Jeremiah, Jesus, and the Power of Conscience

By Richard Clifford, SJ

Current events in the United States, Africa, and the Middle East invite us to think about the relation of individual voices to national destinies, and about the divisions that prophets introduced by what they proclaimed. Jeremiah, the first reading, lived six centuries before Jesus preached in wartime. When very young, he experienced a call to be a prophet, too young (he thought) to address credibly his fellow Israelites. To reassure him God promised to put God’s own words into his mouth. Jeremiah’s preaching scandalized many: “Don’t fight them,” he proclaimed, “open the city gates to them, for they are carrying out the will of the just God!”

Such a message seemed unpatriotic, even crazy to many, particularly those in government. It is easy to see why the king allowed Jeremiah’s enemies to silence him by casting him into an old well. The prophet’s followers believed his preaching, however, and persuaded the king, ever wishy-washy, to draw him out of the well. Jeremiah foreshadows Jesus. As Jeremiah interpreted God’s will in a time of invasion, so Jesus interpreted it at a time of fulfillment. And as Jeremiah divided people, so did Jesus.

This backstory is necessary to understand Jesus’s strange words as he journeys to Jerusalem in Luke 12: “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three.” The words are disturbing: Jesus foresees division, not peace to the earth. By “division,” he means divisions in households, the social unit of society. As Gerhard Lohfink observes in his book Jesus of Nazareth (p. 320), Jesus’ time is a time of decision “for the very reason that the reign of God, if not accepted, will bring division, separation, and judgment.” Jesus succeeded in bringing together many people as disciples, but his own people rejected him. Members of his own family said, at least at one stage, “He has gone out of his mind.” (Mark 3:20-21). So Jesus knew he would bring divisions, not intentionally but as the byproduct of gathering a people to himself. One assumes there were divisions in some households of the early followers of Jesus.

What is our take-away today? Since Jesus’ reach was so broad and deep, we should not be surprised that those who did not accept him would separate themselves from those who did, even within families. Following him can be costly, but we should expect it and not be put off because not everyone thinks the way we do. Our prayer should be to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and give us strength in time of trial to run the race that lies before us.

Richard Clifford, S.J., has taught biblical studies for 55 years, most recently at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry, Boston College, and has written many scholarly and popular books and articles.