Jeremiah 11:18-20 (NRSV)
Read Jeremiah 11:18-20 on biblegateway.com
Verse 18It was the Lord who made it known to me, and I knew; then you showed me their evil deeds. Verse 19But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. And I did not know it was against me that they devised schemes, saying, "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will no longer be remembered!" Verse 20But you, O Lord of hosts, who judge righteously, who try the heart and the mind, let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.
Devotion
Jeremiah had his enemies. He had the sense that those who plotted against him were leading him to slaughter. His response was to call down God’s vengeance upon them.
Many church leaders have had the same feeling. How are we to respond when we perceive that we are under attack?
Dag Hammarskjöld, the former U.N. Secretary General and peacemaker we commemorate today, wrote: “You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal, play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to truth, play with cruelty without losing your sensitivity of mind. He who wants to keep his garden tidy doesn’t reserve a plot for weeds.”
We cannot call down vengeance upon someone without becoming vengeful. Neither can we be the rug on which others wipe their feet. May we find another way, a way that allows us to actively engage our antagonists in the love of Christ.
Prayer
Gracious Lord, how often I feel like a lamb led to slaughter by my detractors. Help me to love and to show kindness even to my enemies in the sure and certain hope that your grace and mercy will win the day. Amen.