DARE TO BE DIFFERENT

We read in the Prophet Jeremiah that, ‘Ebed-melech went from the king’s house and said to the king, ‘My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city’. Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies’. Ebe-melech singled himself out. He dared to be different. He went against the officials who conspired to kill Jeremiah by having him thrown into the cistern that has only mud and with no water (cf. Jer 83:4-6. 8-10). He made a difference!

Beloved people of God, we dare to be different. We dare to stand out in the good, the noble and the praiseworthy. This requires courage. When the cause of justice and right singles anyone out, it is indicative of love for God made manifest in fighting for the persecuted, the downtrodden, the poor of the Lord and the voiceless of the society. Speaking out against such vices in the society or wherever it is found can bring division in families. That is the fire that our Blessed Lord is referring to. It is the fire of truth that opposes falsehood. It is the fire of love that stands against hatred and indifference.

We pray for this much needed courage to be able to run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God’. We are encouraged to ‘consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted…’ (cf Heb 12:1-4).

Fr. Ted