Love God back by acknowledging his authority

It's soul-saving stuff

Today's (Saturday 8-3-24) scripture excerpts present different outcomes for Jeremiah and John the Baptist—Jeremiah escapes being killed, and John is beheaded. Because Jeremiah, too, was ultimately martyred, these readings are not about how one escaped martyrdom and the other got killed.

Saturday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 26:11-16, 24
Matthew 14:1-12

They both died at the hands of priests, leaders of the very religion they preached about. Priests wanted Jeremiah dead, and they hired ruffians to do it. Priests wanted John dead, and they helped orchestrate his death through Herodias.

In their day, biblical heroes were often more pariahs than prophets because they were provoked into poking at somebody, whether the entire nation or some specific group. God formed those prophets into men of admonition, preachers of hellfire and damnation. Under other circumstances, maybe they could have been accountants or salesmen, but that’s not what God did with them.

Image by Marian Jaslovský

John the Baptist and Jeremiah stood out not because they were startling in their appearance or harsh in their words. Their full-on alignment with God shook their intended audience to the core.

Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her” (Matthew 14:3-4).

John repeatedly warned Herod of this transgression and became more vocal and public as Herod ignored John’s recognition of sin. Jeremiah did the same, calling out the people of Judah because they “oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow . . . shed innocent blood in this place . . . follow after other gods to your own harm.”

Now, therefore, reform your ways and your deeds; listen to the voice of the LORD your God, so that the LORD will repent of the evil with which he threatens you (Jeremiah 26:13).

For the moment, Jeremiah was protected in today’s reading, but eventually, the people’s sinning continues and Judah is conquered. The people and their leaders did not listen to God and were taken off to Babylon.

God allows the consequences of sinful actions to fall upon perpetrators, especially when he gives them a heads-up through an intermediary. “Watch out!” Of particular importance, the prophets, too, will suffer because they are pointing out the sin. Prophets of doom are terrorists to outrageous sinners. Not just bothersome blowhards but dangerous obstacles. John and Jeremiah knew the outcome of pointing out sin, but because the life of an unrepentant sinner leads to death without salvation, the prophets were highly motivated. That’s the essential factor in Jeremiah and John’s commitment to speak out.

What is the Church giving us in this pairing of martyred voices? We may appear upset at sin when we see it, but are we more worried about the lost souls? Bad news and difficult choices mean we should turn to the Lord. Those who don’t trust God or are offended by claims of God’s wrath don’t want to hear prophets preach. Their souls are on the line, and they don’t realize it.

Labeled as terrorists, John and Jeremiah spent much of their ministries running for their lives.

In the 26th chapter of Jeremiah, Jeremiah's rescue by the royalty and people of Israel is one of several temporary escapes from death. According to Tertullian, a historian from the 1st Century, along with some mingling of New Testament readings, Jeremiah ultimately died at the hands of rogue countrymen by stoning.

Jeremiah and John the Baptist preached from outside the temple. Neither was welcome in that holy place. God communicated to them, though. They were dialed into God, and he encouraged them to speak out. God allowed their enemies to imprison them and end their lives with violence, a final straw on their paths to national ruin. It’s a message for us.

John the Baptist was famously killed for calling out Herod's sins. Herod, a Roman king of Israel, became a "practicing" Jew, so he was bound by Jewish law. Herodias was Herod’s sister-in-law and niece. John protested their marriage repeatedly. He didn’t let up. To add to the disgusting nature of this love affair, Herodias’ daughter (his niece’s daughter!) was the one dancing seductively for Herod. Still, Herod tried to refrain from killing John, but the subjects of John's wrath (Herodius and the Pharisees) wanted him gone. John had little positive to say about his time's Pharisees, scribes, or political royalty. 

Jeremiah and John’s similar run-ins with Jewish leadership remind us of the unique partnership with folks God hand-picks for witness and testimony. Wild-eyed and boisterous, their unflagging fealty to God challenged their audiences. Whether they meant to draw attention to themselves or not, their factual claims about the dangers of ignoring God’s authority have rung true throughout history. 

The significance of Jeremiah's urgency, repeated in similar entreaties by John the Baptist, is explicitly directed at those holding the reins of a religious nation — the prevailing religious leaders. "Quit your bad example and your outrageous affront at God's authority! Or you'll get what's coming to you."

Can we bring this scriptural cry from these prophets down to our daily life experiences?

The prophetic martyrdom of Jeremiah and John the Baptist is in their agreement with God. They loved God enough to be estranged from society.

We may never be forced to address Congress, change the course for a large corporation, or influence a fanbase from a celebrity soapbox. We are, however, captains of significant groups of people. We're leaders of gathered, like-minded folks in all sorts of bodies. We can tick off a dozen groups we frequent—friends, family, peers, associates, and social or charity organizations. We may or may not have stepped up in those groups when called. Each of us has moments we can cite.

Our mindset should ask how we can be useful to the Father. What is the Holy Spirit whispering to us? What does our brother Jesus, our King and Redeemer, ask us to do in his name?

We don't have to wear shocking clothes and then shout across the room at the Lion's Club that God has a message for the guy holding a microphone. "I saw you at Cripple Creek blowing the charity's bank account!" Hopefully not. Dear God.

Love goes pretty far without having to go commando. We do need to recognize that God uses us, though. Simply telling those close to us what God has done for us is powerful.

Folks struggle mightily with the world’s insanity. Bars aren't limited to unbelievers. The weight of standing up for truth sends many of us into the doldrums. Drugs aren’t confined to homeless people on the streets. Plenty of Jesus’ followers drown themselves due to facing the world’s wackiness and reminding others that God is the authority in all things.

Jeremiah and John loved the people that God loved. They wanted them to know God just like they did. They were confident in God’s ultimate rescue and wanted the same for others. Their constant return to public outcries came from a desire that everyone needs to know that God loves them.

Loving God back by acknowledging his authority is soul-saving stuff.