Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr C 2025

Peter H. Davids

Ordinary Time • Sermon • Submitted 6 months ago • Presented 5 months ago

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Because of conflicts of interest and worldview this world is a place of conflict. Following God necessarily brings us into conflict with the world. Jeremiah experienced that even as he sought the good of the people and soldiers. Jesus did too. Peace was for the future kingdom but conflict and division were very much part of his life. But God provides comfort. He does so for Jeremiah in the unlikely person of Ebed-Melek. He does so for Jesus in Jesus’ knowledge that his mission was God-willed, his times of prayer with the Father, in the occasional presence of an angel, and also on occasion in the comfort provided by a disciples, usually not a well-known disciple. Hebrews shows us our comfort, first is the crowd of witnesses cheering us on, the saints, and second in fixing our eyes on Jesus and seeing his endurance, his suffering, and yet his joy as he looks towards the future. Meditate on this to see conflict and even death as a door to joy, a door to Jesus.

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Title

Conflict and Comfort

Outline

Conflict is a fact of life in this world

It is the result of personal or group interest clashes and of differences in worldview. Think of all the conflicts going on in the world right now, or don’t think because it would mean information overload. Think of how we have to work against the temptation to conflict in this Priory. I heard a podcast this week pointing out that AI is poised to make unemployed perhaps 50% of information workers and white collar workers in general. Class conflict anyone?

Following God brings us necessarily in conflict with the world and even the world in the Church, for it is a different worldview that entails different interests. Jeremiah was, at God’s direction, telling soldiers and citizens in Jerusalem how to save their lives given God’s revealed plans. The princes believed God or a god would save the city, which would preserve their own lives and position. So Jeremiah suffers.

Jesus has a mission that he did not find pleasant but was from God. That set him in conflict with the Jewish leaders and even his own disciples at times. He predicts that those who follow him will end up in conflict with their closest relations. Peace in his eyes is a long term goal in the kingdom, not a short term goal in the evangelization. The pain of conflict in which we weep in prayer for those who dislike or hate us, is part of life in this world.

But comfort is part of God’s provision

Eded-melech, which is not a name but a designation, “slave of the king,” who was Ethiopian and a eunuch to boot. Has accepted Jeremiah’s worldview. He takes a great risk in first going to the king and then leading the mission to literally get Jeremiah out of a hole. God had provided Jeremiah comfort. Jesus had his comfort in (1) knowing that his mission was God-willed, (2) his times of prayer alone with his Father, (3) on occasion an angel, and (4) also on occasion a disciple would provide some comfort. I think of the traditions of Veronica and Simon of Cyrene, but also of course of the silent Mary at the cross.

Hebrews shows us our comfort

The first is a great crowd of witnesses, the saints, known and unknown, who are cheering us on. And second, Jesus, so long as we keep our eyes fixed on him. We see him enduring the cross, we note how he despises the shame of it. We see his end result at the right of the Throne of God. Meditate on this, on all of it, on the opposition to him and how he felt, and on his focus on an ultimate joyful future.

We have conflict and pain, past, present, and in the future so long as we are not dead. But if we keep our eyes on Jesus surrounded by his saints we have comfort and even joy in the midst of it. Then death itself is no longer fearful, but a door to joy and, more importantly, a door to Jesus.

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