Vengeance

Today’s first reading (Jeremiah 20:10-13) begins with disturbing words:

I hear the whisperings of many:
"Terror on every side!
Denounce! Let us denounce him!"

All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
"Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him."

Jeremiah is not paranoid. There were indeed many people conspiring against him, but Jeremiah is also confident.

But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.

But then Jeremiah rhapsodizes into something that to our ears may sound "just a little teenyweeny wee bit bloodthirsty."

O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.

Warm and fuzzy religion this is not. Jeremiah’s plea seems to conflict with the New Testament concepts of “turning the other cheek” and “God is love.”

But the New Testament, through the words of St. Paul, gives us a better context for understanding Jeremiah’s prayer.

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves,
but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written,
Vengeance is mine; I will repay,
saith the Lord.

Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him;
if he thirst, give him drink:
for in so doing
thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Romans 12:19-20

As individuals and as a society, we must always work for justice and defend the defenseless, but we must also be aware of the limitations of human justice and of our obligation as Christians to be instruments of God’s mercy.

Too often we speak of justice and “the principle of the thing” when we are just giving way to our anger and hurt feelings under the dark banner of human vengeance.

God’s vengeance is different.

Only God knows what is in people’s heart – better even than the people themselves! Only God knows perfectly what is just and only God knows the infinite depths of his mercy.

We must try to be as just and merciful as we can, taking special care to defend the defenseless and recognizing the limits of what human mercy and human justice can do.

The vengeance of God – of which both Paul and Jeremiah speak – is not the vengeance of man: it is the pure manifestation of God’s perfect justice and infinite mercy that will wipe away all evil and wickedness forever.

It may not happen completely in our time (indeed, both Jeremiah and Paul died at the hands of evil men), but it will happen in God’s perfect time.

Sing to the LORD,
praise the LORD,
For he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!