Tears for the Lost
"My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick. Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land ...For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me." (from Jeremiah 8)
Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. And this is one of the passages where we see how he earned this moniker. God called him to minister in hard times to people who largely refused to listen. Tirelessly, he warned Judah of looming destruction, but they continued in their sinful ways.
Even so, notice that Jeremiah doesn't dust his hands off and leave the people to their doom. He doesn't say, "Let destruction come, and good riddance when it does."
Instead he weeps for the people and absorbs their hurt in his own heart. Indeed, his heart is broken with grief. What a godly response that points ahead to the grief of our Lord when he predicted the fall of Jerusalem. God, you see, mourns for those who have fallen into sin — those who are unrepentant and heading for destruction. Yes, even those who practice and cheer on evil.
But, in the midst of our politicized world, I fear another approach is very prevalent now, which reflects a different prophet's attitude. Jonah, for his part, fled from God so as not to have to preach to the evil city Nineveh. Why? Because he didn't want to see them come to repentance. In fact, after God redirects him to complete his mission, Jonah sits on a hillside awaiting the city's destruction. When he realizes that God relented and decided to show mercy to Nineveh, Jonah is so upset that he wants to die!
So Jonah saw the people repent and still desired their destruction. Jeremiah's message, on the other hand, was rejected by the people of Judah, yet he wept at the prospect of their judgment.
We live in a polarized world, friends. I understand this. And the truth is that I let it get to me too, or I wouldn't be writing this. But in the midst of it, let's pray that God gives us the perspective of Jeremiah rather than Jonah. May our hearts break for those who are lost on whatever side of the political continuum they may be – remembering that it was God's kindness that led us to repentance.
O God, the Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth; deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, pg. 816)
Fr. Darin+