There is something heartwarming about the fact that the Lord works through various personalities. In our first reading, we hear from the prophet Jeremiah who was born roughly 650 years before the birth of Christ. He was by nature sensitive, emotional, and perhaps, a little shy. The phrase “He wears his emotions on his sleeve” would certainly fit Jeremiah.
And yet, Jeremiah is bold. He is perfectly comfortable relating his feelings to the Lord, even complaining freely. When Jeremiah was called, he complained that he was too young and inexperienced in speaking. Some scholars believe that Jeremiah was 15 or 16 years old when he received his calling.
Interestingly, Jeremiah’s personality is radically different from a prophet like Ezekiel. Whereas Jeremiah was sensitive and emotional, Ezekiel was reserved, quiet, and almost stoic. Ezekiel never complained and did what the Lord asked him to do. Jeremiah and Ezekiel ministered as prophets at the same time, but their personalities could not have been more different.
Jeremiah and Ezekiel are a great reminder that prophets and saints are somewhat like facets on a diamond. The Lord’s light shines through their unique personalities, gifts, limitations, and weaknesses.
Today, Jeremiah is commonly known as the “weeping prophet.” The Lord called him as a prophet around the year 627 B.C. when the Jewish faith was very weak. Israel and Judah were divided, and both kingdoms had been in economic, cultural, and spiritual decline for hundreds of years.
During this challenging time in Israel’s history, Jeremiah served the Lord as a prophet for over 40 years with very little success. By and large, his message was ignored or rejected. Imagine a priest giving homilies for 40 years and his parishioners still do not like him! 🙂
When Jeremiah was called, he complained freely to the Lord. He felt deceived by the Lord. “You called me when I was young and inexperienced. I had no idea what I was getting into!” He says, “The word of the Lord has brought me derision and reproach all the day.”
For Jeremiah, the suffering was so bad that he was tempted to quit and do something else. He says, “I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak his name no more.” In other words, Jeremiah was tempted to pull a Jonah and run to Tarshish! How often we feel like the prophets and say, “I’m out of here!”
However, after reflection, Jeremiah realizes something. There is a fire in his heart that he cannot endure. Holding God’s Word inside burns such that he cannot endure it. While deeply challenging, God’s Word is true and therefore, we love it.
Jeremiah’s experience of loving God’s Word while finding it painful is like St. John’s experience in the Book of Revelation. John takes the scroll or the Word of God from an angel. When John eats the scroll, it is sweet as honey in his mouth but then turns sour in his stomach (Rev. 10:9). Like Jeremiah, John loved God’s Word but it brought suffering. Any serious disciple of Christ can relate with both Jeremiah and John!
In our first reading today, Jeremiah feels like Han, Leia, and Chewbacca trapped in the closing trash compactor in the original Star Wars movie. Good thing C-3PO turned his radio back on to pick up Luke’s distress call to shut down all garbage mashers just in time!
Not knowing what to do with Jeremiah, the Judean officials eventually throw him into a muddy cistern to silence him. St. Teresa of Avila, with her witty sense of humor, once said, “If this is how You treat your friends, no wonder You have so few!” Of course, Jeremiah is a type or foreshadowing of our Lord Jesus who was rejected by His people and thrown into the sacred pit early Good Friday morning.
Jeremiah and our Lord are a great reminder that you can still have peace, joy, and love in your heart amid the most trying circumstances. The Most Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – lives in the “pit” or “core” of your heart. And when you are in tune with the love of the Holy Trinity, you have access to divine life even when the walls of trash mashers are pressing in upon you. May you draw inspiration and life from the prophet Jeremiah and our Lord Jesus today!
~St. Thérèse, pray for us!