Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Webster defines jeremiad as a “lamentation or tale of woe.” The word is derived from the prophet Jeremiah’s frequent complaints to God. Today’s first reading presents a good example of a jeremiad.
Jeremiah has told the people of Jerusalem that they their infidelity has resulted in God’s sending an army to take them captive. But the people do not want to hear his message. They steer away from him as if he were a coyote howling in the hills. Jeremiah then goes to the Lord with his complaint. He tells God that he has been faithful but God has not reciprocated. God quickly passes a judgment. If Jeremiah repents of his self-pity, God will make him victorious over those who revile him.
