20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C (2025)
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
Psalm 40:2, 3, 4, 18 (14b)
Hebrews 12:1-4
Luke 12:49-53
August 17, 2025
They claimed, “Jeremiah ought to be put to death.” Why do they seek his execution?
They wanted to put him to death because was “demoralizing the soldiers…and all the people by speaking such things to them.”
What things?
He has told them that they should surrender to a foreign enemy and trust that God will take care of them. It’s not hard to understand how this could be demoralizing if one does not see it as God’s Will.
They claim that Jeremiah “is not interested in the welfare of the people.” That’s not true. He is interested in their salvation. He speaks as a prophet of the Lord who seeks to save them from ruin.
The words Jeremiah speaks as a prophet of the Lord go far wider than just telling them to surrender. He also speaks at times of their sins. He tells they must change their lives to follow God’s way. For this too they try to kill him.
They object to his teaching and the call to change their ways. Strangely, they never provide an argument against the teaching Jeremiah offers. They object but they cannot refute it. They like the way they are living their lives. They do not seek truth. They seek a prophet who will tell them what they are doing is fine. What they seek is a “lie.”
They try to kill Jeremiah to silence him. I think their attempt to silence him stands as evidence that they know he is right in his teaching. Why else would they want to silence him?
We face the same struggle today. When our Catholic Church speaks up for life, those who want abortions and assisted suicide seek to silence us. They do not provide arguments capable of refuting what God teaches about life. They speak only of choice but then they want to force prolife health care workers to perform abortions against their own beliefs.
When our Catholic Church speaks on the holiness of human sexuality, those who want to have unholy sexual relationships or attempt to change their gender identity tell us to be silent. They say people must be free to choose their own identity and meaning, including their sexuality. They do not speak in terms of what God commands. God does indeed give us free will to make our own choices but He wants us to make good choices, following Jesus as the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).
We called by the Lord to point out people’s sins to them (see Ezekiel 3:17-21). We are to do so with love and mercy, not condemnation (see John 8:11).
Relativists deny there is universal truth. They speak of tolerance as permitting others to do what they want without comment. That’s not tolerance. Tolerance means to allow but it does not say we must condone what others do. Tolerance allows a person to object (without force). They claim we are offering hate speech when our faith speaks against their sins. How can it be hate speech to tell a person what is required to save their soul? We need to rely on the Holy Spirit to give us good words but our speech in favor of Jesus’ way and truth is an act of love (see my article, “Tolerance, Hate Speech, and Dialogue”).
We seek freedom of religion. They want freedom from religion. This is why they want us to be silent while they promote their ideas.
King Zedekiah allows those who wish to execute Jeremiah to proceed because he “could do nothing with them.” Ebed-melech comes to Jeremiah’s aid and, with King Zedekiah’s permission, rescues Jeremiah.
King Zedekiah does not take a stance for truth. He seems to go along with whatever someone speaks to him, changing sides back and forth. We need to take a stance based on our faith to follow Jesus as the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).
Jesus said, “I have come to set the earth on fire.” This may be startling to some. We offer think of the destructive force of fire, destroying everything in its path. Our Lord does not seek our destruction.
Jesus comes to save us (see John 3:16-17).
Jesus comes with a cleansing fire to purify us from our sins.
Jesus wants us to be set on fire with the Holy Spirit. To be on fire with the Holy Spirit is to seek God’s truth in all things and to be proactive in living and sharing our faith.
When Jesus told his disciples that He came to “set the earth on fire,” He had already been baptized by John the Baptist. Yet, Jesus says, “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized.” He is speaking of a baptism yet to come. He is speaking of his Passion as a baptism of blood.
Jesus speaks of how his ministry will cause division. His teaching is meant to bring peace but they will cause division because not everyone will accept them.
Today, instead of looking for truth, some people are looking to be right. They look for people who agree with them rather than look for truth. Pope Francis spoke of this in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti (see also my reflection, “Seeking Real Dialogue”).
We need to ask the Lord for the grace to “persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.” We need God’s grace, our “daily bread,” so that we can resist evil “to the point of shedding blood.” We find this grace in God’s Word, the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit.
Before concluding, a comment that points from this reflection to something more.
We need grace to understand and recognize what truth is. As I have sought to teach God’s truth, I have found that some people don’t even get what truth is. If you are interested in understanding more on truth, I recently wrote a book, There is Truth and It Will Set You Free. You can find it online for purchase. I pray that it is also available in bookstores. I offer a short background on the book in my blog article, “The Importance of Truth – A New Book.”
Peace,
Fr. Jeff