Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C
Reflecting on Jeremiah 38:4 6. 8-10
King Zedekiah is the hero of the story this weekend, although things could definitely have gone the other way. He seemed to be passively, rather than actively, evil. He was a reed shaken with the wind, listening to whoever had his ear at the moment. Unfortunately, the princes came from the palace and convinced this weak king that Jeremiah, the prophet who had told him the frightening truth about the devastation of the Babylonian army, had demoralized the people so much that he needed to be killed.
What an awful death that would have been. Jeremiah was lowered into the empty cistern with ropes, and as he descended, he was thigh-deep in mud. Imagine the dark, and the terror. Thank God a valiant court official took his life in his hands (for coming into the king’s presence without being summoned was a capital offense), and pleaded for Jeremiah’s life.
The weak king then saw the other side of the story, and quickly called for Jeremiah to be brought up from the cistern. How terrifying for Jeremiah to be at the whim of this vacillating king. Jeremiah had, at times, been the king’s confidante. In fact, shortly after this terrible episode, he summoned him and, asking him to hold their conversation in strict confidence, revealed his own fear of the future.
It’s strange to us, reading it at the distance of these 2,500 years, that a king could be influenced so easily by one group, and swayed again by just one member. How many innocent people are held in terrible prisons today because no one stepped up for them? This story shows that it takes just one courageous person. Is it I, Lord?
What small thing can you do to advocate for peace?
Kathy McGovern ©2025