Daily Prophets
Day 118
“Get a scroll and write upon it all the words I have spoken to you…Perhaps when the House of Judah hear of all the disasters I intend to bring upon them, they will turn back, each man, from their wicked ways, and I will pardon their iniquity and their sin. Yet the king and all his courtiers who heard all these words showed no fear and did not tear their garments.”(Jeremiah 36:3, 23).
God just doesn’t stop trying to bring us back from the brink of disaster and extinction. Here he is telling Jeremiah to write down the scroll of God’s words to him from the beginning of their relationship till now, read it to the people and the people in power in hopes that they will wake up to what is happening and change their ways. The love of God, the love of Jeremiah is so palpable to me. Jeremiah, rather than wondering why he should do this again, risk his life even more as he was already in hiding, says: ‘Hineni, Here I am God, ready to do your biding’ with his actions.
Jeremiah paid such close attention to God that not a word was forgotten (or so we are led to believe). How is this possible? I believe Jeremiah went back in his mind and soul to the moments God spoke to him and dictated the words to his trusted aide, Baruch. Jeremiah was able to recall all the encounters with God because he paid attention to them and he was changed, uplifted, determined, connected and honored each and every time God spoke to him and God trusted him. When we put this much trust in another, we pray that they will rise to the occasion and stay loyal.
God’s hope is that hearing in totality the horror that awaits the people, they will return to God and be pardoned as well as not suffering the disastrous fate that is awaiting them now. God wants each person to “turn back from their wicked ways” because God knows as long as people don’t turn back from negativity in their souls, hearts and minds, they will plot how to get by right now and then go back when the heat is off.
The king of Judah and his courtiers were not moved by this recitation, in fact the king would cut up the scroll that Baruch wrote down and burn the parchment. The king showed so little concern for God and God’s words, he threw them into the fire section by section. Instead of just stopping the reading and burning the scroll in its entirety, he denigrated God more by hearing the words, rejecting the plea, disbelieving what God is saying and then burning it the words bit by bit to show how unimpressed he was with the call to return. What hubris! Not only were they not moved to turn back, they went even further down the road of disrespect and disdain for God.
Rabbi Heschel writes:”Jeremiah, looking upon the garishness of Jerusalem, felt hurt by the people’s guilt and by the knowledge that they had a dreadful debt to pay. Rather than inflict a penalty on the whole people, the Lord had tried to purify them. Yet, all attempts at purification were of no avail.”(The Prophets pg 105). As I read these words, think about where we were in the time that Rabbi Heschel taught us this, and where we are today-I tremble. We have so many prophets asking us to turn back from our partisan, polarizing rhetoric and paths, yet our leaders and many of their followers refuse to listen. No one in power wanted to hear Rabbi Heschel for years about the Vietnam War and do something about it. Our leaders, all over the world, are ignoring God’s words, each of us can and must hear God’s call to “turn back from our wicked ways” and force a change in our interactions and live in God’s path. Honoring the call of God to return to God is honoring the love God gives to us.
In recovery, we constantly “turn back” from our negativity and our bad actions. We are consistently engaged in hearing God’s call, repenting for our errors, and moving our lives forward. We no longer get stuck in dogma and the need to be right, we no longer get stuck in the stinking thinking of self. We are aware of the danger and destruction that comes from ignoring God’s call to us. Each and every day we engage in “improving our conscious contact with God”(from the 11th step of AA). We know our propensity to do evil, we know the pull of negativity as we have lived there before so we tremble each morning with the awe and joy of having another day to serve God and, like Jeremiah, spread the message of return, hope and love.
I have heard the words of God and heeded them for the last 32+ years. As I write this, I am realizing the truth of “God is doing for me, what I couldn’t do for myself”, more and more. While I do not always like the messenger and the way the message is presented, I do appreciate God sending me signs and messages to help me grow and live well. I realize I am exactly where I should be, I am taken care of by God, and the people who have rejected me with disdain and disrespect are also messengers of God. Rather than hating these people, I feel great pity and sadness that they could not/would not deliver God’s message in a way that honored and respected my dignity and theirs. I also realize how I have done the same to others, and I am deeply remorseful for this action. Maybe, they thought this was the only way I could hear and, they know that having a conversation is a more Godly way to have handled this. People get entrenched in being right and being a victim and they cannot hear anything else. Isn’t it sad and I am grateful that I am not living in their shoes today. Stay safe and God Bless, Rabbi Mark