ST IRENAEUS, BISHOP, MARTYR AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH (MEMORIAL)

Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, led into exile the last of the people remaining in the city. 

The people of Jerusalem had lost everything. Besieged by invading armies, they were starving, with no relief in sight. Their city had been reduced to rubble, their king had been carried away, and their Temple had been burned to the ground. Now Nebuzaradan, commander of the Babylonian guard, carted off the remaining few to exile in a pagan land.

Today’s first reading marks the bitter end of the Kingdom of Judah. God’s people would now live in exile for seventy years. Many would die there. Their children would spend their entire lives in Babylon, never having seen Jerusalem or worshipped at the Temple.

You can understand why the Israelites might lose hope. It would be easy to forget what God had done for their ancestors and the future that he had promised them. Staying faithful to his commands under foreign rule would have been difficult. It would have been easier simply to give up and live like the Babylonians. And some did. But others remembered the Lord and trusted in his faithfulness. With the help of prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, they held on to their faith. They knew that Babylon was not their home and that Nebuchadnezzar was not their king. They were God’s people, and he had promised to bring them back home (Jeremiah 29:1-14).

We all know what it’s like to feel lost or out of place, as if we were in exile. Like the Israelites, we know this world is not our home. We were created for heaven, and we long for our homeland. There, we will live in perfect unity with God and one another for all eternity. Our time on earth is like a blink compared to the eternal joy that lies before us!

Life here holds great beauty and blessing as well as suffering and pain. Most importantly, it holds the ever-present help of our Father. He is our refuge and our fortress. And one day, just as he did for Israel, he will bring us home.

Today you are heading toward heaven, toward the One who made you. He invites you to stay close to him. He walks beside you and offers you strength for the journey. He will never leave your side. He will lead you home!

“Thank you, Lord, for being with me today!”

2 Kings 25:1-12
Psalm 137:1-6
Matthew 8:1-4