A heart-broken God – March 15

Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 119:97-120; PM Psalm 81, 82
Jer. 8:18-9:6; Rom. 5:1-11; John 8:12-20

Today’s Reflection

In conversations, sometimes I hear people say things like, “God is calling me to a new role,” or “I just don’t know what God wants for me.” This is one of the ways we live into our Christian faith – by listening to where God is calling us to go and be and do.

I wonder…what are God’s dreams for you? And for me? That space of curiosity feels hopeful. And then, when we wake up and behold what is in front of us, there are distractions, impediments, and choices that take us down different paths. Those winding paths do not remove God from us…and we might change our focus to things of this world that take our eyes from the light of our Lord.

In the message from the prophet Jeremiah this morning, we meet a heart-broken God. The Lord says, “My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick.” (8:18) These words make me quake with sadness and regret. The people of Israel are doubting God, or God’s faithfulness. They fear they are abandoned. They cry out, “Is the LORD not in Zion?...The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.” (v. 19b, 20)

God is not angry here. God is sad. “For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.” (v. 21) It is unmistakable that the Israelites are suffering, and it is painful to behold. The dream of faithfulness and closeness feels so far away. And God is grieving.

Jeremiah shares a perspective of God that is visceral and proximate. God says, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored? O that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, so that I might weep day and night for the slain of my poor people!” (8:22 – 9:1)

Gilead was the region in the north of Israel’s territory, known for its copious medicinal herbs. People would get healing plants from there or would receive treatment using those leaves. God wonders why the illness and affliction are persisting. And then, God weeps. So much so that springs of water pour out like a fountain of tears. Have you ever wept that much for a deep loss? Did it feel like it was beyond recovery? What a painful place God is in during these verses in Jeremiah…and God meets us here when we find ourselves in a similar place of solitude and disappointment.

In Ecclesiastes, the preacher often writes that there is nothing new under the sun. God is present in the hopes and the hurts. This excerpt from the prophet Jeremiah reminds us that God weeps with us. God’s dreams for us sometimes shatter and fall to the floor. And yet, God still wants to know us and draw us near. That is what the abiding love of the Divine looks like.

Katherine+

Questions for Self-Reflection:

Our choices can lead us away from God. Take time today to revisit the Litany of Penitence on page 267 of the Book of Common Prayer. Pray that this time of prayer will draw you nearer to the God who loves, redeems, and receives us because of the love of Jesus.