Eviscerating religion

In today’s first reading (Jeremiah 18:18-20), the people of Judah think that they can hold onto the benefits of their religion while doing away with its challenges: specifically, by doing away with the prophet Jeremiah.

This attempted evisceration of religion led to their doom.

This calls to mind certain politicians – on the left and on the right – who try to derive benefits from their religious affiliation while disavowing any tenet of faith that might challenge their political base.

Likewise you and I may sometimes seek to retain the comforts of our faith while giving short shrift to its obligations: embracing our favorite aspects of prayer and worship while eschewing the weightier matters of morality, justice, charity, and suffering.

We need to embrace our faith and all its challenges in its entirety, so that we may be embraced completely and forever by the Lord.

We need to follow the path our Lord marks out for us in today’s Gospel (Matthew 20:17-28):

Whoever wishes to be great among you
shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you
shall be your slave.

Just so,
the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many