Reading 1
Jer 15:10, 16-21
Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth!
a man of strife and contention to all the land!
I neither borrow nor lend,
yet all curse me.
When I found your words, I devoured them;
they became my joy and the happiness of my heart,
Because I bore your name,
O LORD, God of hosts.
I did not sit celebrating
in the circle of merrymakers;
Under the weight of your hand I sat alone
because you filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain continuous,
my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook,
whose waters do not abide!
Thus the LORD answered me:
If you repent, so that I restore you,
in my presence you shall stand;
If you bring forth the precious without the vile,
you shall be my mouthpiece.
Then it shall be they who turn to you,
and you shall not turn to them;
And I will make you toward this people
a solid wall of brass.
Though they fight against you,
they shall not prevail,
For I am with you,
to deliver and rescue you, says the LORD.
I will free you from the hand of the wicked,
and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.
Gospel
Mt 13:44-46
Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."
Meditation: Jeremiah 15:10,16-21
“I am with you.” (Jeremiah 15:20)
Surely each of us has had tough days. Maybe even tough weeks or months. One problem after another seems to pile up—sometimes relatively inconsequential things: We oversleep and are late for work or school, we misplace something valuable, or someone else gets the attention we want. We may face much more serious setbacks: We lose our job, our health fails, or we feel alone or isolated. We may even suffer when we see those we love undergoing hardships. Our faith can be shaken to the point where we begin to question whether God really is with us.
Jeremiah has important words for us at times like these: God has not abandoned us! As a prophet of the Lord, he went through difficulty himself. Just think of how it felt when he was arrested and almost killed for speaking the word of the Lord. Or imagine what it cost him to experience in his own heart the pain that God feels when his people turn from him. In the midst of these hardships, Jeremiah cried out to God, and God comforted him. Did Jeremiah have to face his own failings and repent? Yes. Did he have to continue on despite the difficulty? Yes. But God affirmed that he would always be with Jeremiah and would deliver and rescue him.
Do you feel burdened? Do you feel that your relationship with God is not what it once was? Don’t give up! It’s precisely at those times when you don’t feel God’s presence that you need to exercise your faith all the more. Go ahead and repent if you need to. Take a deep breath, offer a silent prayer of trust, and take up your cross again. Choose to keep going, even if you are apprehensive. You will find the Lord walking with you, even if it’s in unexpected ways.
It is beyond question that God loves you. Today, take hold of opportunities to put your faith into practice. When your hope begins to waver, reread God’s promises to Jeremiah. Let the Holy Spirit comfort you so that you can walk on in confidence. God is walking right next to you. He is faithful. He will bring about his purposes in you!
“Father, help me to see that you are always with me. I believe that you have not abandoned me. I trust in your unfailing love.”
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