Lent Week 3: Thursday
GOD’S SORROW
From the heart of God, comes an anguished cry through the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah. The Lord laments that “faithfulness has disappeared,” that the word itself seems already non-existent from the speech of his people. At this point, this situation describes the status of the covenant between God and Israel, where the promise was made: I will be your God and you will be my people.
The Lord yearns for this intimacy, for the fulfillment of the people’s commitment to their promise. But the reality is painful. The people reneged on their oath. Instead of turning their faces to approach the Lord, the people turned their backs on him, a sign of departure and abandonment. It is not conversion that happened here, but callous rebellion.
The Lord Jesus in the gospel today experiences this hardness of heart. After working wonders in expelling a demon, the people around him resort to false reasoning to downplay what he has just done. This is what we call today as “gaslighting,” making a person doubt the goodness of his own heart. The people, instead of rejoicing in the Lord, attribute evil to Jesus’ good intention and astonishing miracle. Even as they saw in the act of liberating a brother, they choose instead, to ignore it, to explain it away, to brush it off as non-essential.
Is it hard to imagine God’s heart shattered by the sin of infidelity? What about entering into the human experiences that we all too often hear? It cuts us so deeply when we see the sorrow of a parent towards an ungrateful or disobedient child, or the suffering of a spouse who has been abandoned or driven away, or the unimaginable pain of a friend when betrayed by the one he trusted.
Maybe we should feel the sting of unfaithfulness too, and understand this from the part of God. We are guilty beyond doubt of many instances we have imposed this pain on the Lord and on others around us. It is very moving for me to reflect on the readings today as it makes me question how faithful I am to my covenant with God and my brothers and sisters.
This Lent, let us take heart that though we are unfaithful, God is faithful and will not change. Lord, give me a heart that desires to remain at your side, gazing at your face, holding on to your hand. Amen.
