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A reading from the book of Jeremiah. I
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hear the whisperings of many. Terror on
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every side. Denounce. Let us denounce
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him. All those who are my friends are on
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the watch for any misstep of mine.
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Perhaps he will be trapped. Then we can
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prevail and take our vengeance on him.
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But the Lord is with me like a mighty
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champion. My persecutors will stumble.
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They will not triumph. In their failure,
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they will be put to utter shame. To
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lasting unforgettable confusion. Oh Lord
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of hosts, you who test the just, who
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probe mind and heart, let me witness the
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vengeance you take on them. For to you I
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have entrusted my cause. Sing to the
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Lord, praise the Lord, for he has
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rescued the life of the poor from the
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power of the wicked. The word of the
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Lord. Thanks be to God.
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A reading from the Holy Gospel according
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to John. Glory to you, O Lord. The Jews
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picked up rocks to stone Jesus. Jesus
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answered them, "I have shown you many
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good works from my father. For which of
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these are you trying to stone me?" The
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Jews answered him, "We are not stoning
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you for a good work, but for blasphemy.
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You, a man, are making yourself God."
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Jesus answered them, "Is it not written
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in your law I said you are gods? If it
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calls them gods to whom the word of God
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came and scripture cannot be set aside,
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can you say that the one whom the father
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has consecrated and sent into the world
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blasphemes because I said, "I am the son
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of God. If I do not perform my father's
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works, do not [music] believe me. But if
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I perform them, even if you do not
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believe me, believe the works so that
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you may realize and understand that the
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Father is in me and I am in the Father."
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Then they tried again to arrest him, but
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he escaped from their power. He went
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back across the Jordan to the place
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where John first baptized, and there he
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remained. Many came to him and said,
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"John performed no sign, but everything
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John said about this man was true, and
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many there began to believe in him." The
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Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
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there are moments in life when we feel
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utterly surrounded. Surrounded by
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difficulties, by adversity, by people
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who seem to desire our downfall.
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It's like being at the bottom of a dark
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well where every word that reaches us is
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an echo of condemnation. Every shadow
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seems a threat. In these moments of
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profound loneliness and anguish, today's
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readings reach us with a powerful
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message of resistance, faith, and
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liberation. The prophet Jeremiah opens
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his heart to us in a surprisingly raw
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and honest way. I hear slander from
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many, terror on every side. There is no
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superficial spirituality here. No faith
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masked by a forced smile. Jeremiah is
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experiencing real tangible palpable
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terror. His own friends, those he should
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be able to trust, are lying in weight,
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awaiting his downfall.
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Watch him, they say. Perhaps he will be
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deceived. Then we will overpower him and
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take our revenge on him. What
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devastating betrayal. These are not
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declared enemies, but supposed
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companions who are now conspiring
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against him. This is perhaps the most
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painful form of persecution. Not the
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kind that comes from strangers, but the
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kind that comes from those we know who
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have shared our table, who have stood by
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our side. How many of us have
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experienced something similar? Perhaps
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not a literal conspiracy against our
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lives, but moments when we felt betrayed
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by those we trusted. moments when our
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words were distorted, our intentions
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questioned, our integrity attacked. In
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these moments, it is easy to fall into
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despair, bitterness, the desire to
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abandon everything. But look what
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Jeremiah does. Instead of surrendering
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to despair, he does something
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He takes his pain, his anguish, his fear
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directly to God. But the Lord is with me
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like a mighty warrior. What a powerful
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and comforting image. God is not
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presented here as a distant adviser or a
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passive observer, but as an active
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warrior fighting alongside Jeremiah.
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This is a fundamental truth that we need
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to engrave in our hearts. We are not
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alone in our struggles. The same God who
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was with Jeremiah is with us. He doesn't
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just observe our battles from afar. He
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is on the battlefield with us, fighting
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alongside us, defending our cause.
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Jeremiah continues, "Therefore, my
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persecutors will stumble and not
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prevail." Pay attention to these words.
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Jeremiah is not merely expressing a
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vague hope. He is declaring a certainty
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based on the unchanging character of
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God. Those who plot evil may seem
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powerful at the moment, but their
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downfall is certain. Evil will not have
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the last word. And then in the midst of
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all this turmoil, Jeremiah burst forth
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in praise. Sing to the Lord. Praise the
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Lord. For he has delivered the life of
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the poor from the hands of evildoers.
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This is remarkable. Jeremiah is still in
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the midst of the trial. The conspirators
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are still around him. But he already
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begins to praise God for the
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deliverance. This is the power of
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authentic faith. It is not a faith that
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only praises when everything is going
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well, when circumstances are favorable.
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It is a faith that praises in the midst
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of the storm, that sings in the valley
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of the shadow of death, that declares
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victory even when surrounded by enemies.
