Psalm41│Jeremiah 10.1-16│Hebrews 3.7-19│John 7.14-24
Psaumes 41 |Jérémie 10.1-16 |Hébreux 3.7-19 |Jean 7.14-24
Judgement as antidote
A scarecrow in Taipei Botanical Gardens
The readings from Jeremiah and John in today’s lectionary not only criticize idolatrous behaviour, but also shed light on what idolatry is. In John’s gospel, Jesus defended his choice to heal on the Sabbath and concludes with the statement: “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Just as Jesus reprimands the crowd for prioritizing law-keeping over caring for people, Jeremiah reprimands the nations for engaging in idolatry. Yet, rather than scare his audience away from idolatry with tales of demonic powers, Jeremiah highlights the banality of idols. In other words, the prophet portrays idolatry as a foolish waste of time:
“Their
idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and
they cannot speak;
they
have to be carried,
for
they cannot walk.
Do
not be afraid of them,
for
they cannot do evil,
nor
is it in them to do good.”
In both of these passages, we see prophets
exhorting their listeners to practice right judgement: to see things in the
world for what they are. And this is because right judgement is the antidote to
idolatry. Idolatry is not about the idols themselves, but our relationship
to them. According to Jeremiah, an idol is an inanimate object and nothing
more. The only power idols have is the kind we project onto them. But idols are
not simply material objects. If Jesus were to refrain from healing a man on the
Sabbath for the sake of law-keeping, then he would have made an idol out of the
law. But Jesus approached the law like he approached everything else: as a
means of loving God and loving neighbour. So what is an idol? Anything that we
allow to dampen our love for God and others.
The more we practice right judgment, the more we
dispel the illusion of idols. In this Lenten season, may we follow Jesus’
command to “judge with right judgment” and expose idols for the mirages that
they are. And in so doing, may the objects in our life (material and
immaterial) not spark selfish obsession, but encourage selfless devotion to the
only source of all love.
Jacob
Quick
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