The LORD, the God of their ancestors, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place; but they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words, and scoffing at his prophets
The Temple has finally been resanctified after many bad years, and once King Josiah (who did was good in the sight of the Lord) died, his sons and their sons did what was evil. But God, being compassionate, tried to warn them, sending prophets and messengers to warn them of their evil ways. But they did not listen. They mocked the messengers and scoffed the prophets, until the wrath of God became so great “there was no remedy”.
First off, I’m hopeful that this was a misunderstanding of God, as I firmly believe that there is nothing I can do to remove myself from God’s love. It is this ultimatum God that makes folks such zealous extremists now. They genuinely believe that God will smite those who cross some line, whether it’s believing in the Muslim Allah and strict reading of the Koran, or sexual identity, or not ascribing to their economic or political agenda. I don’t think there’s an action or belief that separates us from God’s love and mercy, except perhaps our own actions. We can remove ourselves from God’s love, because we walk away from it. But God will not walk away.
Having said that, I am intrigued that the author of Chronicles attributes the fall of Jerusalem to the ignoring of God’s messengers and prophets. The fall of Jerusalem was not caused the people’s disregarding of God’s law, or worshipping idols or other God’s. These things made God angry, but not without remedy. In previous years, people misbehaved then repented and God welcomed them back. But eventually, the people stopped repenting, and they kept misbehaving, so God sent human prophets and messengers to remind the people of their evil ways. It was when those messengers were mocked and disregarded that God’s wrath was immovable.
And what do we say about the mocking and disregarding of Jesus? Jesus was not only mocked, he was killed. And it wasn’t a messenger of God, it was God. And that didn’t doom humanity. To the contrary, despite what we did to this prophet, life, love and light won. That’s an evolved understanding of God’s unflappable love and mercy.
As if that’s not enough to think about, this morning, I’m thinking about the prophets and messengers in our midst. Who’s trying to tell us about God’s message of love? Who are we ignoring? Are we being those messengers? Today, I want to seek out those messengers, as much as I want to be one.
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