All Along the Way

Our Old Testament reading for today comes from the part of Jeremiah that is called the book of consolation (chapters 30 and 31). After the previous chapters of Jeremiah’s prophecy of doom we find these two chapters of assurance to the people of Israel that God will deliver them from their troubles. While some of this material was written by Jeremiah, most scholars debate who the author was, when it was written, and where it was written. It is very probable that an editor of Jeremiah’s book added this collection to offset the doom and gloom of the previous 29 chapters, possibly doing so after the Babylonian captivity. Our reading today shares many characteristics of second Isaiah. Whomever wrote it the message is clear; God will save the people of Israel.

We note that this text repeats a common theme in the salvation literature (if we may call it that) of the Old Testament. That theme is one of a journey home. It is a proclamation that God will gather all the people of Israel and bring them home. Especially the blind and lame, those with child, and those in labor. Hmm, the ones for whom a journey will be most difficult? To facilitate this God makes a straight path along brooks of water for them to travel. We hear that theme many times because the Israelite so often abandoned God and the Covenant that they made with God. So God will bring them home on a journey from where they have wandered.

We read this text because of the story in our Gospel connecting the blind who will be saved in Jeremiah with Bartimaeus who begs by the road into Jericho. There, while Jesus and his follows pass through, Bartimaeus calls out for him. The people try to quiet him. They most likely thought that Jesus would not want to see him. They saw Bartimaeus everyday and knew he deserved his blindness because of his sin, or his father’s or grandfather’s. But Jesus does want to see him and calls Bartimaeus to come to him, heals him of his blindness, then tells him to, “Go.” Where does he go? He follows Jesus. Which is where all who have been healed by Jesus go.

We, too, have been blinded by sin – dazzled by the glitter of the world – and wandered off into the wilderness. Just like the Israelites, God has called us home. Through Jesus we have been healed of sin and death and called to follow him. Where Jesus leads we may not know. We do know that wherever it is Jesus will be our guide and comforter. Pray that you may not be blinded by the false promises of the world but may always see Jesus wherever he leads. He is, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us, our great high priest who, once and for all, offered himself as a sacrifice for our sin who calls us to be the ones who share God’s love to a blind and broken world.