Jeremiah finds himself in a tight spot. He is accused of “demoralizing the soldiers who are left in the city.” The princes want to put him to death on the charge of...demoralizing the soldiers and all who remained in Jerusalem. Jeremiah, we know, is guilty as charged! And just what crime is Jeremiah guilty of? He disheartened the inhabitants of the city because he told them the Truth. He spoke the words that God wanted them to hear… that everyone who remained in the city would die. It seems that the false prophets, i.e., the liars, were telling the people that there was no need to worry, that everything would be fine; Jerusalem would be safe because their enemy would break off their siege and withdraw from the city. The false prophets were convincing because… the people wanted to believe them. They wanted to be lied to in order to keep the status quo and life as usual. The people wanted to continue on their evil ways; they wanted to ignore and shun the prophet Jeremiah because he spoke the Truth.
Well, as we read today, those who were unwilling to listen to the truth, i.e., God’s Word, toss Jeremiah into a dry cistern so that he would die. But God comes to his aid and Jeremiah is rescued and continues as God’s messenger to a reluctant people.
Today the Word of God remains unfashionable. We turn our backs on God in order to pay homage to the false prophets of our day who say all the right words that keep us snug and comfortable in the cozy world we have fashioned around us. God’s Word calls us out from our comfort zone so we can find “life in the fullest” just as Jeremiah struggled to encourage the people of his day to be faithful to God’s ways.
God’s Word is always relevant. It speaks to us today as it has to the people throughout the millennia. Who are the liars among us today? How are we to know “the Truth” about anything? The challenge for us is to discern what God is saying and then to live life that way. That’s how we will find true happiness in our troubled and chaotic world and dispense with the false prophets who would lead us astray from all that God has in store for those who love him.
Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom
Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as we hear some deacons engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those on the threshold, those thinking of joining our Catholic Community or walking away from it.
OTHER RESOURCES
Recommended Reading: Jesus Before Christianity by Albert Nolan OP. A 25th anniversary revision to his originally published work in 1976, Fr Nolan introduces us to Jesus before he became the object of Christian faith, operating in history in a specific social context, addressing concrete hopes, and engaging in controversy and social conflict. Here is a man who was deeply involved with the real problems of his time--which turn out to be the real problems of our time, as well. As he writes, "God is speaking to us in a new way today. God is speaking to us in the events and problems of our time. Jesus can help us to understand the voice of Truth but, in the last analysis, it is we who must decide and act. This revision, again nearly twenty-five years old, is a convincing, eloquent and moving message for our distressed world.
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