Both readings today show us something that happens whenever God sends truth into the world.
Truth divides.
People respond to it in different ways.
Some welcome it.
Others resist it.
And we see both reactions in today’s readings.
In the first reading Jeremiah discovers something painful.
He has been faithfully speaking God’s word.
But the people around him are secretly plotting against him.
He says: “I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter.”
Jeremiah did not realise what was happening at first.
He thought he was among friends.
But the word God had given him had made him enemies.
Why?
Because the word of God reveals the heart.
A truthful life exposes lies.
Faithfulness exposes compromise.
Holiness exposes sin.
And that can make people uncomfortable.
So instead of changing their lives, they try to silence the messenger.
That is what happens to Jeremiah.
And it is exactly what will happen to Christ.
But notice how Jeremiah responds.
He does not seek revenge.
He says: “To you, O Lord… I have committed my cause.”
Jeremiah leaves justice in God’s hands.
That is the strength of the righteous person.
They do not need to win every argument.
They trust that God sees.
The Gospel shows the same tension surrounding Jesus.
People are arguing about Him.
Some say: “This really is the Prophet.”
Others say: “This is the Christ.”
But others immediately object: “Is the Christ to come from Galilee?”
The crowd is divided.
And this tells us something important.
Jesus cannot be treated as just another opinion.
His presence forces a decision.
People must either accept Him
or reject Him.
The temple officers are sent to arrest Him.
But they come back empty-handed.
When the authorities ask why, they reply: “No one ever spoke like this man.”
Think about that.
They were sent to seize Him.
But His words stopped them.
Truth has a power of its own.
When it is heard honestly, it carries a clarity that is difficult to ignore.
But the reaction of the Pharisees is revealing.
They do not ask whether Jesus might be right.
Instead they say: “Have any of the authorities believed in him?”
In other words: “If important people do not believe in Him, He cannot be right.”
But truth is not decided by popularity.
Truth is not decided by status.
Truth is not decided by majority vote.
Truth is decided by reality.
And reality is revealed in Christ.
There is one voice in the council that speaks fairly.
Nicodemus asks: “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing?”
It is a simple question.
A request for justice.
But even that is dismissed.
The discussion ends with mockery.
Because pride often refuses to listen.
And here is the lesson for us.
Whenever God’s truth enters the world, the same pattern appears.
Some listen.
Some resist.
Some change.
Some harden their hearts.
Jeremiah experienced it.
Christ experienced it.
And every Christian will experience it in some way.
But the readings today remind us of something very important.
Our task is not to make truth popular.
Our task is to remain faithful to it.
Jeremiah entrusted his cause to the Lord.
Christ continued His mission even when many rejected Him.
And we are called to do the same.
To live the truth.
To speak the truth.
And to trust that God sees what the world may not.
Because the voice that speaks through Scripture
and through Christ is not just one voice among many.
It is the voice of the One who knows the human heart
and leads it to life.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 