Memory of the Church

Reading of the Word of God

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

I am the good shepherd,
my sheep listen to my voice,
and they become
one flock and one fold.
.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

Jeremiah 17,5-10

Yahweh says this, 'Accursed be anyone who trusts in human beings, who relies on human strength and whose heart turns from Yahweh. Such a person is like scrub in the wastelands: when good comes, it does not affect him since he lives in the parched places of the desert, uninhabited, salt land. 'Blessed is anyone who trusts in Yahweh, with Yahweh to rely on. Such a person is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it has nothing to fear, its foliage stays green; untroubled in a year of drought, it never stops bearing fruit. 'The heart is more devious than any other thing, and is depraved; who can pierce its secrets? I, Yahweh, search the heart, test the motives, to give each person what his conduct and his actions deserve.

 

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another.

Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory

The prophet Jeremiah had already accused Israel of having abandoned their Lord to hasten towards Egypt and Assyria with the belief that in them they would find support and defence. The abundance of the waters of the Nile and the Euphrates, which had led Israel to flock to these two great powers, is revealed as a bitter illusion: "Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals... they shall be like a shrub in the desert...They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land." ?With this image, the prophet warns of futility of trusting in human power. It is a lesson that would be good to remember in our days. Only the Lord can defend the little people and make it grow free from the greed of the powerful. For this reason, Jeremiah proclaims: "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord" and Jeremiah continues mentioning the teaching of Psalm 1: "They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream."? With this image the prophet wants his listeners to understand the indispensability of abiding in the Lord and be faithful to his covenant. Jeremiah closes with the image of the heart, the place that shows the depth of the feelings and where the decision to bind oneself to God forever matures. ?