Friday, September 24, 2004
The Protomartyr Thekla of Iconium
Kellia: Jeremiah15:10-21 Epistle: Ephesians 4:17-25 Gospel: St. Mark 12:1-12
Jeremiah 15:10-21, especially vs. 18: "Why is
my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Wilt Thou be to me like a
deceitful brook, like waters that fail?" Anyone who reads progressively through Jeremiah
appreciates the burden that was the Prophet's lot: to proclaim to his contemporaries an
overwhelming military invasion that soon would sweep down on the land "from the north" (vs.
12), take the wealth of the nation, deport the majority of the population, and force them to "serve
[their] enemies" in a foreign land (vss. 13,14). Historically, this appalling message from the
Lord, the burden of Jeremiah's repeated prophecies, eventually proved to be absolutely correct.
It is no surprise that this word of God did not make Jeremiah popular in his daily life. In fact, it
brought persecution on him (vs. 15), isolated him from those around him (vs. 17), and left him in
the personal pain of being ostracized by everyone. Who wanted to hear some grim warning over
and over? In effect, his lot as a Prophet, with the hand of God on him, filling him with
indignation, created a full-blown personal crisis for him. Jeremiah actually began to wonder if he
was confused and whether he truly was hearing from the Lord. He began to doubt God,
considering Him to be "like a deceitful brook, like waters [of a spring] that fail" (vs. 18).
To every person who has faced a personal struggle of faith when standing up for the truth, to all
who have known self-doubts and questioned the validity of their personal relationship with God
in battling for what is right, this passage is an invaluable support and guide. It provides an
example of a great Saint experiencing personal woe for being "a man of strife and contention"
with everyone around him, even to the point of wishing he'd never been born (vs. 10). It assures
us in our times of trial to take up again the blessed path of repentance, and it reveals the
conditions which God requires for receiving the grace to advocate for the truth.
Who does not understand the pain Jeremiah went through - his loneliness and self-doubt and his
questioning even of God? We are able to empathize with his longing to see God's judgment fall
on his opponents "right now" (vs. 15). In our prayers during times of struggle, which of us also
has not "reminded" the Lord of our labors on His behalf - as if He did not know of them. How
easily our minds recall "better times" when "Thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my
heart" (vs. 16). The passage leaves us with no doubt that Jeremiah was a real, flesh-and-blood
human being who knew all the convolutions of the best and the worst in us. The Prophet's
honest sharing encourages us to seek his intercession in our struggles.
The passage also reveals that God directs His beloved in their times of doubt and questioning to
"return," that is to repent, that He may "restore" (vs. 19). All the negative cries of the Prophet
arising from his flesh, he offered to God without hesitation. Yes, even doubts about God Himself
should be voiced in our prayers; but let us never cease to pray! Jeremiah clearly shows us the
truth of such desperate prayer, for when he had finished all his complaints, the Lord called him to
"return" to Him that He might restore him.
Finally God reveals to us His conditions for being "as [His] mouth" so that others turn to us, and
that we "not turn to them" (vs. 19). We must "utter what is precious, and not what is worthless"
(vs. 19). The priceless truths of God supported by Holy Revelation and the clear teachings of the
Church are what we must utter, as best as we can. He promises, in turn, to make us a "fortified
wall of bronze" and to "deliver [us] out of the hand of the wicked (vss. 20, 21).
O Jeremiah, thou minister of the Highest, who never turned from the Lord, seek thou His
forgiveness and strength for our souls that we may likewise be faithful witnesses of His truth.
