Chapter 17 of Jeremiah is entitled: “The Sin of Judah and Its Punishment” and draws a sharp contrast between trusting in one’s own wisdom, abilities, and initiative and trusting in the Lord; between trusting in the world and trusting in God. The one who trusts in the world is like a barren bush in the desert; the one who trusts in the Lord is like a tree planted beside flowing waters that continually bear fruit and never suffers from drought.
Jeremiah was called to the prophetic office in the southern kingdom of Judah about the year 628 B.C., at a time of severe crisis. The northern kingdom of Israel had fallen to the Assyrians in 722, who, in turn, were conquered by the Babylonians in 612. Babylon was now the threat to peace and by 598 had put an end to Judean independence by capturing Jerusalem and, carrying King Jehoiachin into exile and installing Zedekiah as a “puppet king” in Judah. Jeremiah counseled Zedekiah to submit to Babylon as God’s punishment for the sins of Judah in order to maintain peace, even if that peace was under the yoke of Babylon. But Zedekiah chose rebellion against Babylon instead, resulting in the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple and the Babylonian Exile of 587.
Our first reading this week is an example of Jeremiah’s counsel to King Zedekiah: Submit to Babylon as an instrument of God’s will for the punishment of sins, and all will go well; trust in yourself and in alliances with other nations to cast off the yoke of Babylon and disaster will follow. Zedekiah would not listen.
The message of our first reading is quite clear to Zedekiah and to each of us. Without faith and trust in God, we have nothing to look forward to except total separation from God in a state of existence we refer to as hell. “The God who created you without your help cannot save you without your help” (St. Augustine, Sermon 169, 13). Faith in God is essential.
Our Responsorial Psalm continues the theme in our reading from Jeremiah. The one who has faith in God and abides by His law is blessed, but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Our second reading is from the 1st Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians. This letter, in particular, gives us an insight into the life of a mid-first-century Christian community, in this case, the large seaport city of Corinth. As one might expect in a commercial seaport, moral depravity ran high, leaving Paul with many issues to address in the Christian community he established in Corinth. One of those issues is addressed in our reading this week. Although the Christians Paul formed in that community believed in the Resurrection of Christ, many began to deny the possibility of a general bodily resurrection for all Christians. Such a belief is logically inconsistent with Paul’s teaching, and he addressed that inconsistency clearly: If there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is worthless, your sins have not been forgiven, and there is no hope beyond this life. The message of our second reading reflects that of our first reading: Faith and trust in God and in what was taught to you through the prophets and the scriptures. Without faith and trust in God, we have nothing to hope for: “The God who created you without your help cannot save you without your help.” Faith in God is essential.
Our gospel this week is Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain,” which is the equivalent of Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount,” although there are some differences. Matthew wrote primarily for a Jewish audience, whereas Luke’s gospel is directed primarily toward Gentiles. Luke is the only Gentile author of the New Testament and, therefore, has a particular Gentile perspective to his writing. Luke shows a deep concern for the poor, the outcasts of society, women and children, and the Gentiles. Notice how Luke tells us in this passage that accompanying his disciples was a great crowd of people “from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon” (Gentile territory); Luke draws attention to the Gentiles who came to hear Jesus and be healed of their diseases. Notice also that in Luke’s version, Jesus came down from the mountain to deliver the law, a direct reflection of Moses’ coming down from the mountain to deliver the Ten Commandments. In Matthew’s version, reflecting the Jewish audience, Jesus sat down to deliver the Beatitudes because, in the Jewish tradition, when the rabbi “sat down and opened his mouth,” his teaching became official.
In our gospel from Luke, this sermon reflects Luke’s concern for the poor and the outcasts of society, women, and children. This sermon is a series of blessings and woes that address the real economic and social conditions of the time: the poor and the rich, the hungry and the satisfied, etc. In addition, this sermon appears to be directed to his disciples: “And raising his eyes toward his disciples, he said.” The blessings and woes are apparently addressed to the disciples who are to carry on this teaching and are warned not to become enamored with the material world because the present condition of those addressed will be reversed in the future. They are warned not to think too highly of themselves “when all speak well of you.” The people spoke well of the false prophets, but they killed the true prophets who spoke God’s Word. In other words, your message will not be accepted warmly; it will be rejected as was that of the prophets.
In contrast, in Matthew’s Beatitudes, Jesus’ reference to the “poor” is not a reference to their worldly wealth or lack thereof but to humility. Poverty in Spirit is humility before God, and Jesus is the primary example of that humility. He voluntarily humbled himself before God and submitted to the will of God by surrendering his life on the cross. In Matthew’s Beatitudes, those who hunger and thirst and those who weep and mourn do so for justice, not for lack of food.
It is often noted how many references Luke makes to the Holy Spirit and prayer – seven accounts of Jesus’ prayers are found in this gospel, as well as parables about prayer and exhortations to prayer. It is only through the Holy Spirit that we even know of the existence of God, and it is the Holy Spirit that impels us to pray. Because the Spirit has given us that knowledge of God and caused us to pray to him, we have learned to have faith in the God we have come to trust.
The golden thread? Have faith in God and trust what you have been taught by the church and the scriptures. Without that faith in God and trust in his Word, “Your faith is vain; you are still in your sins.”
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