When Jeremiah finished speaking
all that the LORD bade him speak to all the people,
the priests and prophets laid hold of him, crying,
"You must be put to death!
There are things are hard to hear. Of these, some are worth hearing. It is not true that just because something sounds difficult we should force ourselves to absorb it. But if the LORD is speaking we should listen. He is never speaking just to spread suffering. He speaks hard words that are oriented toward mercy.
Perhaps they will listen and turn back,
each from his evil way,
so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them
for their evil deeds.
The LORD does not just speak negativity for the sake of negativity. He does not speak of problems so we can dwell on them. His words, therefore, are not words of condemnation. But sometimes, perhaps more often than we would like, he speaks words of conviction. It can be hard for us to tell the difference at first. He sends his Spirit to help us. He promises that the Spirit will "convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment" (see John 16:8).
When thoughts arise that seem negative or when we see things in the world that seem negative we can ask if they are from the LORD. We can see if they can testify that Jesus is LORD. This means that these things are being brought to our awareness as part of God's plan to bring mercy to the world. If these things cannot bless Jesus as LORD they are not worthy of our consideration.
Where did this man get all this?
And they took offense at him.
This is a good question that is asked about Jesus. Yet people aren't interested in the answer. Let's use this as guidance. We sometimes try to ignore the genuine conviction ordered toward mercy that the LORD speaks to us. We do so by assuring ourselves that we understand our situation well enough that Jesus can't speak a new word into it. We already know him, what he says, and who he is. This is obviously false but we often use it to shield ourselves from the need to change. The call to mercy and conversion is gentle compared to the way the world imposes negativity on our minds. Yet we only run from mercy and feel the need to dwell in the negativity of the world. This is backward. Let us learn to honor Jesus in his native place within our hearts, and in the house of his Church. Let us place our faith in him so that through his mighty deeds we can be transformed.
But I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
If we allow Jesus to transform us we will not only know when to listen but also when to speak hard words that the world desperately needs to hear.
Stand in the court of the house of the LORD
and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah
who come to worship in the house of the LORD;
whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing.
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