Jeremiah 1:4-10, Luke 13:10-17
This week, we encounter the call story of the prophet Jeremiah. In one of those long, detailed conversations with the Divine that only the prophets of old seemed to have. God tells our young prophet-to-be that “Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you. Before you came forth from a womb, I consecrated you….” It’s beautiful imagery and a powerful statement. And, if you’re like me, someone has quoted a phrase like this to you in the difficult times of life.
“How’s that,” someone will say, “life seems to be a collection of missteps and mistakes? Why it’s like God told Jeremiah, I knew you in the womb and had a plan for you even then.”
“You say that you don’t understand why bad luck seems to befall you at every turn?” someone else will respond. “All things work together for good, that’s what Paul said.”
Most of the time, I hope, those delivering this quoted comfort really are trying to help. They’re trying to offer up some measure of understanding in a world that often doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But sometimes words like these are thrown up before suffering as a sort of defense of our own understanding of God and how God works in the world. Just think of the Pharisees and their scripture quoting in today’s Gospel. “Hey,” they said, “you’re not supposed to do that. We, of course, saw that woman….but…but…but we couldn’t help her. Not today. It’s the Sabbath. God doesn’t like us doing things like that today.”
As easy as it can be to pick on the Pharisees for offering this woman dogma instead of comfort, I know that I often do the same. Sometimes it’s easier to tell someone how the universe works—at least according to my theological understanding—than to struggle with the reality of their situation and the conflict it brings. In such times, at best, I leave another alone in their suffering. At worst, I make an already distant God seem farther away.
Even though the words we read in Jeremiah were meant for him, this doesn’t mean we cannot take comfort in them. The God who knew the prophet when he was still in the womb also knew us before we were born. And we can find hope in the idea that our Redeemer is working behind the scenes in this hurting world.
But we must always be careful not to throw scripture up as a shield and attempt to hide ourselves from the difficulties raised by the world around us. Just as the Pharisees seemed to put words above people when their understanding of the Divine and how God works in the world was challenged, we too have to be careful to never offer the Jeremiah 1:2 band-aid to cover over someone’s disturbing wound when all they really need is for us to allow our own hurts to show. And for us to bleed with them.
Comforter, help me to know when to bandage the wounds of those around me and when to bleed with them until healing comes.