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Transformed Imaginations
Imagination (noun): The faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is Read More
Lee Escobedo | Read Jeremiah 8:18-22
Jeremiah mourns Israel’s alienation from God. He proclaims, “Come back to God,” but the people refuse. The drought in the land reflects the drought in their souls. The people wonder why God has abandoned them. Yet the people of Judah have taken God’s mercy for granted.
Instead of relying on God, the people have relied on the Temple, false prophets, idols, and their own imagination. But God, through Jeremiah, cautions them about their folly. God warns that their disrespect will bring horrible consequences. The citizens of Judah believe their safety rests in being God’s special people, but they forget that God disciplines the ones God loves. Long before Babylonia conquers the city and carries them away, they have many chances to repent; but they continue to disrespect the Lord. Such is the obstinacy of misconduct. They discover the pain of suffering as slavery, poverty, and hopelessness become their self-imposed penalty for disrespect.
Their mistake, like ours, comes in wrongly supposing that the relationship between God and humanity is just a game. It isn’t. It’s a responsibility and privilege. The people of Judah exemplify God’s intentional love. God holds them up as a light to the world.
We can choose to respect or disrespect God. We cannot anticipate that our church, our education, or our reasoning will spare us from God’s justice. Unlike the Israelites, we cannot ask, “Where is God?” when we turn our backs and ignore God’s presence among us. Jeremiah warns, “Come back to God, for your own welfare.”
Lord Jesus, may my life today show respect for you. Amen.
Three of the texts for this Sunday deal with intercession; although they certainly will not make praying any easier, they may make it more hopeful. The readings from both Jeremiah and the psalm depict the anguish of one who identi es with the pain of God’s faithless people. Prophet and psalmist grieve with and for the people and join in the persistent and impatient plea for health and renewal. But God turns out not to be an impassive or distant deity but one bound up with the anguish of the prophet and the anguish of the people. Likewise, the psalmist discovers that the God who refuses to tolerate Israel’s faithlessness nevertheless cannot nally abandon the chosen community. First Timothy also challenges readers to offer prayers of intercession and speci es that they be made for those in positions of political leadership.
• Read Jeremiah 8:18–9:1. Jeremiah weeps for the self-will and disrespect of his people toward God. What do you see in the contemporary world that causes you to weep?
• Read Psalm 4. How do you, like David, acknowledge God’s guidance in your life?
• Read 1 Timothy 2:1-7. Paul reminds us to pray for everyone, no matter their relation to us. How can you be more inten- tional in praying for others?
• Read Luke 16:1-13. In what ways can you take more per- sonal responsibility in being a steward for the things God bestows to humanity?
Respond by posting a prayer.
I join many of those who will pray for you as you seek to discern what you are called to be at this moment. May God grant you the courage to fulfill that calling. May we all open our eyes and see the misery, open our ears and hear the cries of God’s people, and, like God through the Lord Jesus Christ, be incarnate amongst them.”
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