Jeremiah 52: The Inverted Kingdom – Part XIV
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Elamiat captives and Assyrian officer. Relief from Ashurpanibal Palace in Nineveh, Iraq
Capture
Thus was Judah exiled from her land . . .
On January 15, 588 B.C.E. (Senior 1016) Jerusalem falls and the people of Judah are captured. History tells us that this people later returns to Jerusalem to restore the Temple and the city – and history also tells us all will be lost again. The human way is cyclical with valleys and peaks. It is an inconsistent wandering of the soul in search of what it already has. The Way that Isaiah announces, The Way we might live each day, is the constant journey of singing and rejoicing in the presence of God, a presence that is already with us.
When the enemy threatens, a highway will be there.
When capture is imminent, a holy way will be there.
When all seems lost, no lion will be there.
When darkness falls, no beast of prey will be there.
When it appears that there is no hope, there is a journey to make, and on it the redeemed will walk.
When we know that we have strayed from The Way, all we need do is be open to change, and we will find that . . .
A highway will be there, called the holy way . . . No lion will be there . . . nor beast of prey . . . It is for those with a journey to make, and on it the redeemed will walk . . . and they will be singing, crowned with everlasting joy . . . they will meet with joy and gladness . . . sorrow and mourning will flee. (Isaiah 35:2-10)
Let us join hearts and hands and souls to journey together along The Way.
Image from: http://jesselatour.blogspot.com/p/the-bible-book-report.html
Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.1016. Print.
Adapted from a reflection written on June 4, 2011.
The Noontimes 