The dominant theme of Jeremiah is that of national sinfulness and looming judgment. Jeremiah's 40-year ministry spanned the final days of Judah's existence as an independent nation. In those days, the leaders of Judah were prone to trust their political allies and lean on the ‘arm of flesh’ instead of depending on the ‘power of God’. Jeremiah sounded quite scornful in our first reading today because the Judahites were looking unto the Assyrians and then to the Egyptians for sufficient defence in their life. Their major error was the fact that they sought safety and protection from men, forgetting that seeking safety from mortal man is dicey and eluding.

Notice that the prophet uses the term flesh to refer to man in the second line of his scornful reproach against Judah. He warns them saying, cursed be the man who makes flesh his arm. In Hebraic parlance, arm’ connotes power or help. This is why those who make flesh their arm represent those who rely on mortal men for power or protection. They are those who rely on their own abilities and think less about God in the ventures of their lives.

Life experiences have taught many people some bitter lessons of trusting in men. There are many people who have been disappointed in life just because they trusted in men. There are many dreams that have been caught short in the lives of many people because those whom they trusted failed them. So many people are now living regretful lives owing to the fact that their hopes have been dashed away by those whom they trusted so much. Little wonder that prophet Jeremiah contrasted those who trust in God and those who put their trust in men as a desert bush is compared to a fruitful tree by the water (cf. Ps. 1:3-4). Yes, unbelief turns life into a parched wasteland while faith in God makes it a fruitful orchard. Judah's unbelief paved way for the Babylonian army who quickly overran the land, causing the land of milk and honey to become a wasteland.

Do we now see why the words of Jesus in the gospel to the crowds who followed Him are quite revealing? Luke presents us with four Beatitudes and four Woes and each set of these two seem to contradict normal human logic and expectations. These words seem stark and bizarre when one first reads them but they form the basis for true peace and contentment in God. Truly speaking, it sounds nonsensical to say, Blessed are you who are poor”. It defies natural logic to say, Blessed are you who hunger now”. It appears ridiculous to say, Blessed are you who weep now”. Certainly, there is no gain telling someone that, Blessed are you when men hate you. Just imagine the reaction of the crowd when Jesus said, Woe to you who are rich. Woe to you who are well fed now. Woe to you who laugh now. Woe to you when all men speak well of you....”

The words of Jesus seem rigid and absurd because they seem at first to contradict common sense. Who would willingly choose the so-called blessed circumstances of poverty, hunger, weeping and hatred? Yes, there is no particular virtue in being poor, neither is there any inherent evil in being rich. The poor as well as the rich can make heaven, just as each can as well go to hell. If we are poor now and we work hard to become rich, we are engaging in a worthwhile struggle and if we are rich now and we struggle to remain so, we are doing no wrong either. What is mostly common, however, is that the poor and those who are less privileged in life are more Godly inclined. These people tend to look up to God for their sufficiency whereas many of those who are rich consider themselves as self-sufficient, behaving as though they have little need for God in their lives and ventures.

There is nothing wrong with riches but there is everything wrong with putting our trust on riches and wealth, thinking they can give us contentment (1Tim. 6:17-19). Know that when Jesus pronounced woe on the rich, He was not condemning wealth but cautioning those who are rich on the danger of turning aside from God and putting their trust on riches and wealth. It is the love of money which is the root of every evil, not money itself (1Tim. 6:10). That is why in desiring wealth and in fixing ones heart on money, a person opens himself up to woes.

Similarly, there is also nothing virtuous in being poor and needy when such a person does not hope in the Lord. The poor person who engages in fetish things to survive in life is as cursed as the rich who turn his heart from the Lord. The poor man who also devises deceptive strategies and manipulates others in a bid to survive also shares in the woe of the rich. The woe that Jesus utters today can be the spell of both the rich and the poor, if what each of them see is only the fortune of this present life. This is why St. Paul cautions us in the second reading that our Christian hope should transcend what is obtainable in this world and launch us into the realm of true glory and happiness in the life beyond.

Even as we nurse mixed feelings regarding the general elections that has been postponed by one week, let us not lose hope nor get discouraged. There is no human scheming or bigoted manipulation from any quarters that will thwart the plan of God for our dear country. We all are hoping for a better country where the economy will be transformed by sincere and God-fearing leaders that have the interest of our penurious country and needy people at heart. Let us keep the light of faith aglow and let us not relent in praying and working for peace and progress. Our God will not disappoint us and we will not get depressed or become desponded; for in God we trust.

This post is not 100% compose by me