“For we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God,
in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us,
but each one of us went off
after the devices of his own wicked heart,
served other gods,
and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God.”. (Baruch 1:21-22)
Jesus said to them, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.” (Luke 10:13-14)
Piety
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake. (Psalm 79:9)
Study
Baruch was the prophet Jeremiah’s secretary/scribe. Today’s first reading comes from a book attributed to him, purportedly written in Babylon during the Babylonian exile. Some scholars feel it was actually written much later in a community that must have found themselves in similar circumstances. I’m not sure it matters a great deal exactly when or where it was written. It’s an ancient story of lament, recounted anew every day somewhere in the world. We sin. We turn away from the Lord. We find ourselves in some sort of exile as a result of our waywardness.
I enjoy watching the “Dr. Phil” show from time to time. One of his favorite sayings is: “You choose the action; you choose the consequences.” From the time of creation, we have over and over chosen to do things God has asked us not to do, and, thus, have chosen the consequences. In the beginning, Adam and Eve couldn’t resist the fruit of the only tree God asked them to stay away from. As a result, they lost their home in the paradise where they’d been living. Fast forward to the desert on the journey to the promised land, God’s people constantly moaned and complained. They didn’t trust God. In fact, one day in Moses’ absence, they built a golden calf and worshipped it. Because of their perfidy, the calf-worshippers were told they would never reach the land of milk and honey. It would be their descendants who would possess the land.
From beginning to end, the Scriptures contain a myriad of stories about those who have sinned and the consequences of their sins. And, as you AND I are all too aware, the stories continue even today in our own lives. We sin. We do things that are evil in God’s sight. We find ourselves separated from the Lord through our sin.
When I was growing up, once in a while my parents would take us to the Philadelphia Zoo. They always stressed that we needed to stay with them because of the crowds. On one such excursion, my brother became entranced with the animals and then was convinced he had lost us. He circled around and around my parents, never seeing them because he was always looking outward. That image came to my mind as I read today’s Scripture passages. God is always there in our midst, but sin, by definition, is our turning away from God. So many other things outside the circle sing their siren songs. We follow the beauty of their music. We forget about our promise to be faithful, to keep our focus on God, who is always at the center. If we have any conscience at all, soon we are like my brother. We are lost, and that is an empty, frightening feeling.
Action
Fortunately, the story doesn’t end there. In so many places throughout the Old and New Testaments, God offers us forgiveness and mercy. All we have to do is repent or turn around and put God in the center of our vision once again. Pray with the words of the psalmist today and ask God for forgiveness for the times you’ve turned your back on the One who loves us and wants only the good things for each of us.
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