The people of Jerusalem figured that Jeremiah was more trouble than he was worth. They have all that they need to live out their religion “instruction from the priests,counsel from the wise, messages from the prophets.” The priests teach them the catechism, what they need to know. The wise give them advice on how to live and the prophets tell them who to vote for, what party to back. The people don’t recognize that what they really need is a personal connection with God. That is what Jeremiah offers — an encounter with the divine. The life of faith has at its most basic level not things external to us like the catechism but a personal and particular encounter with Jesus that connects us with God.
