Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Vince and I are celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary this month. It’s kind of hard for me to believe we’ve been married that long. We were fairly young, just a year or two out of college, which seems younger and younger as our first child is about to head off to college! But we were very much in love and ready to face whatever life would bring, together. This occasion for celebrating and reflecting on where we began as a couple more than twenty-five years ago comes to mind as I read and reflect on today’s first reading from Jeremiah (2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13).
The reading begins with the prophet sharing these words of God to the people of Jerusalem, “I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved me as a bride, following me in the desert, in a land unsown.” Jeremiah relates the beautiful imagery of the relationship between God and Israel at the time of Exodus being like that of a husband and wife. I imagine a bride so in love with her spouse that she is willing to go with him into the unknown, the uncertainty of this new relationship and commitment, not knowing exactly how it will all unfold but trusting that their love will carry them through.
But as the chapter continues, we read that the people have forsaken God, have turned away to other gods. “They have forsaken me, the source of living waters; They have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water.” And I wonder, what happened to the love and devotion of their youth in this “marriage” with God. And I wonder about myself, and we as Christians who have also been given the opportunity for union with the “source of living water.” How often do we choose to go our own way, thinking we can take care of ourselves, dig our own cistern, saying, “I don’t need the source of living water, I can dig my own cistern and collect the water I need!”, only to eventually realize that our cistern is broken.
The prophet Jeremiah was sent to “cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear,” and it is for us to hear today as well . As today’s psalm refrain reminds us, “With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.” As Christians, we have proclaimed our belief that Jesus is the source of all life, of true living water, but do we live our lives as if we believe it?
In today’s Gospel reading (Matthew 13: 10-17), we hear the somewhat surprising words, “To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” This is not a statement regarding material riches and wealth, but is about wisdom and understanding given by God. Further understanding is given to those who accept what has already been revealed to them (more “riches”), but from those who do not accept it, it will be taken away. We have the opportunity to deepen our relationship with God and receive the gift of greater understanding through that relationship.
When we accept the gift of Jesus and allow our eyes to truly see and ears to truly hear what is being revealed to us, we are in union with the Source of Living Water, our Spouse. Let us pray this week to receive this gift and renew our commitment to Jesus with the devotion of a young bride.
- Eileen Miller