WEBVTT 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:04.480 There's a line in the first reading that feels very real. 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:09.839 All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine. 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:11.519 That's not abstract. 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:12.640 That's not ancient. 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:14.640 That's our human condition. 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:17.440 Jeremiah is not dealing with strangers. 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:20.320 He's dealing with people who know him. 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:22.719 People who have walked with him. 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:28.559 And now, while they're waiting for him to fall, watching for a mistake, ready to tear him down. 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:30.079 And you can feel it. 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:31.600 Tear on every side. 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:32.799 Denounce him. 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:38.000 Now hold that because when you get to the gospel, it escalates. 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:41.600 They're not just whispering anymore, they pick up stones. 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:42.159 Why? 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:47.759 Not because Jesus did something wrong, but because of who he claims to be. 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:51.439 You, a man, are making yourself God. 00:00:52.560 --> 00:00:55.200 This is the thread that connects both readings. 00:00:55.520 --> 00:01:03.840 When truth becomes clear, when God becomes present, when light exposes what is hidden, there's always resistance. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:06.719 Don't miss this. 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:07.200 Why? 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:10.959 Because the closer you are to truth, the more you will be tested. 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:12.879 Jeremiah experienced it. 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:14.879 Jesus experiences it. 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:20.879 And if you're actually living your faith seriously, you too will experience it. 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:26.480 Because we like the idea of faith, well, until it cost us something. 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:31.680 We like comfort, affirmation, easy Christianity, the feel good. 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:43.920 But the moment faith demands clarity, the moment it demands conviction, the moment it exposes your sins, your habits, your bad behaviors, well, then we take a step back. 00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:46.640 Look at the gospel again. 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:52.000 Jesus says, if I do not perform my Father's works, do not believe me. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:54.079 In other words, look at what I do. 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:55.439 Look at the evidence. 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:57.840 Look at the truth right in front of you. 00:01:58.159 --> 00:01:59.519 But they don't want truth. 00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:00.640 They want control. 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:03.200 And that's the deeper issue. 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:07.840 It's not that they don't understand, it's that they don't want to accept. 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:15.599 Now this brings us back to our own lives because this is where the gospel stops being about them and becomes about us. 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:19.520 Where are you resisting truth? 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:22.879 Where has God made something clear in your life? 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:24.719 What are you still pushing back? 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:28.080 This is a theme that we've been talking about all this week. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:36.240 Maybe it's that decision you need to make, a sin you need to confront, a relationship that needs to change, a habit that needs to go. 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:44.960 And instead of surrendering, you argue, you delay, you justify, you stay in the same old same old. 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:50.159 Not because you don't see it, but because you don't want to deal with it. 00:02:51.919 --> 00:02:54.560 This is where Jeremiah's line becomes everything. 00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:58.159 The Lord is with me like a mighty champion. 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:01.439 That's not confidence in himself, that's trust. 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:06.560 Because when you choose truth, you will not always be understood. 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:11.280 When you choose God, you will not always be supported and applauded. 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:13.520 You will never be alone. 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.000 But that's the difference. 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:21.759 Jeremiah is surrounded by opposition, but grounded in God. 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:27.520 Jesus is surrounded by hostility, but he's still united to the Father. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:30.960 And you have to decide where do you stand? 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:33.680 Because neutrality is not an option. 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:37.599 You're either aligning yourself with truth or you resist it. 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:41.840 You either trust God in His plan or you trust yourself. 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:44.719 Be demanding. 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:48.240 Stop resisting what you already know is true. 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:49.840 You don't need more information. 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:51.280 You need surrender. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:54.560 Stand firm even when it costs you. 00:03:54.800 --> 00:03:58.000 Faith that costs nothing changes nothing. 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:01.039 Trust that God is with you. 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:04.800 Not vaguely, but and not even symbolically. 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:07.840 He's with you like a mighty champion. 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:12.639 Because at the end of the gospel, they try to arrest him and he walks away. 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:13.360 Why? 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:16.879 Well, because his life is not controlled by them. 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:19.360 It's ordered to the Father. 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:20.879 That's freedom. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:22.879 And that's what God wants for you. 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:26.160 Not a comfortable life, a true life. 00:04:26.480 --> 00:04:28.399 So today, don't just admire Christ. 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:38.720 Don't just listen, choose, stand, trust, because the same God who stood with Jeremiah is the same Father who was with the Son, is now with you. 00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:43.519 And if that's true, then you have nothing to fear. 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:44.480 Amen.