Jeremiah (15.15-21) laments his relationship to God and his ongoing suffering as part and parcel of this uncertain understanding of God's presence. In the Exodus reading set for today the classic interpretational issue which has been debated in both Jewish and Christian scripture, God's response to Moses, "I am / I shall be what / that I am / shall be" (Ex. 3:14). What does God's response in terms of name mean let alone the uncertainty of Jeremiah? This interpretive conundrum is not really one that can be answered, I suspect, in any form of certainty as all responses have a validity when it comes to God. However, we can make our own interpretive guesses both as theologians and as ordinary people, depending on our interest and education. In the midrashes there are a number of interesting points that can be raised both psychological and spiritual that have an effect on the ongoing interpretation of the Exodus story. Perhaps the most important, at least of equal importance to other interpretations, is the underlying understanding of permanence that is created in the translation of the Hebrew words at this point.
It is important for us to remember that translation and interpretation are not one and the same. It is also important to note that these initial settings come at the start of a dialogue that frames both Jeremiah's ongoing relationship with God as a person who is sitting in suffering and Moses' ongoing relationship with God as a person. God's relationship with Moses, in some sources Moses is the writer/represented by, is deepened in the book of Job which in turn relates in a profounder way to Jeremiah's situation. Whilst there is an understanding of permanence to God's presence there is also an understanding that this is based on trial and not just peace. It is the constancy of God's presence in the face of an ongoing presence of slavery and imprisonment, disaster and exclusion implicit in the wording and the request. This is the burden we bear (Matt. 16:24) as it is often our own selves that creates the burden which is ours in these often uncertain times. Our self doubts prevent us from discovering God in the midst of adversity much like the Israelites and Moses and even Jeremiah. In taking up the cross we take up Christ's burden for the other and we look not at ourselves but at the other in community. In doing so we begin to feel God's presence with us easing the burdens that we have or are laying down. This enables us to do what Paul asks his recipients to do in the letter to the Romans (12:9-21).
The practicality of our ministry to others in times of adversity is often something we struggle with in our lives. We are assailed by our own uncertainties, which cause us to enable, rather than dis-able, the destruction of our communities through bias, hatred and our own prejudices of those who are different to our self understanding. Paul, at the start of the Romans' passage (12:10b), states the obvious but necessary way forward. The norm for society is to suggest that we are better than the other and to look down upon those who do not subscribe to our own pet desires and understandings. Whether we are the Shreveport shooter, Indigenous person or a regional farmer we each believe that we are better in our lives than those around us. The culture we live in brings us to this belief through our normal jokes, sly remarks and disparaging of those from outside the community. Whether those are age old Irish put downs or more recent remarks about Russians or Muslims. We need to remind ourselves that each person is created in the image of God. Speaking in terms of the legacy of formalised prejudice the "Arch" (Archbishop Tutu) suggests that in accepting someone for something they can do nothing about, being a woman, whilst at the same time not accepting someone for the same reason, skin colour, ethnicity, etc, then we are extreme hypocrites. If we cannot accept the other from outside the community than how can we accept the other because they have lived in the community. We love each person for who they are, even in the worst of circumstances, with respect and gratitude.
Impermanence is often a constant in today's world as we are constantly evolving and changing but in our understanding of God we should see the permanence of the presence of love. We draw alongside those who are in difficulty and struggle just as God drew alongside the people of Israel in the midst of slavery and exile. This is not a temporary measure, something that is given away once they are free from their struggle, but a permanent understanding much as God's presence is permanent in our continued struggles. Too many times in recent years and months the Church has offered God's love with one hand but then turned its back on those that are in fear and suffering in the long term. If we are to mirror God's presence then we as a faith community in the impermanence of today's society with its constant call to go beyond that which we are comfortable with must remain consistent and permanent in the lives of our communities. Just as God is permanent and consistent in the life of the faith community. Treating everyone with a mind turned towards justice, love and acceptance rather than one dependant upon our own prejudices and ideas borne out of an earlier generations' fear.
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