XXII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: Jr 20:7-9
Jeremiah is a tragic figure, who puts across his personal experience, as he carries out the mission entrusted to him. Like other extraordinary personages of the Old Testament, he comes through as a real human being, even though touched by the divine, the God who shaped his life.
Jeremiah, the prophet
In his own person, he is a prophecy of Jesus Christ. In him we see the faithfulness to his mission, in spite of his life being endangered. He always went straight to the point, spoking openly and courageously, be it in front of the the king and the powerful of the land or in front of the crowds gathered for the religious festivals. He denounced the evil and corrupt ways of the ruling class, of the wealthy and of the common people alike. He challenged everybody and called them to conversion. He warned of incoming disaster and he threatened people with the suffering of war and the long march of slaves going into exile.
We may thing of Jeremiah as a prophet of doom, but that is very far from the truth. He announced a new era lived in a new covenant, a covenant written in the hearts of people, who recognise God’s saving love and walk in faithfulness to his word.
Jeremiah read correctly the political situation
During Jeremiah’s time, the international political situation was in turmoil, with new powers arising and subduing all the surrounding nations, be they big or small. Babylonia had become a superpower, threatening all countries in the region. Jeremiah, being a prophet with his feet well grounded on the soil of the political reality, was able to read the situation correctly. Judah, his homeland, was a very small and insignificant country, tossed around by the big powers, and now it should dance at Babylonia’s tune in order to survive. However, the political and religious leaders of the country were living in a dream world, unable to see the threat coming from Babylonia and putting their trust the gods they worshipped and in an alliance with Egypt, as if Egypt could protect and defend them from Babylonia.
Jeremiah saw the hand of God at work in the political turmoil surrounding him and his nation, and he read the situation with God’s eyes, seeing in it a call to conversion and to put all trust in God alone. Accordingly, he advised the leaders to accept Babylonia suzerainty, as the less evil. And he warned that a different policy would bring the destruction of the nation and the exile.
The leaders would not believe him, but rejected him, accusing him of treason. However, Jeremiah’s warnings and prophecies came to be true.
Jeremiah’s personal experience
In this Sunday’s first reading, Jeremiah looks back at his vocation. Called while still very young, he tried to give excuses, saying: “I am only a boy.” (Jr 1:6). But God does not accept excuses, and Jeremiah became a prophet. He felt seduced by the Lord, and he was not able to resist. In a way, he was convinced that God overpowered him, and forced him to become a prophet. And he complains for the role that he has been forced to play.
Seeing his people going to destruction, his hearts pains and bleeds. He would prefer to announce peace and merriment, like the false prophets did, and receive people’s applause instead of their scorn. But he could not cheat himself and cheat the people, and so he speaks of war, violence and ruin. He thought of abandoning his mission and run away, turning his back on the Lord, but he could not do it, because he could not quench the fire that set his heart ablaze with love. And he went on proclaiming the truth, mindless of the dangers he had to go through.
Jeremiah was able to see beyond the impending catastrophe and to proclaim a new covenant (Jr 31:31). In the darkest moments of our lives, we must look forward with hope, seeing the bright light of a new future, prepared for us by the Lord.
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