Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish

FR MICHAEL BIBLICAL IMAGERY

(Fr Michael Boakye Yeboah: Vice Rector of St Gregory Seminary, Kumasi-Ghana)

TRUSTING

            Jeremiah opens today’s first reading with some strong words: “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh…” At first glance one may be tempted to give a quick conclusion that one should never put his/her trust in any human person. I would like to think that God never intends for us to have mistrust in our inter-personal relationships. Human trust has brought us all to our current state of life. In other words, the help we have enjoyed and benefited from has seen us from childhood to adulthood. As kids we always had the trust in our parents and guardians that they will provide our basic needs of sustenance and most of the time they were up to the task, except some few parents who decided to be in-human and irresponsible. At school some teachers made great sacrifices to get us to where we are today and we still have some of these great teachers still at their post doing fantastically well. The trust we have for our doctors has kept us healthy and hopeful. As regards cura animarum (care of souls) we have learnt to trust our priests that their ministry will guide us to the gates of heaven, and we are lucky to still have some saintly priests serving in our parishes. We cannot down play the help we get every day from our fellow human beings. But what informed Jeremiah in his opening statement in today’s first reading?

            Jeremiah wanted to place emphasis on love of God. No matter what a human being can do for you, you do not make the person feel like (s)he is your little god. Some people fear human beings more than God. This fear, at times manifests in some love relationships. In the scriptures, we remember how because of love Ahab turned his back to God to serve the gods of Jezebel. Some people have turned their back to God because of love. If a person lives his/her life this way then Jeremiah is right to say “curse be upon that person.”

            We should always note that the blessed man is one who trusts the Lord, who extends his roots along God’s stream; as St Augustine says, “…has his roots in heaven and grows from heaven downward toward earth.” The Gospel stresses the life of blessedness. In the Gospel we find four pronouncements of beatitude and four declarations of woe. What does “blessedness” mean? Certainly, it does not mean “happy” in the sense that man gives to this word. And it is certainly not a call to continue on his way of comfort. Instead of referring to something that belongs to man or something that man feels or experience, it refers to something in God that affects this man. One is blessed not by what (s)he benefits temporarily from human beings but by what (s)he benefits eternally from God. Why choose blessedness that comes with expiration date? Chose God’s blessedness that is eternal. One should always put his/her trust in God. OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP PRAY FOR US.