FIGHTING ON LIKE EBED-MELECH

HOMILY FOR THE 20^TH SUNDAY OF THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C

Rev. Fr. Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi

No doubt, the Christian journey is one of battle. The Christian is called to fight relentlessly to see that the kingdom of God is continually established on earth. And what does the kingdom of God consist of? It consist in righteousness and peace and joy brought by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). To make an option for God is to upset the kingdom of evil. Little wonder then the writer to the Hebrews in the Second Reading (Heb. 12:1-4) encouraged us to keep fighting against sin, even to the point of death. And Jesus himself made it clear in the Gospel of today (Luke 12:49-53) that His kingdom would upset the kingdom of evil. But, how could this kingdom of peace Jesus, the Prince of peace (cf. Isaiah  9:6) would establish be one that casts fire upon the earth and bring division among people? The function of light is to dispel the darkness. And so, the enthronement of goodness would upset evil, and evil would always try to fight back. Fire and division become the consequence of choosing goodness over evil. That was the experience of Jeremiah in the First Reading (First Reading –Jer. 38:4-6, 8-10). He had upset the evil of his time and thus evil fought back. But evil can never be victorious; God came to his aid by raising an unexpected person to speak out for his sake. His name was Ebed-Melech.

Ebed-melech was an Ethiopian Eunuch who served in the court of King Zedekiah at the period Jeremiah exercised his prophetic role in Judah during the siege of Jerusalem (cf. Jer. 38:7). The name is translated as Servant of the King, and as such may not have been his proper name but a hereditary title. It might have been a title that suggested his role or function in the King’s court. Ebed-melech as a biblical figure stood out for interceding on behalf of the prophet Jeremiah and with the King’s permission rescued him from the cistern into which he was cast to die.

Jeremiah’s words had infuriated some officials (Shephatiah, Gedaliah, Jucial and Pashbur), and they reported him to the king. They suggested to the king that he be put to death because his words were demoralizing the soldiers in the face of an impending war. Jeremiah had said: “Thus says the Lord, He who stays in the city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken” (Jer. 38:2-3).

Jeremiah was letting the people know about the message from the Lord which was not what the officials expected to hear about. And for this, they plotted to eliminate him by convincing the King to permit them put Jeremiah away. They desired to bring about Jeremiah’s death without bloodshed; putting him in a cistern to sink in the mud and die of hunger. They were ignorant of the fact that the Lord protects his servants, and never forsakes those who obey him. Thus, a servant of the King Ebed-melech, who had heard what happened was inspired by the Lord, and he went to the king and courageously interceded for Jeremiah; defending him against the plot of these officials and exposing their evil intention. He went further, together with three men, at the King’s permission to rescue Jeremiah from the cistern. This was heroic; to have fought against the wish of those cabals. Jeremiah then was housed in the court of the guard.

1. Hence, ‘ebed-melech’ might represent someone who speaks for us when we are under great affliction, tribulation, tension and pressure; who intercedes for our good even when it seems many people are against us; who consoles us even when everyone is blaming us; who welcomes us even when many are pushing us away; who understands our mistakes, tolerates us and pardons us when we err or commit errors. Beyond interceding or advocating for us, ‘ebed-melech’ represents the one who destroys the evil plans against us and comes to our rescue. The Scriptures do provide us with persons who exhibited divine power and knowledge in interceding for others; for instance, Daniel was an ebed-melech to Susana (Daniel 13ff), the wife of Pilate acted like an ebed-melech when Jesus was about to be killed, etc.

2. Life generally is replete with experiences of understanding and witnessing the importance of such figures as ebed-melech. Many times, we are given the opportunity to witness an ‘ebed-melech’. There are situations too where we might have had the chance of being an ebed-melech, or even expected to find an ebed-melech but never did. God does send someone to help us in hard situations that outweigh our capacity. Look well, pray well and live well, and then trust in the Lord. No situation can ever crush the Christian in as much as God lives. As Christians, we are called to fight like Ebed-melech; speaking out against human injustice and brutality; saving the afflicted and healing the weak; swimming against the current of evil. And so, this calling demands requires such virtues: A) Trust: Ebed-melek must have been a trusted servant to have been able to listen to him and grant his plea. So too, we must learn to make our lives trustworthy. B) Loyalty and Obedience: Ebed-Melech was loyal. Loyalty to God and his principles are signs of obedience. C) Humility: being down-to-earth paves a great way during situations that requires us to speak out. D) Prudence: knowing and using the most careful ways and manners in presenting our intercessions assures success E) Courage: advocating for others requires being daring and convincing.

4. Jesus is the greatest ebed-melech we have got as Christians. He is always there for us. He intercedes for us. He protects and saves us. He destroys the plans of our enemies. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of how his role would upset the social status quo and initiate division. This passage while causing confusion to people of our time was to be a great consolation to the people of the Evangelist’s time. The Jews who never believed that Jesus was the Messiah ostracized the people of the New Way who believed in the messiahship of Jesus. Thus, the person of Jesus became a source of division not because of those who believed in him but because of those who refused. Thus, the message of fire and division would serve as one of consolation to those people who would suffer division as a result of their faith in the God of Jesus Christ. People would be divided against one another. People would be hated for the choice they make for Christ. The role and the acceptance of Jesus as our greatest intercessor would bring a great rift and division between good and evil, and between the one who believes in Jesus and the one who does not. The essence of Christianity is that loyalty to Christ must take the first place over the dearest loyalties of the world. The role then of fighting like ebed-melech would imply a battle against evil, and which would result in hatred and division. This is the fight that is fought to block the plans of evil.

Does the teaching of Jesus ever upset me? Does it make me to question the way I live? Does it ever bring me into conflict with friends and family? Has it ever caused me some hatred from those who do not believe? If it does not do so, it can only imply that I am not really hearing that Christ’s teaching is like a sword that separates good from evil. It is sometimes like a fire that burns off the weeds but leaves the wheat. An encounter with Jesus would upset any evil hidden in us, and so, the fight begins with the self. Having succeeded in conquering the fight against the evil in us, it would then lead to a fight against the evil in the world. The true Christian is a threat, a source of division, a light that shows up in darkness, and is resented by those who do not like the light. Because of his sense of justice, the Christian will oppose like Ebed-Melech those who exploit the weak and the poor. We continue to pray for the courage to fight on like Ebed- Melech and for the continuous triumph of good over evil. Amen. God bless you.