July 6th - Reflection

Jeremiah 8:4-13 (NRSV)
Call to faithfulness

You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord:
When people fall, do they not get up again?
If they go astray, do they not turn back?
Why then has this people turned away
in perpetual backsliding?
They have held fast to deceit,
they have refused to return.
I have given heed and listened,
but they do not speak honestly;
no one repents of wickedness,
saying, "What have I done!"
All of them turn to their own course,
like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
Even the stork in the heavens
knows its times;
and the turtledove, swallow, and crane
observe the time of their coming;
but my people do not know
the ordinance of the Lord.

How can you say, "We are wise,
and the law of the Lord is with us,"
when, in fact, the false pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie?
The wise shall be put to shame,
they shall be dismayed and taken;
since they have rejected the word of the Lord,
what wisdom is in them?
Therefore I will give their wives to others
and their fields to conquerors,
because from the least to the greatest
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
from prophet to priest
everyone deals falsely.
They have treated the wound of my people carelessly,
saying, "Peace, peace,"
when there is no peace.
They acted shamefully, they committed abomination;
yet they were not at all ashamed,
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time when I punish them, they shall be overthrown,

says the Lord.
When I wanted to gather them, says the Lord,
there are no grapes on the vine,
nor figs on the fig tree;
even the leaves are withered,
and what I gave them has passed away from them.

Reflection
Face it! Smell the stench of it! Don't try to deny it or rationalize it. When you have sinned, you have sinned. It's time to humbly go before God and the one you sinned against and repent. It's not easy or pleasant. But face it. Repent and turn around. Blush about it if that's what happens, but face it. It will absorb your life if you don't just face it. Turn to God and see the new life that will be given. Face it! Repent! See the change! Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, I humbly repent of my sin. As I go forth to my neighbors and face it, I change my ways and follow you. --- Amen