Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

The Cost Of Being A Prophet: Jeremiah’s Story

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, August 17, 2025

In a world that has gone off-kilter, those who speak and live by the truth will always face opposition. The more you live honestly and authentically, the more resistance you'll encounter. If the world were perfect and we followed God’s ways perfectly, this wouldn't be the case. In such a world, truth-tellers would be accepted. Sadly, that’s not how things work in our world. One sign of a false religious leader is that he is universally loved. As Jesus said, “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way” (Luke 6:26). If you're a preacher and everyone loves you, that’s a warning. It might mean you're just telling people what they want to hear—something easier to accept and more fitting with their lifestyle. 

With that in mind, we turn to one of Israel's greatest and major prophets, Prophet Jeremiah. Some people want the Prophet of God dead—they want to silence him. The truth of his preaching bothers them deeply. Jeremiah was possibly between 15 and 20 years old when God called him to be a prophet. At first, he resisted the call. He did not want it. He told God that he was too young and did not know how to speak (Jeremiah 1:6). However, God urged him not to be afraid and assured him that He was with him (Jeremiah 1:8). Jeremiah was given an unpopular message to deliver. His mission is to tell Israel that it is going to fall under God’s judgment. That God is going to use the Babylonians to punish Israel for its infidelity, its idolatry, and its mistreatment of the poor. And the saddest news is that they won’t be able to escape from this judgment. To save themselves, they must surrender to the foreign invader and accept defeat. That’s the message God gave to Jeremiah to deliver to Israel. I tell you, this is not only counterintuitive but simply irrational in the body politic. This is Israel, a proud nation—God’s chosen people. They are being threatened and attacked by a foreign enemy nation. And don’t forget that in the past, God delivered them from Egypt. Why can’t He deliver them now from the Babylonians? But Jeremiah, after being summoned privately by King Zedekiah and asked for his opinion, said to him three times: “If you will only surrender to the princes of the King, you shall save your life; this city shall not be destroyed by fire, and you and your household shall live” (Jeremiah 38:17-23).

Upon hearing the message of Jeremiah, the princes approached the King and said, “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.” The man of God is speaking the truth given to him by God. Still, the prevailing opinion, much like what we see today on social media, is one of opposition, rejection, and condemnation of Jeremiah. What’s the King’s response? Let’s not forget that when the King first sought counsel from Prophet Jeremiah, Jeremiah asked him to assure him of his safety: “If I tell you anything, will you not have me put to death? If I counsel you, you will not listen to me!” (Jeremiah 38:15). But now that the princes are demanding for the death of Jeremiah, what’s the King going to do? Of course, he chickened out. He betrayed God’s prophet and said to the princes, “He is in your hands” (Jeremiah 38:5). After that, “they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Prince Malchiah… letting him down by rope. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud” (Jeremiah 38:6). 

This is the fate of Jeremiah, the great prophet of Israel. He is betrayed by his King and his people, not because he deserved it, but because he didn’t. In “an evil and unfaithful generation” (Matthew 12:39), God’s word is offensive. God’s word is rejected. People do not want to hear God’s word. The message of a prophet makes people uncomfortable. Jeremiah was not saying what people want to hear. He was not dancing to their godless tunes. He was not listening to what the political and religious establishment were saying. He was speaking God’s word. As a result, the whole society, from top to bottom, turned against him. He was placed in the lowest possible position, both literally and symbolically. Don’t forget, we are baptized to be priests, prophets, and kings. But if you think that by exercising your ministry as a prophet you are going to be popular and famous, think again. Who is a prophet? It is someone who speaks the word of God to others. Once you start to speak the word of God, expect opposition. Expect rejection, sometimes from family members, friends, colleagues, etc. You might end up in a symbolic mud. You might be cast out from your social, religious, or cultural group. In a godless, spiritually and morally empty society, you will be attacked either verbally or physically. Do not forget this very reality: Bad people will forgive you for being bad, but they won’t forgive you for being good. I tell you, the world is full of cisterns and mud. If you speak the truth, you are likely to be thrown into one. 

Should we now be afraid of speaking the truth? Should we now cease from exercising our ministry as prophets? Not at all! The world is already a dark place. But it would be darker if there were no people of light. Jesus says, “You are the light of the world.” If there is no light in the world, it is going to be so dark that no one else could see. The world would be heading to utter destruction. The world has gone off-kilter. As such, everyone is hurting to some degree. But if there is no one functioning as salt, the injury would be deep. We are all going to be deeply sick and then die of hopelessness, depression, misery, and excruciating pain. Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth.” Wherever you are, speak about the Church’s teachings on social and political matters. Speak about the Church’s position on the culture of life and culture of death. If you know and understand the Church’s teachings on abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, and hyper-militarization of society, gun violence in our society, etc., speak about it. Speak about the marginalization of the poor, the sick, and the other. Speak out against the tax code that benefits only some and not all. Speak against the gross inequality in the land. It is not just that the 1% of the population is wealthier than the remaining 99.9%. In case you are not aware, the Church has a stance on all these issues. But if you say, “You know, I am going to preach consistently on all these issues,” what do you think will happen to you? People, from left to right of the political spectrum, will come after you. You will be put, symbolically, in the same muddy cistern Jeremiah found himself. And don’t forget, Jeremiah was speaking to a deeply religious society, not like ours, which is highly secularized. Yet, look at the way he was treated. 

But why does God allow bad things to happen to good people in the first place? Why does God allow his people so much hardship? God does not answer that question before the suffering. But he does provide an answer much later. He did not prevent Jeremiah from being thrown into a cistern, into the mud. But God does show us what he does about it, regarding injustice: he rescues Jeremiah. That’s the point of the story. It comes at the end, not at the beginning. Our faith invites us to view the story of our lives from heaven’s perspective. St. Paul reminds us that “the sufferings of this present time are nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us” (Romans 8:18). So, whenever you find yourself in the mud, don’t look back and wonder in sadness why God allowed you to sink so deep. Instead, focus on God’s rescue. Look at Easter. Expect Easter! God is a Rescuer! 

God bless you!