Grief is one of the universal experiences of humankind. Its characteristics are recognizable across time and space. Because humanity is finite by nature, there will be a time to laugh and a time to cry for every man, woman, and child on earth.
We have been exploring the period in Old Testament history leading up to the Babylonian exile. The prophet Jeremiah has been our guide for the last six weeks. If it seems that we have been hopping and skipping through Jeremiah, you are right. It would appear that somewhere between the original scribing of Jeremiah and the rendering of those texts into a book of the Bible, some juggling took place. Those who designed the lectionary, the schedule of weekly readings that millions of Christians join in reading in worship, explored Jeremiah carefully f…