"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; an age of wisdom and an age of foolishness; an epoch of belief and an epoch of incredulity; a season of Light and a season of Darkness; a Spring of hope and a Winter of despair..."
These immortal lines comprise the opening of Charles' Dickens' masterpiece, A Tale of Two Cities, a novel the narrative of which takes place before and during the French Revolution, in Paris and in London. But these words of contradiction might just as apply have been penned by the prophet Jeremiah, who lived and wrote before and during another critical time, the Jewish Exile to Babylon. Jeremiah was born into a priestly family and ordained at an early age, during the reign of King Josiah. During those days a copy of the Book of Law [an excerpt of the book of Deuteronomy] was soon fortuitously discovered in the Temple. This finding prompted Josiah to launch a thorough reform of Judaism, in which king, priests, and people cooperated, effecting a revitalization of the Faith. There was a Covenant Renewal ceremony and all the places of worship situated on the bemot, high places used for religious purposes in Canaan for ages, were destroyed, making the Temple in Jerusalem the place of worship for Jews.
After the golden years of Josiah, subsequent leaders were not so faithful and, in time, the Kingdom of Judah collapsed, many Jews were taken into exile, and Jeremiah himself was exiled, though not to Babylonia but to Egypt.
Jeremiah was a quite, peaceable mystic who had no interest in the dangerous business of prophecy. In the first chapter of his book, he recalls a vision in which God assigns him to be a prophet. Like any sane person, he makes excuse, specifically about being too young, and God responds that God will provide the Message and everything else that Jeremiah needs. The passages echo with words of the legitimacy of Jeremiah's call and the lameness of his excuse. And, so, he becomes a reluctant prophet.
The kind of results are not unpredictable. The High Priest has him scourged an put into the stocks. When he points out corruption in the Temple, he is tried and almost executed. He was thrown into prison. He was dropped down a cistern to die. And, at the last, he was murdered by fellow-exiles in Egypt.
I believe there are strong parallels between Jeremiah and Jesus. Both were prophets, and stayed on message. Both preached in parables. Both predicted the demolition of the Temple and destruction of Jerusalem. And each of them was reviled, scourged, tried and imprisoned, then executed for giving a dangerous message. I believe their stories offer us much to consider as Christians. First, let us never forget that our vocation includes the prophetic element; as followers of Jesus we must be involved in affairs of our world, and speak truth to power. Second we need to be discerning and prayerful, open to discovery of what God's call is upon us at present. Third, we need review then lose any excuses that we may be tempted to employ in order to avoid response to that call. And as we do so, let's remember God's promise to provide whatever we are missing, so that we can be effective in our Christian walk.
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