Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21
Chapter 15
Jeremiah’s Confessions: Vocational Crisis
Woe is me, my Mother, why did you bring me into the world? A man of discord throughout the land! I owe them nothing; neither do they owe me, yet they all curse me!I devoured your words when they came. They were my happiness and I felt full of joy when you made your name rest on me.
I never associate with worldly people, amusing myself with scoffers! When your hand was upon me, I stood apart and you filled me with your anger.
Why is there no end to my sorrow or healing for my wound? Why do you deceive me, and why does my spring suddenly dry up?
Then the Lord spoke to me, “If you return, I will accept you back and you will serve me again. Draw the gold from the dross and you will be as my own mouth. You must draw them to you and not go over to them.
I will make you a fortress and a wall of bronze to face them; if they fight against you, they will not overcome you.
I am with you to free you and save you. I will redeem you from the wicked and save you from the hands of tyrants.”
Commentaries
Jeremiah’s Confessions: Vocational Crisis.
Faced with the Lord’s refusal to change the fate of his people, the prophet breaks down and abandons his birthright because he finds himself in a situation he did not choose: “I have not lent, nor have I borrowed” (10). He has no personal reason to be at odds with the people, the kings (36:20-26), the officials of the kingdom (38:4), the priests (26:7-9), or the false prophets (28). Lender-debtor relationships lead to lawsuits and disputes. Jeremiah’s anguish shows how, in Israel, the prophetic calling is entirely dependent on God, who calls individuals and assigns them a specific mission at a particular time in history. Jeremiah’s vocational crisis becomes an opportunity given by God to refine him and invite him into a personal encounter with Him, who is his liberator and savior, renewing his strength and prophetic zeal (20). Similarly, vocation in the Church is solely God’s initiative and cannot be conditioned or based on our plans, ideas, or preferences.