Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
The Book of Jeremiah is the source of the first reading for Mass this weekend. Jeremiah is regarded as one of the more important prophets, along with Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.
Jeremiah was active as a prophet during the reign of King Josiah of Judah, between 640 and 609 BC, some 2,600 years ago. Generally, Josiah was seen as a good and upright king, loyal to God.
It is good to remember that kingship in the eyes of the devout ancient Hebrews was not a matter primarily of governing the country politically, conducting foreign affairs or commanding the military for national defense.
Instead, for the faithful, the king’s responsibility, regardless of the person who was wearing the crown at any given time, was to see that the law of God was obeyed and that the people of the kingdom were aware of and attentive to the covenant with God.
This expectation often meant that prophets placed themselves in conflict with the powerful. They often disagreed with kings.
Jeremiah in this reading is certainly involving himself in controversy. Not everyone appreciated his demands to be loyal, above all else, to religious obligations. Outraged enemies plotted his death.
Despite the personal risk, however, Jeremiah ignored the scheming of his enemies and, with utter determination, spoke that God deserved obedience. The covenant had to be honored.
The Epistle to the Hebrews provides the second reading.
Written for a Jewish audience, eloquent and even majestically so, with strong references to Hebrew history and symbols, this epistle splendidly proclaims the Lord Jesus to be the promised Redeemer, the Lamb of God and the High Priest.
The passage from the epistle proclaimed this weekend says that Jesus “endured the cross, despising its shame” (Heb 12:2). Regardless of the insults and scorn of others, Jesus rose to sit at the right hand of the Father in glory.
For its last reading on this weekend, the Church offers us a passage from St. Luke’s Gospel.
Always in reading the Gospels, it is important to note that they were written not at the time of Jesus, but decades later. This Gospel, for instance, seems to have been written about 40 years after Jesus.
By the time this Gospel was composed, hostility against Christians already was forming in the Roman Empire. This hostility erupted into a full-fledged persecution. Even without legal persecution, the Christian ethic stood utterly opposite the prevailing culture. It was Christianity versus the accepted ways of the world.
The Evangelist recorded in writing words spoken by Jesus to apply to conditions important to the Evangelist’s audience.
It is easy to see what the Gospel in this reading, quoting Jesus, predicts. Peace will not inevitably occur on Earth. Conflict is inevitable, because the attraction to sin was inevitable. Humans have never automatically submitted themselves to God. They can be stubborn and prideful. They can create great troubles for themselves by ignoring God.
With the ever-present help of grace, Christians must resist sin and the many pressures upon them to turn away from Christ.
Reflection
The Church always invites us to follow the Lord. Indeed, its most magnificent liturgical moments are in Holy Week when it tells us so powerfully about the Lord’s love for us, given in the Eucharist and on Calvary, and of the Lord’s identity as Son of God, affirmed by the resurrection.
Nevertheless, in inviting us to discipleship, the Church never leads us down a primrose path. It is very honest.
The Church is straightforward in these readings. Following Christ may often require us to swim against the tide. Pushing us the other way will be the setting in which we all live, a world often spurning God.
As did Jeremiah, as did Christ, we must withstand all that is contrary to God, or we doom ourselves. But Christ and his grace is always there to help us in this critical task. †