It's Not Fun To Be The Messenger

By -

You know the statement “Don’t shoot the messenger?”  Well, in today’s reading, Jeremiah the Prophet understands it all too well (Chapter 26).

Poor Jeremiah. 

All he was doing was telling the people of all the cities of Judah what the Lord told him to say.  Because of that, all of the people were crying and responded to him, saying: 

“You must be put to death!  Why do you prophesy in the name of the Lord?”

You see, the life of a prophet involved telling people what they didn’t want to hear.  Prophets had to instruct people to turn away from evil and walk in the path of God.  If they didn’t do what they should, it was the prophet’s job to let them know what would happen to them.

This wasn’t usually received as good news.

People just don’t like being told what to do.  Neither do they like being told what not to do—apparently even if the word is coming to them straight from God’s messenger!

Jeremiah had to tell these people that if they disobeyed God and did not live according to the law God placed before them, turning back, each from his evil way, it would be bad for them and their city. 

Before that though, God had Jeremiah tell them that if they followed his ways, God would restore them by “breaking the yoke of Babylon” under which they lived and all of the people living in exile would be able to return to their land.

Just imagine you heard the prophet say, “Here’s what God is going to do for you. Just stop doing such and such.”  Wouldn’t your response be, “I’m in! I’ll do whatever you say and I’ll stop doing what I’m doing?”

Well, maybe not. 

Part of the problem is that letting go of the things we are doing can be pretty hard for us.  Turning away from them based on an expected promise being fulfilled takes a lot of faith.  As we can see from the response of the people, they didn’t have a lot of faith in the prophet. 

Anyway, coming to faith and believing in God begins with trust.  Before we can help move people towards God, we first need to genuinely gain their trust. If you are trying to help someone in your life come to faith, this is good to remember. 

There is no amount of preaching, coercing or prodding you can do that will bring people to faith.  This is God’s work.  However, whoever you would like to mentor will more likely be attracted to faith if you model what it means to be a Christian, and that begins with you listening to God’s Word and living according to his law of love.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com
janetcassidy.blubrry.net

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem
Read more

The Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary

By -
Image
This is the image most often associated with the writings of the Belgian mystic Berthe Petit. She promoted devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. During my preparation for the retreat I am giving at the end of the month in Pantasaph, North Wales, I began reading a book by the late John Haffert (once the lay leader of the Blue Army of Fatima). His theory in the book, which speaks of God's "last effort" to convert the world before the coming chastisement, is that we are now living in the third or fourth "day" of the Fatima week. At this time, according to Haffert, we should be promoting devotion to The Immaculate Heart of Mary. I also consulted another book by Dr. Courtnay Bartholomew (whom I have been privileged to meet) which also speaks of the importance of this devotion, linking it with the writings and visions of the mystic Berthe Petit, and the importance of the full title of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. These things will feature in
Read more

Why Modesty Is Not Subjective

By -
Image
Hi there, ya'll!  The modest fashion world is one very diverse place.  Even among Catholics, the definition of "modest apparel" can vary greatly from person to person.  Recently I joined a Facebook group that advertised itself as a haven for Catholic women of all ages to share ideas for modest style and makeup and was hoping to learn more about modesty from my fellow Catholic sisters.  After a few days of being a member, though, I sadly left the group feeling a bit discouraged.  No two members seemed to agree on ANY aspect of modesty whatsoever, and the prevailing theme of the whole group was that modesty is subjective, it means something different for each woman and each woman gets to decide what she considers is "modest".  One woman very emphatically declared that she wears bikinis every summer to the beach and doesn't feel that this violates the virtue of modesty in the least.  The same woman also announced that she was never going to caution her d
Read more