The people of Jerusalem conspired against Jeremiah by asserting they didn’t need him since he did not supply “instruction, counsel or messages.” Apparently they thought that those things are the what religion or faith does. But those things are all external, not intrinsic to one’s person. You can taken them or leave them. Jeremiah, on the other hand, offered a vision of God, that was personal, relational, in your bones. Perhaps the reason that so many have walked away from religion is that it seems external to them. Pope Francis keeps reminding us that genuine belief is really an encounter with the other. The way to invite people into faith is not via the catechism but through an invitation to meet the person of Jesus.
