Reading 1
Jer 7:1-11
The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Stand at the gate of the house of the LORD,
and there proclaim this message:
Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah
who enter these gates to worship the LORD!
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
Reform your ways and your deeds,
so that I may remain with you in this place.
Put not your trust in the deceitful words:
"This is the temple of the LORD!
The temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD!"
Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds;
if each of you deals justly with his neighbor;
if you no longer oppress the resident alien,
the orphan, and the widow;
if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place,
or follow strange gods to your own harm,
will I remain with you in this place,
in the land I gave your fathers long ago and forever.
But here you are, putting your trust in deceitful words to your own loss!
Are you to steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,
burn incense to Baal,
go after strange gods that you know not,
and yet come to stand before me
in this house which bears my name, and say:
"We are safe; we can commit all these abominations again"?
Has this house which bears my name
become in your eyes a den of thieves?
I too see what is being done, says the LORD.
Gospel
Mt 13:24-30
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
"The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?'
He answered, 'An enemy has done this.'
His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
Meditation: Jeremiah 7:1-11
“This is the temple of the Lord!” (Jeremiah 7:4)
Picture a commanding figure standing in the Vatican and loudly proclaiming: “Don’t put your trust in the deceitful words, ‘I’m a Catholic, I’m a Catholic, I’m a Catholic!’” If you can imagine how unsettling that would be, you can begin to appreciate how the Jews reacted to Jeremiah’s sermon before the Temple in Jerusalem.
Chosen by God as his earthly dwelling, the Temple symbolized his protection over the whole nation. And the people Jeremiah addressed were not the lukewarm or the non-practicing. He was speaking to worshipers who were happily going about their public religious duties. How outraged they were to hear him foretell doom as he mocked their trusting cry, “the temple of the Lord!”
But Jeremiah was speaking God’s word, not his own. God truly was displeased to see his people loving liturgy without loving their neighbors. By neglecting and oppressing the poor and defenseless—the very ones God wanted them to care for—they had broken their covenant (Jeremiah 7:5-6; Exodus 22:1-4). They rejected justice, yet showed up to offer sacrifice, confident that God would bless them. But Jeremiah warned: You’re making this holy place “a den of thieves,” and God sees your hypocrisy (Jeremiah 7:11).
God hasn’t changed. He still hates self-centered religion that passes for worship. He still expects us to share his desire that everyone, especially the poorest and weakest, will have a decent life. Jesus made this clear from his opening mission statement about bringing glad tidings to the poor to his final parable about the sheep and the goats: Extend mercy to those in need.
Take a few minutes today to consider the issues Jeremiah raises. See if there’s some way you can help improve the lives of the disadvantaged. Is there a program in your parish or community that you can support? If you are already involved, see if there is someone else you can invite to join you. We may not change the entire world, but we can bring the light of Jesus into lives that are hurting, lonely, and forgotten.
“Jesus, I know it’s not enough to say holy words and visit holy places. I need to become holy! Fill my heart with your love for the poor. May my prayer—my whole life—be more and more pleasing to you.”
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