ENEMIES FROM WITHIN - A: 12th Sun in OrdTime

First Reading: Jer 20:10-13 (25 June 2023)

“All those who used to be my friends watched for my downfall, ‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error. Then we will master him and take our revenge!’ But the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero….” (Jer 20:10-11)

Our reading today is a part of Jeremiah’s utmost prayer to God after receiving much persecution. This situation triggered Jeremiah to exclaim, “I hear so many disparaging me, ‘Terror from every side! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’ All those who used to be my friends watched for my downfall, ‘Perhaps he will be seduced into error. Then we will master him and take our revenge!’” (vv. 10). The historical context of Jeremiah’s despair is at the verge of the Babylonian invasion of the Southern Kingdom. Some centuries earlier in 722 BCE, the Northern Kingdom already fell to the great Assyrian Empire. It was not improbable that the South would fall as well.

In this period when national hope was at its lowest point, most Judahites were fatalistic in their reception of the political events that transpire. They would easily give up and raise the proverbial white flag to the invaders. Amidst this loss of optimism, the prophet Jeremiah was never disheartened, filled with trust that the Lord would deliver them from any army. However, Jeremiah’s problem was not ad extra (i.e., how he would confront the enemies), but more of a battle ad intra(i.e., how he would convince his compatriots to remain hopeful).

The tension only grew worse since his former friends, i.e., priests in the temple service of Jerusalem, even turned out against him, banking that he would be wrong in his continuous trust in the Lord.

Despite this intense rejection from within, Jeremiah stayed positive. It is because he was convinced deep inside that the Lord is at his side as his mighty hero, who would deliver him from his opponents (v. 11). From his perspective, this hero is a great general of armies; he even called him in Greek a machetes ischus, which literally means “strong fighter”. In essence, not only would this hero deliver him from harm, but he would “probe with justice,” “scrutinize the loins and heart,” and seek “vengeance” on his behalf (vv. 11-12). Jeremiah’s logic simply is: If the Lord is the master of all armies in the world, how could any singular army overpower the Judahites?

Meanwhile, the opposite happened in history. The Southern Kingdom fell to King Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BCE and the great city of Jerusalem was conquered, burned, and emptied of its inhabitants. Many of them were even banished to Babylonia as tribute to the conquerors. It is tempting to conclude that Jeremiah was wrong for believing that the Lord would deliver his people from their enemies. From another perspective, it may not be so because the real enemies were not the invading foreigners but the doubting and erring compatriots who abandoned their belief in the God of Israel. Along these lines, the prophet was not mistaken after all because these internal enemies were truly punished for their heresy and unfaithfulness to Yahweh.

They were humbled since they were removed from their glorious status as leaders of Jerusalem, becoming slaves of their new captors.

In any socio-political reality we are in, we should remember that before we stage our battles against outsiders, the internal battles inside our community and our country should be settled first. Otherwise, we only self-destruct and are immediately defeated even before the war outside begins.

- Rex Fortes, CM