Thursday, Sept. 2, 2004
Martyr Mamas & His Parents, Martyrs Theodotos & Rufina
Kellia: Jeremiah1;1, 4-19 Epistle: Galatians 1;1-10, 20-24 Gospel: St. Mark 15:1-20
Jeremiah 1:1, 4-19 LXX, especially vs. 10:
"Behold, I have appointed thee this day over nations and over kingdoms, to root out and to pull
down, and to destroy, and to rebuild, and to plant." With this passage we begin a course of
readings through one of the four major Prophets of the Old Testament (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
and Daniel). Jeremiah's opening chapter reveals how God authenticated the awesome task which
He gave to the Prophet: "to root out and to pull down, and to destroy, and to rebuild, and to
plant." Realize that being God's Prophet in the late seventh and early sixth centuries before
Christ obliged Jeremiah to speak God's truth in an epoch of vast historical changes including
realignment of power among the empires adjacent to his own small kingdom of Judah, sweeping
reforms within his country, and, in the end, his nation's subjugation to Babylonia.
First, let us look closely at the Lord's call to Jeremiah, a young man late in his teens. Observe the
opening divine declarations: "I knew thee...I sanctified thee...I appointed thee" (vs. 4). The
Hebrew word to "know" implies intimate, personal knowledge, something the Lord alone could
have, as He says, "before I formed thee in the belly," that is, before conception. Then, via the
word "sanctified," God advanced His call one step more, for this verb conveyed the reality of
being "set apart" or "consecrated." In ancient Hebrew, the verb signified "dedication solely
within the religious sphere of life," with the implication that abandonment of prophesying would
be tantamount to blasphemy, that is, to using what was given by God for other purposes. Finally
there is the verb "appointed," the same word used when God "set" the sun, the moon and the stars
in their courses (Gen 1:17), or when He "made" Moses "as God to Pharaoh" (Ex. 7:1).
By God's declarations, Jeremiah was wholly committed to the Lord - to proclaim whatever words
God might place in his mouth - however popular or unpopular might be the prophecies. It is not
difficult to imagine that the young man hesitated in the face of God's call; but the Lord would
have none of it: "Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all to whomsoever I shall send thee,
and according to all the words that I shall command thee, thou shalt speak" (Jer. 1:7). Yet, God's
requirement was not given unkindly or without concern for the man: "Be not afraid before them:
for I Am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord" (vs. 8). Most important of all, the Lord
equipped Jeremiah for the task: "I have put My words into thy mouth" (vs. 9).
First in the manner of a test, and then to reassure His Prophet, the Lord placed three visions
before Jeremiah, all with the purpose that he should "gird up [his] loins, and stand up, and speak
all the words that I shall command thee," not being afraid of his countrymen's face nor being
"alarmed before them" (vs. 17): the first vision was an almond "rod" (vs. 11), that is, a branch
from the first of the trees that flower in the Spring. This was a sign that if Jeremiah spoke God's
words faithfully, the Lord, for His part, would make the prophecies come true (vs. 12).
The vision of the cauldron on fire in the north summarized the divine message that would
dominate Jeremiah's preaching: the coming judgment of God against the iniquity of the people of
Judah who were idolatrously forsaking Him by sacrificing "to strange gods" (vs. 16). The last
vision concerned Jeremiah's own person: God would make him "a strong city, and as a brazen
wall, strong against all the kings of Judah, and the princes thereof, and the people of the land"
(vs. 18), even if they should fight him, for the Lord solemnly promised that "they shall by no
means prevail against thee; because I Am with thee, to deliver thee" (vs.19).
O Christ our God Who didst sanctify Thy Holy Prophet Jeremiah before he was conceived that
he might speak Thy words faithfully: by his intercessions keep us from all deceit.