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Turning now to the gospel, we find Jesus
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in an equally dangerous situation. The
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Jews pick up stones to stone him. It is
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not a veiled threat. It is an attempted
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murder in full swing. And what is
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Jesus's crime? He made himself equal to
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God. Jesus responds with brilliant
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logic, disarming his accusers with their
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own scriptures. He quotes Psalm 82, I
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said, you are gods. If the scriptures
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can call those to whom the word of God
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was addressed gods, why is it blasphemy
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for Jesus who does the works of the
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father to call himself the son of God?
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But Jesus goes beyond intellectual
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defense. He challenges them. If I do not
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do the works of my father, do not
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believe me. But if I do them, even
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though you do not believe me, believe
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the works themselves. What a powerful
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invitation. Jesus is saying, "Look at
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the fruits. Examine the evidence." Truth
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manifests itself not only in words, but
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in actions. Jesus' works spoke for
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themselves. He healed the sick, raised
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the dead, freed the oppressed, fed the
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hungry, and welcomed the marginalized.
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These were not the works of a
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blasphemer, but the works of God
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manifested in human flesh. Yet, despite
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all this evidence, they sought again to
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arrest him. Resistance to truth is
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sometimes irrational. It is not based on
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a lack of evidence, but on a refusal to
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accept what the evidence reveals. It is
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a self-imposed blindness, a chosen
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deafness. But look what happens. He
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escaped from their hands. Just as
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Jeremiah prophesied that his persecutors
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would not prevail, Jesus demonstrates
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that God's plan cannot be thwarted by
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human opposition. It was not yet Jesus'
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time to be arrested. So no human hand
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could stop him. Jesus then goes again
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across the Jordan to the place where
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John was baptizing in the beginning.
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This detail is significant.
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Jesus returns to the place of his
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initial revelation to the place where
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his mission was publicly inaugurated. It
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is a moment of recalibration, of
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returning to his roots, of renewing his
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purpose. And there, far from the
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hostility of Jerusalem, many believed in
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him. What a contrast. In the religious
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city, the center of Judaism, Jesus
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encounters rejection and violence. But
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in this simple place, on the banks of
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the Jordan, hearts open and faith
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This teaches us something profound about
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how God works. He is not limited to
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traditional religious places. Sometimes
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it is precisely when we distance
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ourselves from the noise and religious
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politics when we return to the essential
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that we find God in a more authentic
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way. My dear brothers and sisters, what
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do these readings tell us today? They
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speak to us of faith in the midst of
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persecution, of praise in the midst of
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tribulation, of liberation in the midst
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of siege. They remind us that we are not
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alone in our struggles, that God is our
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mighty warrior, that God's works speak
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louder than the accusations of men.
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Perhaps you are going through a
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Jeremiahike moment now. Perhaps you feel
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that everyone is against you, that your
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words are distorted, that your motives
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are questioned. Remember, the Lord is
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with you as a mighty warrior. Your
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persecutors will stumble and will not
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prevail. Or perhaps you are in a
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situation like Jesus where despite all
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the good works you do, despite living
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with integrity and love, you still face
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opposition and criticism.
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Remember, works speak for themselves.
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Keep doing good, keep loving, keep
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serving. Truth always prevails, even if
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it is not immediately recognized. And
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for all of us, there is an invitation to
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return to the Jordan River, to the place
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of our initial encounter with Christ, to
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the place where it all began. In a world
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full of noise, conflict, and religious
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confusion, sometimes we need to return
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to the essentials, the simple message of
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the gospel, the unconditional love of
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God, the transforming grace of Christ.
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When Jeremiah was surrounded by enemies,
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he did not merely wait passively for
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deliverance. He began to praise. He
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declared victory before seeing it. This
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is the faith that transforms situations.
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This is the confidence that moves
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mountains. This is the hope that does
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not disappoint. So today, no matter what
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your circumstances, [music] choose to
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praise. Choose to trust that God is a
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powerful warrior fighting by your side.
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Choose to believe that your works of
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love and justice, inspired by the Holy
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Spirit, will speak louder than any
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accusation. And always remember, you can
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escape the hands of those who want to
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stop you because you are in God's hands
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and no one can snatch you from there.
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You can cross the valley of the shadow
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of death and fear no evil because God is
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with you. May we be like Jeremiah
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praising in the midst of the storm. May
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we be like Jesus doing the father's work
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even in the face of opposition. May we
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find our way back to the Jordan to the
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place of authentic encounter with God.
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And may the Lord, our mighty warrior,
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strengthen us, defend us, deliver us,
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and lead us from victory to victory
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until that glorious day when we will see
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face to face him who loved us and gave
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himself for us. Let us sing to the Lord.
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Let us praise the Lord for he has
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delivered the life of the poor from the
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hands of evildoers. For he is faithful,
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for he is powerful, for he is love. May
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the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
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love of God the Father, and the
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fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with
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you all now and forever. Amen.
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St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in
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battle. Be our protection against the
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wickedness and snares of the devil. May
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God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do
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thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by
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the power of God, cast into hell Satan
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and all the evil spirits who prowl
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throughout the world seeking the ruin of
