Word to the Wise
Monday, July 30, 2012 - Monday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jer 13:1-11 and Matt 13:31-35]For, as close as the loincloth clings to a man's loins, so had I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord; to be my people, my renown, my praise, my beauty. But they did not listen. [Jeremiah]
Prophets tend to speak in startling ways and use startling images to capture the attention of the people. Sometimes the prophet has to act out the image. Hosea is commanded to marry a prostitute. Isaiah is commanded to walk around naked. Ezekiel is commanded to make a hole in the wall of the city and act as if he is leaving. Jeremiah may be the most dramatic of all. He smashes pottery and, today, is commanded to buy clean underwear (loincloth), wear it awhile, then leave it somewhere to rot and then show it to the people as a sign of what they had become! The lines I quote above are at the end of the passage. I urge the Beloved Congregation to read the entire passage. The closing lines explain the image and end with the sad words, "But they did not listen."
Jeremiah makes reference to both the northern kingdom (Israel) which had falled to the Assyrians nearly two centuries earlier and to the southern kingdom (Judah) which would fall to the Babylonians in Jeremiah's own time! Both these kingdoms, in the eyes of the prophets, fell to their enemies because they failed to live according to the covenant and sought to protect themselves by alliances with pagan neighbors. By relying on these alliances instead of God, they broke faith with God and auffered the consequences. One of the elements of these alliances was the introduction of pagan religious practices - a clear violation of faith.
I cannot imagine myself acting as Jeremiah did, nor do I think most of my congregation would be amused if I displayed dirty underwear and claimed they had become like it! I rather doubt Jeremiah's audience liked it either. But when the fundamental basis of our relationship with God becomes compromised by secular alliances which lead us to practices that are violations of our faith covenant with God, how can one get them to listen? I am reminded of a minister in a rural community who wanted to buy a mule to plow a field he owned. He saw an ad in the local paper for a mule that would work hard if only the plowman spoke kind words to it. The minister thought this would be the ideal mule for him. He bought the mule and brought it home and attached the plow. But the mule would not budge. The minister called the farmer and complained that he had run out of kind words to say! The farmer came over and walked to the minister's woodpile and took a piece of wood and smacked the mule hard on the head! The mule started pulling the plow! The minister reminded the farmer that the ad said only kind words were needed. The farmer replied, "Yes, but you have to get the mule's attention first!" AMEN
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