratively find themselves “sinking into the mud at the bottom of a pit.” Even Jeremiah was eventually pulled out of the mud and the pit, and he was saved–and because of his faithfulness, we believe he now enjoys the fullness of joy with God forever in heaven. Certainly our faith promises us the same destiny as the prophet!
And so my friends, let’s have an eternal perspective, and let’s be confident that our God will always lift our present burdens, will save us from today’s difficulties, and will someday give us the future glory of heaven. With this in mind, and in spite of whatever predicaments come our way, may we never grow weary and lose heart!
Praise God! Friar Timothy
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