Beloved Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Peace be with you!
Today’s Word is as sharp
as a double-edged sword, challenging our complacency and calling us into deeper
fidelity. Both Prophet Jeremiah and evangelist
Luke proclaim one urgent message: God seeks a people who truly listen, who walk
in obedience, and who unite under His reign.
“Obey My Voice… and I will be your God” (Jer
7:23)
God’s appeal through the
prophet Jeremiah is tender yet firm: “This command I gave them: Obey my
voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people.” This is the
heartbeat of the covenant. Imagine what could have happened if the people had always
obeyed God’s command. Covenant relationship with God does not require mere
ritual, rather a relationship rooted in obedience. God wants our hearts, listening
hearts, responsive hearts. Yet what do we hear?
“They did not listen
or pay attention; they walked in the stubbornness of their evil hearts…”
(v. 24).
What a piercing
accusation! This is not just about ancient Judah, it is about us today. How
often do we hear the Word of God but fail to let it penetrate our decisions,
our relationships, our daily actions?
In Jeremiah’s words, we
are warned of a progressive hardening: First, the refusal to listen; then,
turning away, and finally, the tragic outcome: a nation that refuses
correction, truth, or repentance (v. 28) And what is God’s verdict on such a
people? “Truth has perished…”
Beloved, truth dies not
because God ceases to speak, but because we cease to listen. Is our world today
not filled up with all sorts of noise. And yet, some people feel and think that
God does not speak again.
“Whoever is not with me is against me” (Lk
11:23)
We encounter the same
challenge of developing a stiff heart and refusal to listen to God in the
Gospel. Jesus confronts evil head-on. He
casts out a demon from a mute man, and immediately division arises: Some
marvel, others doubt, and some accuse:
“He casts out demons
by Beelzebul!” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, responds with a simple
but profound teaching:
“Every kingdom
divided against itself is laid waste...” (v. 17)
“Whoever is not with me is against me.” (v. 23)
The Lord draws a line in
the sand. There is no neutrality in the Kingdom of God. You are either with Him,
gathering, building, obeying, or you are against Him, scattering, resisting,
undermining His mission.
Here, Jesus unmasks the
spiritual battle we often ignore. Just like in Jeremiah's time, people see
signs but fail to believe. They hear truth but cling to their suspicions.
Instead, they develop all sorts of arguments to justify the evil in the
society.
Jesus silences demons,
but some hearts remain closed. He restores speech to the mute, but some still
accuse Him.
How often do we fall
into this trap ourselves? We attend Mass, we hear the Gospel, but in our
hearts, we still negotiate with sin, still resist total surrender, still delay
obedience.
From Resistance to
Response: What is God Saying To us Today?
In both texts, the key
theme is clear: God speaks, but do we listen? Christ acts, but do we respond?
The core message for us
today is this: Faith demands response. Listening must lead to obedience.
Unity with Christ is the only way to stand firm. Let us not be like those
of whom the Lord says:
“This is the nation
that did not obey the voice of the Lord…” (Jer 7:28). Let us not accuse the
work of God or remain passive observers of His Kingdom.
Instead, let us be men and women with listening hearts,
open to God's voice, eager to align with Jesus, ready to build His Kingdom
rather than scatter it.
Beloved Sisters and
Brothers in Christ, the Good News is this: God has not stopped speaking. Christ
is still casting out demons. The Holy Spirit is still whispering truth. The
only question is: Are we listening?
Let us return to that
first love, that original call: “Obey My voice… and I will be your God.”
Let us choose, decisively, to be with Jesus, to gather with Him, to proclaim
Him as Lord not only with our lips but with our lives.
For only in listening do
we live. Only in unity with Christ do we stand. And only in obedience do we
become the people God has called us to be.
Amen.🔥
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