Rev. Daniel E. Pilarczyk

Azariah’s prayer is appropriate for us to recall in our season of Lenten repentance. We have no right to God’s care. We can only ask for God’s mercy.

God’s mercy is offered to us because God is God. We are members of a sinful people. Yet God cares for us anyhow.

In the Book of Micah the author first prays for the prosperity of the people. Then in a kind of litany of forgiveness, he speaks of the blessings that God offers to them.

The suffering of the just man is a theme that calls for our greater attention as we approach the weeks of the liturgy that deal with the sufferings and death of the just man, Jesus.

Jeremiah tells us not to put our confidence in human beings. Only the Lord deserves our full trust.

Jeremiah has been preaching about the people’s sinfulness but they are not receptive. Today’s reading is a foretaste of the response that Jesus would receive to his preaching.

God calls his people to repentance. At the same time, the Lord expresses his willingness to forgive. God is willing to forgive us if we are willing to abandon our sins.