Sunday 27 October 2024
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary time - Year B
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A reading from the prophet Jeremiah - 31:7-9
The Lord says this:
Shout with joy for Jacob!
Hail the chief of nations!
Proclaim! Praise! Shout:
‘The Lord has saved his people,
the remnant of Israel!’
See, I will bring them back
from the land of the North
and gather them from the far ends of earth;
all of them: the blind and the lame,
women with child, women in labour:
a great company returning here.
They had left in tears,
I will comfort them as I lead them back;
I will guide them to streams of water,
by a smooth path where they will not stumble.
For I am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my first-born son.
In this Sunday’s first reading, the prophet Jeremiah writes about those uprooted from their homes and being made refugees and forced into exile.
It was part of the clash of Empires and Kingdoms and the crushing of the hopes and happiness of thousands. Economic competition, disease and natural disasters all had a part to play. The story is echoed in our own time.
Jeremiah speaks of people having left their land in tears. Many of them would never see home again.
Part of the tragedy of the people’s experience was that they felt helpless against invincible power. There seemed to be no future for them.
It is in that situation when God promised that a remnant would be brought home. The promise focusses on the most vulnerable: ‘the blind and the lame, women with child, women in labour’. They would be able to come home; to begin again. This was to provide hope for those who had no future. It was to encourage those who felt like giving in to despair.
Historically the extraordinary things was that a pagan non-believer would be the one to allow the refugees to go home.
It was the Persian King Cyrus who let the people go. In the Scriptures he is described as one of God’s anointed even though he did not know him.
Such a story tells us something important.
God promises that the weakest and least regarded are the ones for whom he has a special care. He will use any person, even the most unexpected, to help in his rescue of the downtrodden.
It is a story to make me think.
Do I try to help those who are most disadvantaged? God uses even those who are hostile to the life of faith to bring about his will; in that case what does he expect of me? Am I to be just a bystander?
The Psalm which we use as a response to this reading speaks of another group who shed tears; those who go out carrying seed for the sowing.
It is something about finding life hard and the struggle to make ends meet.
Again we hear of the promise of return and rejoicing. God will see us through.
It is hard to hold on to such hope when we are in the midst of sorrow, worry and hardship. It is at times like this that we need our faith the most. It is also the time when we should support each other with words of encouragement and hope.
Perhaps during this week you will come across someone who needs a word of encouragement or maybe you will be able to help someone in some small way.
Millions of small acts of kindness and goodness have the power to change things especially when we think the situation is beyond repair.
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