Word to the Wise
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - Tuesday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jer 14:17-22 and Matt 13:36-43]Among the nations' idols is there any that gives rain? Or can the mere heavens send showers? Is it not you alone, O Lord, our God, to whom we look? You alone have done all these things.
Jeremiah speaks of a desolate city. He may be speaking of Jerusalem after the Babylonians destroyed it. In any case, his cries seem like sheer frustration at the failure of the people to listen to his warnings. They chose to put their trust in pagan deities and foreign alliances. The result was a lasting disaster and seventy years of exile for the people. Jeremiah begs forgiveness from God on behalf of the people, asking God at least to keep the covenant even if the people have failed!
The Old Testament could easily be read in terms of a phrase from an old monk who was asked by a visitor to the monastery: "What do you do all day here?" The old monk replied: "We fall down and get up." That could apply to us as well. Like Jeremiah, we are praying that God will not forget the covenant even if we fall in our weakness. On an individual level we have the sacrament of reconciliation, but Jeremiah is speaking of an entire nation! Perhaps we need to think bigger thoughts about our contrition! We have the example of Jerusalem and Jeremiah's vision to inspire us. AMEN
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