Trust God, Not Mere Mortals—Lectionary Reflection for Epiphany 6C (Jeremiah 17)

 

Jeremiah 17:5-10 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

⁵ Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
    and make mere flesh their strength,
    whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
⁶ They shall be like a shrub in the desert
    and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salt land.

⁷ Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.
⁸ They shall be like a tree planted by water,
    sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
    and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
    and it does not cease to bear fruit.

⁹ The heart is devious above all else;
    it is perverse—
    who can understand it?
¹⁰ I the Lord test the mind
    and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
    according to the fruit of their doings.

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                During this Season after Epiphany, a season where we reflect on the ways in which God is revealed to us—including the ministry calls given to people like Isaiah and Jeremiah, as well as to Jesus—we are reminded that the reason God calls forth people like Jeremiah to speak for God is that people need to be reminded that they should trust God, not mere mortals. People ancient and modern face this same dilemma, we tend to place trust in human leaders whom we can see rather than the God whom we cannot see. We can hear the Word of the Lord from people like Jeremiah, but very few of us can say we’ve actually heard God’s voice or seen God’s face. From time to time politicians and other pretenders to political power emerge on the scene pretending that they alone can solve problems personal and global. All we have to do is give them our complete allegiance and loyalty, and all will be well. Of course, it rarely works out the way they suggest.

                Here on the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany, we hear a word from Jeremiah calling out the people, telling them to trust God rather than the mere mortals they tended to put their trust in during times of Trial. We know Jeremiah’s promise that God will create a new covenant by writing the law on the hearts of the people (Jeremiah 31:31). It is a promise that Christians have embraced in terms of the ministry of Jesus, but while that promise is important to us, there is another word that appears at first to be similar to the later one but is different in purpose.  Our reading begins in verse 5 of Jeremiah 17, but we need to go back to the beginning of the chapter to get the context. Jeremiah speaks to the people of Judah about their sin, which “is written with an iron pen; with a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts . . .” (Jer. 17:1). God will write a new covenant on the hearts of the people, but first the people have to acknowledge that sin has written itself on the hearts of the people. Jeremiah is concerned here about the possible loss of Judah’s heritage because of its sins. We know that Jeremiah spoke to the people during a period of turmoil. It is with this knowledge that we can hear this Word from God given to the people through Jeremiah.

                The first word given to the people by Yahweh through Jeremiah concerns those who trust in mere mortals. These are the ones who “make mere flesh their strength” and  whose “hearts turn away from the Lord.”  They are cursed, says Jeremiah. To illustrate what this curse looks like, Jeremiah points to the desert, such that the people of Judah will be like a shrub in the desert who cannot see when relief comes. “They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.” This isn’t very promising, but it is the consequence of putting one’s trust in mortals rather than God.

                So, what is Jeremiah up to here? As Walter Brueggemann, this Word is known as sapiential instruction that speaks of two ways of living. We’ve heard the first part, the word about living in a way that is essentially one of folly.  It is a path that leads to destruction. Brueggemann writes:

“‘Trust in man’ may mean to trust human wisdom or human armaments, as the kings of Judah were wont to do. Both wisdom and armaments are ways in which a monarchy sustains itself apart from the requirements of the covenant. The contrast to such might and power is found in Yahweh, who practices justice and authorizes covenantal relations (cf. Jer. 9:23–24; cf. 16:21).” [Brueggemann, Walter. A Commentary on Jeremiah: Exile and Homecoming (p. 217). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition].

Trusting in military might and power is a temptation that every society faces. Living as I do in the United States, the largest of the superpowers, with an arsenal of nuclear and conventional weapons that in theory makes us nearly invincible, but it is dangerous. Jeremiah knew what happened when people entrusted the world’s future to such a belief. But it is not the way of God, thus Jeremiah offers a different picture. This way of life leads to blessings, and it comes to those who put their trust in God. Instead of being a shrub in a desert, it “shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream” (Jer. 17:8).

                The first half of verse 8 speaks of the planting of the tree by the water, such that it can put its roots down in the vicinity of the stream. Then Jeremiah continues, declaring that those who put their trust in God because they are like a tree planted at the water’s edge, need not fear when the heat arrives. Remember that in Israel, which is a desert climate, the heat will come. But a tree planted by the water so it can put its roots down into the stream bed will not succumb to the heat. Thus, there is no need to fear. Instead, this tree, because it can put its roots down near the water, will put forth leaves that will stay green. In fact, even in times of drought it need not get anxious. Instead, it will continue to bear fruit. It will continue to fulfill its purpose. The same is true for those who put their trust in God, who is the source of our spiritual nourishment.   

                Contextually, Jeremiah spoke to a people who chose to trust their military to protect them against the Babylonians and other neighbors, and it didn’t work. They ended up watching their capital city destroyed and leading citizens carted off into exile. Jeremiah had wanted them to choose a different path, but they didn’t want to follow his lead. They paid the price. Why is that? According to Jeremiah, “The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse—who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9). We do, often, think we know better than God, and we suffer the consequences, as did Judah, which failed to listen to Jeremiah.

                The Word from the Lord goes on to verse 18, but our reading ends in verse 10. There we hear this word from Yahweh: “I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings” (Jer. 17:10). God will test our minds to determine whether we will trust God. In the parallel construction, God will search the heart. God will give to each “according to the fruit of their doings.” Brueggemann writes:

Human fickleness and divine accountability together lead to an inevitable judgment. The poem is not interested in theological speculation, but simply narrates what is evident in Jerusalem. The outcome of destruction is inevitable because the human heart will not change, and Yahweh will not cease to search the mind and heart to locate loyalty and fickleness. [Brueggemann, A Commentary on Jeremiah (p. 219)].

We are often fickle, and that will lead to judgment. Judah learned the hard way with the Babylonian Captivity and destruction of Jerusalem, with its Temple. Jeremiah warns them ahead of time, though they fail to listen.

What might Jeremiah be saying to us and are we willing to listen? I think it is worth noting here that Jeremiah is not saying that God is seeking vengeance on the people But, there are consequences to our actions. The question is, will we listen and learn? So, on this day, at a time of great concern across the globe, in large part due to what is going on in the United States government, are we willing to put our trust in God? If we do, we can, Jeremiah declares, be like a tree planted by the stream so we can put down our spiritual roots, experience the nourishment of God’s presence, and bear fruit.