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Commentary

By Father Roger Vermalen-Karban

Jeremiah's Predicament
The readings for Sunday, June 22, 2008, Twelfth Sunday of the Year,
are Jeremiah 20:10-13, Romans 5:12-15, Matthew 10:26-33

Whenever I’m teaching a course on Jeremiah and we come to chapter 20, I always encourage those who are suffering from clinical depression to leave the room. This is by far the most depressing part of the Old Testament. I don’t want to be responsible for pushing anyone over the edge.

There are two important points to understand about Jeremiah’s predicament. First, he’s a prophet: the conscience of his people. His ministry revolves around telling people what Yahweh wants them to do. Second, he knows nothing about an afterlife as we know it. As a good 6th century BC Jew, he believes good is rewarded and evil punished within the confines of this life. This creates a dilemma. One can’t be more certain than a prophet delivering God’s word that he or she is doing something good. Yet at the same time, Jeremiah, like all true prophets, suffers for the word he proclaims.

Restricted by his “this life only” theology, we hear the prophet make a logical request of Yahweh. “. . . You who test the just, who probe mind and heart, let me witness the vengeance you take on (my enemies), for to you I have entrusted my cause.” Against all odds, Jeremiah continues to hope that God might keep him alive long enough to see the demise of those persecuting him.

Cutting through the prevailing theology, Jeremiah can only put his trust in Yahweh’s word that he’ll be taken care of, even though he has no idea how Yahweh’s going to pull this off before he dies.

Jesus presumes his prophetic followers will have to endure the same opposition Jeremiah experienced. Though we Christians have the benefit of extending our lives into eternity, it still doesn’t stop certain people from hurting us right here and now. Jesus is concerned that what we learned “in darkness” will remain in darkness because we know what will happen to us when we proclaim his word “in the light.”

“Do not be afraid of them,” Jesus insists. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.”

Though Jesus assures us of how deeply he values us — “Even the hairs of your head are numbered!” — he never promises that we won’t end up being scalped by our enemies. Such “disasters” frequently befall his disciples. His fear is that some, facing such opposition, might give up their faith and deny both him and the life his call offers them.
Perhaps Paul provides us with the best insight into enduring persecution. He goes beyond the effect such abuse has on us individually. Using Adam’s sin and Jesus’ suffering and death as the norm, the Apostle reminds the Christian community in Rome that one individual’s actions can change life for everyone. “If by one person’s transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one person Jesus Christ overflow for the many?”

Jesus, Paul and Jeremiah are forced to go beyond worrying about what’s gong to happen to them if they openly proclaim God’s word. Jeremiah sets the standard by falling back only on the relationship which the “just” have with God. Jesus agrees. But Paul believes anyone who forms such a relationship with God will also discover that, in the process of forming that relationship, they’ve also formed a relationship with every other human being.

Not only did people of faith eventually discover their life extended beyond their earthly existence, they also found out their relationship with God wasn’t limited to God.