Saturday, September 4, 2004
The Holy Prophet Moses the God-Seer
Kellia: Jeremiah 3:11-18 Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:1-4 Gospel: St. Matthew 23:1-12
Jeremiah 3:11-18, especially vs. 17: "At that time
Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the
presence of the Lord in Jerusalem...." For Orthodox Christians, living under the New Covenant
in Christ - as those illumined with light by the Holy Spirit - we are blessed, if we "behold the
good things of Jerusalem all the days of our life." Hence, in reading this passage, the Orthodox
Christian perceives the Church in the words of the Prophet's foresight when he speaks of that
time when "Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord" (vs. 17).
After all, Orthodox churches are deliberately designed, both in structure and in furnishings, to
awaken one to the presence of God. Visitors, as well as the Faithful, upon entering one of our
churches, often exclaim, as did the Patriarch Jacob long centuries ago: "How awesome is this
place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Gen 28:17). The
experience of God's presence in our churches is a true, spiritual fact given to us. It is further
reinforced by the liturgical greeting: "Christ is in our midst: He is and He shall be." We even call
the altar in our churches, "the Throne." In other words, for Orthodox Christians, now is that time
when Jerusalem, the Church, is actively being called the throne of the Lord, and all nations are in
fact gathering to it, to the presence of the Lord (Jer. 3:17).
Notice how the Lord directed Jeremiah to prepare His People to awaken to His presence. At the
time God spoke these words through Jeremiah, the Lord's People in the ancient kingdom of
Judah still remembered their sister kingdom of Israel, for only recently it had flourished to the
north of them in Palestine. Israel, however, had been conquered by the Assyrian empire and its
people deported, scatted, and lost eastward into the Mesopotamian valley. The Assyrians
replaced the deportees from Israel and settled other peoples among the few whom they did not
remove, thus forming a mixed population that became known as the Samaritan people.
God told Jeremiah to announce to the Samaritans and to any of the exiles from Israel now living
further east who might still be aware of their heritage as the People of God, to "return" to Him
and acknowledge their "guilt" and "rebellion" against Him (vss. 12,13). Notice, however, that
God's message was prefaced by the remark that the remaining kingdom of God's People, Judah,
was more guilty than Israel had been before her demise within the Assyrian empire (vs. 11).
While God was appealing to the remnants of Israel, He was also strongly imploring His People in
Judah to "return" to Him. Truthfully, He longs to have all His "faithless children" come back to
their Master and Lord (vs. 14) - even we, His People under the New Covenant.
God recognizes that repentance - awakening to His presence and returning to Him - must be a
change within each person, a divine work that prepares one person here, or a couple there, or a
family as a whole, to quit stubbornly following "their own evil heart" (vs. 17) and to come under
good shepherds whom God provides to "feed [them] with knowledge and understanding" (vs.
15). Beloved of the Lord, let us, indeed, observe God's appeal today.
Do you see how much the Lord's entreaty through Jeremiah actually is the "familiar teaching" of
Orthodoxy? The Orthodox life in Christ is, after all, repentance and returning to God, for we
know our Father's mercy in Christ through the Holy Spirit. The Lord's presence is no longer
vested in the "Ark of the Covenant" that once lodged in the Jewish Temple (vs. 16). Today, He
is received directly in the Holy Gifts of our risen Master's own Body and Blood.
I pray Thee, have mercy upon me and forgive my transgressions...and make me worthy to partake
without condemnation of Thine immaculate Mysteries...unto life everlasting. Amen.
