The Reading
Jeremiah 20:7–13
O Lord, you have enticed me,
and I was enticed;
you have overpowered me,
and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughing-stock all day long;
everyone mocks me.
For whenever I speak, I must cry out,
I must shout, ‘Violence and destruction!’
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
If I say, ‘I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name’,
then within me there is something like a burning fire
shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
For I hear many whispering:
‘Terror is all around!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’
All my close friends
are watching for me to stumble.
‘Perhaps he can be enticed,
and we can prevail against him,
and take our revenge on him.’
But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble,
and they will not prevail.
They will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonour
will never be forgotten.
O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous,
you see the heart and the mind;
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
Sing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hands of evildoers.
The Reflection by Linda Walton
Oh Jeremiah…I can relate. If you update a few of the words, I probably uttered parts of this lamentation on any day last year throughout the quarantine or lockdown experience. Like others, I despaired over the loss of activities that brought me happiness. At times, I took extreme measures for my safety from the virus that some acquaintances ridiculed. You might even say I was punished. I might have noticed that my persecutors would stumble. And I complained.
Nobody likes a complainer. How does one lament without appearing to be a wimp? My wisest counselors have said ‘put it in your God box’ or ‘write it in your journal’. Jeremiah took his complaints to God. And through the years, I have found that to be the best solution…to take my lamentations to God. It gives me great confidence knowing that in this passage, Jeremiah poured out his heart with gut-wrenching honesty and God let him. No soft-peddling, mumbo jumbo here…just a cleansing of emotions and pain. It is liberating to know any of us can be blunt and direct and pain-filled with God.
Much like Jeremiah, after a good mental purging of all my complaints and frustrations to God, I return to praise and thanksgiving.
“Sing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hands of evildoers.”
My problems might return, but the more I turn things over to Go with honesty and faith, the more the problems seem to diminish. Jeremiah’s problems were not over either, but he nonetheless restored his faith and put his trust in the Lord.
Listen to the Lamentation as we still ponder and experience the impact of the virus, and pour out your heart and mind to God!