There is Always Hope
Jeremiah 11:18-20
It was the Lord who made it known to me, and I knew; then you showed me their evil deeds. But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. And I did not know it was against me that they devised schemes, saying, ‘Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will no longer be remembered!’ But you, O Lord of hosts, who judge righteously, who try the heart and the mind, let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.
The first ten chapters of the prophetic book of Jeremiah seek to defend God against the charges that the collapse of Israel and the invasion of Jerusalem are the result of divine injustice. Jeremiah, called by the Lord to prophesize while still in the womb and known as the “weeping prophet,” pleads with his people to understand that God is not recklessly capricious, but punishes them because they fail to hear God’s word and to obey his covenant: “for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water” (2:13).
As we know, the Jewish people did not turn back to the Lord and were exiled to Babylon by the end of Jeremiah’s life. This is why he wrote the book of Lamentations; he grieved over the destruction of his people as they had not heeded his message. The Hebrew name “Jeremiah” means, “the Lord exalts” or “the Lord throws down.” This seemingly contradictory, dual nature of the name can be seen in the message of the book. He was appointed by God to “pluck up and break down, destroy and overthrow, and also to build and plant” (1:10). How’s that for a mission statement! The verses today reflect Jeremiah’s own suffering. He complains to God about his prophetic vocation because he has not chosen his calling or its message. He is beaten down and feels like a lamb led to slaughter. He is frustrated by the turtle-like pace with which his prophesies are being fulfilled. His own suffering becomes a symbol of both his people’s rejection of God’s word and the suffering they will undergo because of God’s judgement. What happens to him will happen to his people—these are not strangers but his family and neighbors.
Jeremiah’s suffering reminds me of our own self-inflicted wounds and self-inflicted exile. As an adult child of an alcoholic, I think of families of addicts who sound the alarm, who plead for sobriety, and who sacrifice everything to save their beloveds, but it’s either too late or the toll too great. For some, one’s resurrection takes years…for the Israelites it took 70.
There are kernels of hope and a promise of restoration in Jeremiah’s message. Nothing is completely lost. Seeing God’s patience with the Israelites reminds us that God has always been, and continues to be, merciful. Though we fail him, he is patient with us, working in us to bring about the best for our lives: “For I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,” says the Lord. This verse speaks of God’s promise to heal and restore, offering hope for recovery and well-being” (30:17).
prayer
Holy One, we bless your name and thank you for the gift of this day. May the Light of the world guide us, the Life of the world refresh us, and the Hope of the world be our companion, that we may be the reconciling power of Christ in the world. We ask this for your mercy’s sake. Amen.
(Daily Prayers for all Seasons, 2014, The Episcopal Church, p. 76.)
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