Word to the Wise
Monday, July 28, 2014 - Monday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jer 13:1-11 and Matt 13:31-35]Thus says the Lord: So also I will allow the pride of Judah to rot, the great pride of Jerusalem. This wicked people who refuse to obey my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts, and follow strange gods to serve and adore them, shall be like this loincloth which is good for nothing. 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]
Among the various vivid actions of Jeremiah, the ruined loincloth does stand out! We don't know what he thought about it. He just followed orders! Israel (the Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom which included Jerusalem) had both fallen to external foes. Jeremiah delivers God's judgment on their corruption and sorry state in exile. It guess it could be said that they have "hit bottom." They are completely useless, like the rotten loincloth! I dare say we might hesitate to characterize our relationship to God like that of underwear to our skin, but that's the picture! Given the nature of clothing ads nowadays, the image might not be a bad one!
When catastrophe strikes in our land, there are always "jeremiads" from various preachers who will say the particular event is punishment for society's sins. Hurricane Katrina and the 911 Terrorist Attack are examples of events that drew such preaching! Jeremiah is a different kind of prophetic preacher. In the case of Israel and Judah, Jeremiah and other prophets continually warned that disaster would come if they continued to violate their covenant with God, ignored the widow, orphan and alien, and followed false idols! They were warned by the prophets that their alliances with pagan lands like Egypt instead of relying on God would lead to utter destruction. So it happened. As Jeremiah quotes God: "They did not listen." An entire culture and nation was wiped out, followed by years of exile.
We may not see such a disaster on our horizons. An intimate relationship of our nation with God as described in Jeremiah doesn't really seem to exist even if we are considered one of the most "religious" nations in the West. Would we really think we are as corrupt as Jeremiah describes Israel and Judah? Probably not! But I think we need to be honest about our shortcomings as much as we tout our blessings! Jeremiah warned about placing trust in institutions while we are allowing human beings to be crushed by selfishness and corruption. Pride has been the downfall of great societies like Greece, Rome, and Egypt, who left tremendous monuments to human endeavor. What will we offer? AMEN