Today's first reading presents us with the prophet Jeremiah up to his waist in mud after being thrown into a well without water: "Jeremiah sank into the mud at the bottom, for the cistern had no water."What had he done to deserve this? Poor Jeremiah is often described as the complaining prophet and, in his defense: he had a lot to complain about. He had a very tough mission: to warn Israel to repent, otherwise they would be overrun by the Babylonians, the great power of the time, and Jerusalem would be destroyed. However, the people refused to listen to him, the invasion took place and Jerusalem was reduced to rubble.
Jeremiah was not perfect and had some tantrums, but he faithfully fulfilled his mission. He said what God told him, he warned the people. But he fell victim to what usually happens to those who speak the truth, and which in fact also happened to Our Lord Jesus: his words were twisted. Instead of listening to him and taking his warning to heart, the people preferred to twist what he said precisely in order not to convert. A man, a woman, who follows God's laws and says what God wants her to say, will necessarily provoke a hostile reaction, because the devil will take care of stirring up opposition.
The Gospel tells us of Christ's zeal to save souls, a zeal that we must share. We too must burn with the love of God. But Jesus warns us that this will provoke resistance and even divisions in families. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, but Satan is precisely the Adversary (which is what the word "Satan" means). It is not Jesus who causes division but those who, moved by the devil, resist the grace and truth of Christ. We must not be naive. We can and should present the faith in the most attractive way possible, but there will always be people who reject it, even within our own families. Sometimes we think: "if only I could explain things reasonably, people would come to their senses.". But we forget the devil and his action. The devil is not reasonable.
We need courage to speak out, to speak the truth, but always aware of our limitations and that, with the best will in the world, we can act or speak clumsily. But, in general, if we live our faith well, we will attract people, who will see our goodness and our mercy. However, Jesus was the most merciful man who ever lived, and he is also the one who has provoked the most resistance.
