Daily Prophets
Day 110
“Thus says God…let not the prophets and diviner’s in your midst deceive you…When Babylon’s seventy years are over, I will take note of you and fulfill to you My promise of favor… When you call Me…I will give heed to you. You will search for Me and find Me, if only you seek Me wholeheartedly… and I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.”(Jeremiah 29:8,10,12,13, 14).
Jeremiah sends a letter to the people in exile, the royalty, the priests, and the people who were exiled with them. It is so important to Jeremiah (and to God evidently) that they not buy into the lies of the false prophets and diviners to their own ruin, as is happening in Jerusalem. God and Jeremiah are telling the people that the exile will end, the rule of Babylon will end and the people have to “do their time” until it does.
What seems to be forgotten by the people who are in a hurry to return to ‘normal’ is that they caused their own destruction through their own actions. They want to pay minimal price for the maximum damage they did to their people, their country, their covenant with God. These lying prophets and diviners are telling the people what they want to hear, not the truth. We see this all the time in business, in politics, in families, in relationships, etc; let me say what they want to hear, get the heat off of me, how do I get to go back to my secret life, etc.
God, the prophet reminds us, still holds the people in favor, still holds all of humanity in favor-even after being disappointed so badly. God is still waiting for the people (us) to call out to God and God will respond, on a condition. We have to seek God “wholeheartedly”.
We have to seek God in and with truth. We can no longer phone in our relationship, we can no longer “get over” on God. This means we can no longer be in deception with another(s), we can no longer engage in mendacity with family, friends, in business and personal relationships, we can no longer say words and not follow them up with actions. There is no room for the paths taken before, deceit, mendacity, cruelty, etc. We have to take, as Dr. M. Scott Peck says: “A Road Less Travelled”.
This road of passion, purpose, truth, kindness, justice, righteousness, compassion, etc. leads us back to the place we call home, the place we were exiled from. Just as our actions exiled us, so too can different actions save us and return us to our rightful places.
Rabbi Heschel teaches: “The prophet is not a mouthpiece, but a person; not an instrument, but a partner, an associate of God. God, we are told, asks not only for “works” for action, but above all for love, awe, fear.” (The Prophets, pg 25). Rabbi Heschel is reminding us to take the words and actions of the prophets seriously, don’t write them off to the ravings a madmen, as the people of the time evidently did. No, these men are partners with God and they are bringing to us the way of living that is compatible with being partners, albeit junior partners, with God. They are reminding us that the actions lead to the love, awe and fear so do them with your whole heart. Immerse all of ourselves in the decent actions we are taking so that these actions will lead us to be a truer version of ourselves each and every day. We get to be, like the prophets, an associate of God-Rabbi Heschel is demanding we live our part in this relationship.
In Recovery we are constantly seeking God with a whole heart and searching for truth. We pray each day for “knowledge of God’s will and the strength to carry it out”. Our time in exile has taught each of us individually the importance of a real connection with God, a real connection with the people around us, a desperate need to live congruently in all of our affairs. In recovery, we can no longer live ‘a personal life’ separate from a ‘business life’; cheat on taxes or in anything and ‘work an honest program’. We can no longer engage in hiding, lying and subterfuge. We get to live in a manner that is compatible with God’s world and God’s ways. Yes, it is a lot of work to clean up the daily messes we make, acknowledge the good we have done and it is work that is enriching, important and esteem boosting.
As one who has returned from the exile that lying, drinking, stealing, etc brought upon me, I can attest to the Grace of God when I sought God with my whole heart. I have been rewarded beyond my dreams and what I thought possible. I continue this practice each day-knowing that I miss the mark and knowing that God, unlike some humans, doesn’t exile me for mistakes that I take responsibility for. I know so well the desire of people to believe the deception and mendacity of another(s). It is how I survived as a criminal for those 20+ years. I also know the light that shines from two souls who connect from their divine image and how that light reflects throughout the world. I no longer ‘go along to get along’ because that leads me to the mendacity that Jeremiah is speaking of-both the mendacity of the false prophets and the mendacity of those seeking God half-heartedly. I am blessed to be on “the road less travelled” with a multitude of family, friends and seekers. Which road are you walking-truth and connection or mendacity and exile from God? Stay safe and God Bless, Rabbi Mark