Jeremiah 5: 1-3, 9 (NRSV)
Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look around and take note! Search its squares and see if you can find one person who acts justly and seeks truth, so that I may pardon Jerusalem. Although they say, “As the Lord lives,” yet they swear falsely. O Lord, do your eyes not look for truth? You have struck them, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to turn back….Shall I not punish them for these things? says the Lord; and shall I not bring retribution on a nation such as this?
Psalm 130 (NRSV)
Out of the depths I cry to you O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord, there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
Devotion
The Prophet Jeremiah and author of Psalm 130 offer two different ways that ancient Hebrews perceived God’s role in the world. Both passages, however, explore themes about our judgements, our life choices and things we value most.
The Jeremiah passage reminds me of the ancient Greek myth concerning life choices facing the young Greek mortal Paris. When tasked by Zeus to determine what he wanted most out of life, Paris immediately consulted with three Greek goddesses – Hera offered him royal power, Athena offered victory in war, and Aphrodite offered marriage to Helen of Troy. His subsequent abduction of Helen from her husband, the King of Sparta, precipitated war between Sparta and Athens, and ultimately Paris’s own downfall. In his eyes, he may have done due diligence by consulting with the three powerful goddesses, but he subsequently made a series of poor life choices.
The author of Psalm 130 recognizes our collective failure to live up to God’s expectations as expressed by Jeremiah. However, the emphasis here is on seeking God’s forgiveness, and recognizing God’s steadfast love. Psalm 130 recognizes that our main focus for our judgements, choices, and values should be Biblically centered. When it comes to making good life decisions, such as how do we go about making room for God, we have a great deal of help. Unlike the mythical Paris, we have written guidelines such as the Ten Commandments, stories like Ruth and Naomi, the parables of Jesus, and the teachings of the Apostles to guide us. We have the practice of prayer, which enables us to both talk and listen to God. We have a community of faith (in-person, or on-line) which facilitates our worship, religious education, and mutual care groups.
Even with these gifts, many of us still behave like the people of Jerusalem that Jeremiah talks about. I think confession and prayer is a good place to start as we seek to make more room for God in our lives.
Prayer
Lord, guide us when we make choices. Help us to recognize and act on the most important things as we try to make more room for you in our daily lives.
Tom Mellor