Baruch 1:15-22
Chapter 1
PENITENTIAL LITURGY
First Part
You will say: May everyone acknowledge the justice of our God, but on this day, shame and confusion befit the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,our kings and princes, our priests, our prophets, and our ancestors,
because we have sinned before the Lord.
We have disobeyed him and have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God, nor have we followed the commandments that the Lord had given us.
From the day the Lord brought our ancestors out of Egypt until now, we have disobeyed the Lord our God and rebelled against him instead of listening to his voice.
Because of this, from the day the Lord brought our ancestors out of Egypt to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, the evils and the curse that the Lord pronounced through Moses, his servant, have followed us ever since.
We did not listen to the voice of the Lord our God, speaking through the words of the prophets he sent to us,
but each of us followed his perverted heart, serving false gods and doing what displeases the Lord our God.
Commentaries
First Part.
The first part of the penitential liturgy starts with a confession of sins. Recognizing guilt depends on a prior, fundamental acknowledgment: God is just (15), and God’s justice and goodness reveal the disobedient and unfaithful behavior that has characterized the Israelite people since they left Egypt. Therefore, this confession comes from a sincere, repentant heart that, in the presence of divine greatness and justice, feels completely exposed—stripped of what the Lord expected from the believer—reminding us of the first man in paradise (Gn 3:10). The key is not to hide or conceal our nakedness, but to acknowledge it and accept that, even so, God is willing to embrace us in a project of love and justice where we play a vital role.
Penitential Liturgy.
This can be divided into four parts: 1:15-2:10, which highlights Israel’s confession of sins; 2:11-18, which emphasizes the plea for deliverance; 2:19-35 and 3:1-8, which call on God to fulfill his promises.