A Fortified City

Have you ever been described with the following? Or have you self-described yourself in this manner: “A fortified city”, “a pillar of iron” or “a wall of brass”? Those are descriptions that the Prophet Jeremiah uses in today’s first reading. The Israelites are struggling. To help them know that God is with them at this time of their lives, Jeremiah uses these strong and solid images. When have you been “a fortified city”? What attacks have you repelled in your lifetime? How have you been strengthened through these attacks? When have you been “a pillar of iron”? Recall a time when you stood tall. Despite the comments and criticisms, how did they not affect you or dissuade you from what needed to be said or to be done? And when have you been “a wall of brass”? Like a sturdy and substantial dam that holds back the water, when were you in a similar opportunity? Jeremiah uses these forms to remind the people of their own strength, their own durability. But the images are not just for how the people can view themselves. It is also how Jeremiah communicates God to them. Just as they can be these realities in their lives, so too, God is the same for them. God is “a fortified city”, “a pillar of iron” or “a wall of brass”? God is there to be a model for them and their own response to what issues and crises they must face. We can do the same. As this week unfolds before us all, which of these three images – or perhaps all three! – can be you when you face the times before you.