Jeremiah 3: 1- 4:2, emphasise on the return of the apostate. Jeremiah’s mission was two-fold - to root out and tear down and to build and plant. The present poem is the second panel of diptych. The essence of the whole section is the working out of the conditions required to bring about the reconciliation between Israel and Yahweh. The profound unity of the entire composition was maintained through the constant use of the key word “Shubh”. Basically the root means to return from one place to another. In terms of religious meanings this expression designates both an aversion from and a conversation to the right.
Human life is a beautiful composition of visits and revisits. The God who works in the history also is seen as a God who visits and revisits. This God does not designate a destination for any works God does, instead revisits or returns to all that are seen as good. We see in the above read passage about a God who is a promising God, as a forgiving God, a God who expects the return of his beloved.
Incarnation of Jesus is the towering portrayal of the return of God in history. The incarnation of Jesus exemplifies the willingness of God to return to the communion which God had with creation in the Garden of Eden. Jesus' ministry cannot be seen as a linear projectile with specific goals attached to every course of action he undertook or each person he met. In his journeys as he walked, he stopped when he heard someone cry, he turned when someone touched his cloak and returned to those who needed his attention and care.
The seashore of Tiberius in the post resurrection narrative witnesses an evident scene of this returning Jesus to his disciples. Jesus and his disciples were moving together towards the cross all through his ministry. But at the crucial time of facing the cross the disciples deserted him and hid in their secure enclosures. But what we see at the end of the day is a Jesus waiting on his disciples with words of comfort and reassurance. Jesus returns back from his journey to the glory to reinstate his beloved group. Every returning compassion is compelled by a permanent space reserved in the corner for the beloved. Most often our evaluations on the events in our lives reserve no permanent space for the people or events in or cognitive space. We could not effectively engage with the call of the least and the lost as we never bruised ourselves to leave a permanent space for them. Their cries for help are just prayer points in our profligate spiritual exercises.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi left his lucrative job prospects and a promising career as he could reserve some permanent space for his fellow people yearning for freedom. This made him return to his country leading it into Independence. Today let us examine deep into our hearts and see how much space we reserve for the commitments and how much shallow are our engagements. Let us return to our commitments and find permanent spaces for events and people we meet in our daily lives. Amen
[ Alex Das, the leader of this meditation, is a final year BD student in Gurukul College]
