The Lenten readings for this morning involved 2 rather interesting passages: Jeremiah 26:1-6 and Romans 11:1-12. You should read them if you haven't already (it'll really help you understand what I'm writing about, or maybe just make you disagree with me. That and I've linked them here for you so it's soooo easy).
Jeremiah speaks the word of the Lord in the city and the hearers of his message summarily decide he needs to die because he has spoken "against the city!" Oooooohh, the city... After a little bit, they do figure out that maybe they shouldn't kill him like they did most other prophets who said things they didn't like, but the point is made. Do you see it? The city is the thing on which the people are staking their hope and salvtion. They've made it into a god. "Someone is speaking against the city? Kill him!"
Mortar fades, walls fall, comfort will leave, and riches will be exhausted. "The City"??
And if you read the excerpt from Romans, you might get why I ask this: what are these things that cause us to ignore reality? To say, "you can't say that. That will upset the delicate balance I've struck. What are those little (or large) parts of our lives to which we pay homage, be it mental, emotional, or monetary. Because apparently, there's a remnant of those who will seek truth over their comfort. I'd rather be on the good side of truth than always happy for 60 years.
1 comment:
You'll notice in Jeremiah that they actually did kill the prophet Uriah for preaching the exact same message as Jeremiah...Good ol' Inviolability of Zion theology.
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