Duccio, di Buoninsegna: Prophet Jeremiah
Panel from the Maesta Altarpiece (1308-1311)
Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (Siena, Italy)
Jeremiah 2:4–13
J'accuse!
To Israel, Yahweh speaks his mind,
and tells it like it is,
He pulls no punches, questioning,
but this is not some quiz;
He knows the answers, but asks why,
just like a spouse in pain:
Why did you leave? Why go to those
whose love they only feign?
Why give it up—the love I gave—
to nothing be enthralled?
This makes no sense! We were this close!
This will our friends appall!
Thus Yahweh bared his heart to speak
the wrong that he'd been dealt;
The question is, will we return,
and cause God's heart to melt?
Scott L. Barton
Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:
What wrong did your ancestors find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things,
and became worthless themselves?
They did not say, “Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,
where no one lives?”
I brought you into a plentiful land
to eat its fruits and its good things.
But when you entered you defiled my land,
and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say, “Where is the Lord?”
Those who handle the law did not know me;
the rulers transgressed against me;
the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after things that do not profit.
Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord,
and I accuse your children’s children.
Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
send to Kedar and examine with care;
see if there has ever been such a thing.
Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for something that does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
says the Lord,
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living water,
and dug out cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
+ + +
Hebrews 13:1–8, 15–16
Entertaining Angels Unawares
Be not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,
For thereby some have entertained angels unawares.*
Oh, how poetic is that older English line,
Which speaks to such a modern need, with such a flair.
What angels now arrive at border crossing points—
Who in our ignorance, we harshly turn away?
Remember Abraham and Sarah, hosting those
Who gave them hope, and with their message, saved the day?
Why are some so afraid of shared humanity,
And think that someone different cannot be a gift?
And think, above all costs, we have to hold our own,
As if a mark of human faithfulness is thrift?
No. Faithfulness means looking out not for yourself,
Not grabbing everything you can, and damn the rest;
So trust the giving flair of God, who made all things,
Whose bounty means: to fear you need not acquiesce.
Scott L. Barton
Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.* Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
[*RSV, and mostly the KJV, vs. 2. The NRSV has Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.]
+ + +
Luke 14:1, 7–14
Providential
Here Jesus, to the guests, apprises
The news that God's about surprises!
Perhaps you find it disconcerting
That Jesus here does no asserting
To claim humility means showing
That you think others are more owing
Of what this good life has to offer!
Oh, no! What Jesus seeks to proffer
Is that God's kingdom means believing
That you are really blessed, receiving,
When you could think of no potential!
That's why we call it Providential.
Scott L. Barton
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give this person your place,’ and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
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