Links for today’s readings:
Sep 29 Read: Lamentations 4 Listen: (3:42) Read: Romans 2 Listen: (4:13)
Scripture Focus: Lamentations 4.13-15
13 But it happened because of the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed within her
the blood of the righteous.
14 Now they grope through the streets
as if they were blind.
They are so defiled with blood
that no one dares to touch their garments.
15 “Go away! You are unclean!” people cry to them.
“Away! Away! Don’t touch us!”
When they flee and wander about,
people among the nations say,
“They can stay here no longer.”
Reflection: Bloodshed and Bloodguilt
By John Tillman
Jeremiah said the priests and prophets shed the “blood of the righteous.” Is this bloodshed literal or metaphorical?
In this context, it is probably both. Bloodguilt is a person’s moral responsibility before God for unjust deaths that one caused or failed to take reasonable action to prevent, especially when one had a duty to act, such as under the covenant or, by analogy, modern legal systems.
You don’t have to literally spill blood to have bloodguilt. For example, Jeremiah narrowly escaped “bloodshed” by the religious leaders, but they didn’t try to cut his throat. They tried to drown or starve him in a muddy cistern. (Jer 38.6-13)
Bloodguilt is often implied for non-violent offenses involving neglect, such as deaths deemed preventable if covenant responsibilities had been followed faithfully. For example, when foreigners, widows, orphans, or the poor starve to death because the community fails to care for them as directed, God demands an account. (Is 1.15-17; Eze 22.7-12; Jer 22.3-17; Prov 24.11-12)
In Jeremiah’s poem of lament, these priests become pariahs. They stagger around blindly, covered in blood that makes them unclean. People shout at them to go away and shun their touch.
In real life, before the fall of the city, these priests probably looked normal. Their robes would have been immaculate and people would have been honored to be in their presence. But in Jeremiah’s vision, the truth is revealed. When their wickedness and bloodguilt become visible to everyone, they are shunned.
We do not live under the covenant that Jerusalem did, but that does not mean we don’t have responsibilities as God’s people to preserve and protect life. There are at least two ways to think about this.
First, consider the log in your eye. Are we taking seriously our responsibilities to take reasonable measures to prevent loss of life? What are we, personally, and through our churches and governments, doing or not doing?
The second is, are we holding accountable those who shed blood either maliciously or through incompetence or carelessness? Are we shunning and calling them out for their sins or going along with them as normal?
Like Jeremiah, we do not incur bloodguilt for things we have no power to stop or for things we oppose, yet fail to stop. However, whether people are being shot in the street or starving in the street, let us be found doing what we can and holding accountable those who are negligent or complicit.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; let those who love your salvation say forever, “Great is the Lord!” — Psalm 70.4
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Readers’ Choice is Coming!
Readers’ Choice is when we ask you to share your favorite Park Forum posts from this year. What posts challenged you?
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Read more: Justice That Protects Even Criminals’ Lives
The life of the criminal matters to God…Let us ensure that we maintain justice that protects life, including the life of the criminal.
