Meditation: Jeremiah 20:10 I have heard many whispering their plot:
“‘Terror in every direction’?
Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”
Even all my close friends
are watching for me to make a false step —
“Maybe he can be tricked,
then we’ll get the better of him,
then we’ll take our revenge on him.”
11 But Adonai is with me like a dreaded warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble, defeated,
greatly ashamed because of their failure;
their lasting disgrace will not be forgotten.
12 Adonai-Tzva’ot, you who test the righteous
and see people’s hearts and thoughts,
let me see you take vengeance on them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
13 Sing to Adonai! Praise Adonai!
For he rescues those in need
from the clutches of evildoers.
5th Week of LentThe Lord is with me. (Jeremiah 20:11)
Have you ever felt that people were out to get you? Or maybe you have felt as though someone has worked to undermine or mock you. Well, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re in good company. All three of today’s readings show heroes of the faith—Jeremiah, David, and Jesus—responding to public smearing, threats, and betrayal.
How do you respond when you find yourself in a situation like this? Do you echo Jeremiah’s plea: “O Lord of hosts … Let me witness the vengeance you take on them” (Jeremiah 20:12)? Or do you follow Jesus’ words: “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:44-45)?
Place yourself in Jeremiah’s shoes. He had been given the heavy task of proclaiming prophecies concerning God’s judgment to his wayward family, friends, and countrymen (Jeremiah 4:1-4). He prayed to the Lord to have mercy, but the people repaid him with plots to kill him. Jeremiah’s prayer in today’s first reading follows the discovery of a second plot to kill him!
Although Jeremiah adds a sharp, vengeful little request in his prayer, he nonetheless exemplifies an admirable response to injustice and malice. He takes his broken heart to God. Such a sign of trust pleased the Lord deeply. He comforted Jeremiah, gave him strength for his task, and rescued him from “the power of the wicked” who were out to get him (Jeremiah 20:13).
Do you believe that you can go to your Father in just the same way? It’s true. It won’t upset him to hear your frustration. In fact, it’s much better to let it out than to keep it inside. God knows your heart, and he is always ready to give you his heart as you pour out yours to him.
As you try this open, two-way approach, you will begin to see your prayers of anger and frustration turn into prayers of compassion and mercy. Give God the time, and he will transform you!
“Father, I trust that you will be patient with me when I share my heart with you. Please hear my prayer, and teach me the way of love and forgiveness.” Amen!
Psalm 18:2 He said:
(1) “I love you, Adonai, my strength!
3 (2) “Adonai is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer,
my God, my Rock, in whom I find shelter,
my shield, the power that saves me,
my stronghold.
4 (3) I call on Adonai, who is worthy of praise;
and I am saved from my enemies.
5 (4) “For the cords of death surrounded me,
the floods of B’liya‘al terrified me,
6 (5) the ropes of Sh’ol were wrapped around me,
the snares of death lay there before me.
7 (6) In my distress I called to Adonai;
I cried out to my God.
Out of his temple he heard my voice;
my cry reached his ears.
John 10:31 Once again the Judeans picked up rocks in order to stone him. 32 Yeshua answered them, “You have seen me do many good deeds that reflect the Father’s power; for which one of these deeds are you stoning me?” 33 The Judeans replied, “We are not stoning you for any good deed, but for blasphemy — because you, who are only a man, are making yourself out to be God [a].” 34 Yeshua answered them, “Isn’t it written in your Torah, ‘I have said, “You people are Elohim’ ”?[b] 35 If he called ‘elohim’ the people to whom the word of Elohim was addressed (and the Tanakh cannot be broken), 36 then are you telling the one whom the Father set apart as holy and sent into the world, ‘You are committing blasphemy,’ just because I said, ‘I am a son of Elohim’?
37 “If I am not doing deeds that reflect my Father’s power, don’t trust me. 38 But if I am, then, even if you don’t trust me, trust the deeds; so that you may understand once and for all that the Father is united with me, and I am united with the Father.” 39 One more time they tried to arrest him, but he slipped out of their hands.
40 He went off again beyond the Yarden, where Yochanan had been immersing at first, and stayed there. 41 Many people came to him and said, “Yochanan performed no miracles, but everything Yochanan said about this man was true.” 42 And many people there put their trust in him.[Footnotes:
John 10:33 Hebrew: Elohim
John 10:34 Psalm 82:6]
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