The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

Episode: Day 253: Lamentations of Jeremiah
Date: September 10, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz leads listeners through several heavy passages: Jeremiah chapters 45–46, Lamentations 1, and Proverbs 17:21–28. The episode explores the realities of devastation, personal suffering, judgment, and lament. It offers both Scriptural readings and thoughtful reflections, positioning the ancient laments of Jeremiah and the people of Jerusalem as instructive for modern believers in times of suffering. Fr. Mike specifically highlights the unique structure and significance of Lamentations, the comfort offered to Baruch, and the judgment on Egypt—along with practical wisdom from Proverbs.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Jeremiah 45: Comfort to Baruch – God’s Word to the Suffering Scribe

• Context: This is a flashback in Jeremiah’s narrative. Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, is overwhelmed by the sorrow and calamities around him.
• God’s Message to Baruch:
  • Baruch suffers alongside Jeremiah but receives a personal word from God, not just broader oracles for the nation.
    • Quote (Fr. Mike, 08:27):
      “Baruch has been writing down the words of the prophet Jeremiah for other people. And here is the word of God coming through the prophet Jeremiah for him personally. … Baruch, not just them, you. This isn't just for others. This is also for you.”
  • The message is not a promise that suffering will end, but assurance that God sees him and will preserve his life.
    • Quote (Fr. Mike, 10:14):
      “It's not a word of saying, Baruch, the time of suffering is over … He says, no, that's still coming. That judgment still has to come. … But you, Baruch, I want to let you know I'm going to continue to bless you.”

2. Jeremiah 46: Judgment Against Egypt

• Transition: Chapters 46–51 extend God’s judgment beyond Israel, beginning with Egypt. These are oracles about neighboring nations.
• Main Points:
  • God uses Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon) as an instrument of judgment not only on His covenant people, but also on nations like Egypt who have lived wickedly.
  • Egypt’s defeat is depicted—in poetic terms, their pride and power will fall.
• Reflection:
  • God’s sovereignty means that judgment and correction are not limited to His own people but encompass all nations.

3. Lamentations 1: The Alphabet of Grief

• Context: Lamentations is Jeremiah’s poetic witness as he observes Jerusalem’s agony during the Babylonian siege.
• Description:
  • The city is personified as a lonely widow, utterly desolate and mourning.
  • There is acute awareness of both suffering and sin: “Jerusalem sinned grievously, therefore she became filthy.” (Lamentations 1:8)
• Structure:
  • The lament is written as an alphabetical acrostic in Hebrew (each verse starting with letters in order). Fr. Mike explores this device:
    • Quote (Fr. Mike, 16:30): “The theory is that maybe one of the reasons why Jeremiah chose this alphabetic acrostic is to give himself some constraints, because or else he would just kind of bleed all over the page with his grief and with his agony.”
• Personal Reflection:
  • Fr. Mike draws a parallel between the Israelites’ suffering and listeners’ personal griefs, inviting them to bring pain to God as prayer, not just as pain.
    • Quote (Fr. Mike, 20:44): “These lamentations, they don't merely capture the suffering of the people during the siege. They also are meant to speak to your suffering. … Here is a way to speak of that pain and to make it a prayer.”

4. Proverbs 17:21–28: The Wisdom of the Suffering

• Highlights:
  • Wisdom, foolishness, and restraint in speech—essential in times of trial.
  • The repeated theme of honoring parents and the burden of a foolish child.
  • The power of silence:
    • Quote (Fr. Mike, 06:48 & 12:24):
      “Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise… That's that secular proverb, I think, that says, better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.”

Memorable Quotes and Key Explanations

• On faithful suffering:
  “Disaster will still come upon us … the people we love the most will still die … And yet in the midst of that disaster, we have the Lord.” (Fr. Mike, 11:07)

• On constraining grief through form:
  “If he just dumped out his emotions onto the page … it would just be this mess. … [The alphabetic acrostic] is to give himself some constraints … or else he would just kind of bleed all over the page with his grief.” (Fr. Mike, 16:34)

• On integrating pain with prayer:
  “Too often we let our pain simply become just pain … Here is Jeremiah, who shows us that we can allow our pain to become a prayer when we don't just experience it, but we also then relate it to the Lord.” (Fr. Mike, 21:01)

• On the inevitability of hardship and hope:
  “It's going to end in destruction. …And yet here's God who says, but that's not going to be the end. That will not be the end. And for your life as well, it will not be the end.” (Fr. Mike, 22:06)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:04 – Introduction, reading plan outline, episode context
• 02:26 – Jeremiah 45: God’s word of comfort to Baruch
• 05:36 – Jeremiah 46: Judgment prophecy against Egypt
• 09:43 – Lamentations 1: The acrostic lament and its setting
• 12:46 – Proverbs 17:21–28: Reflections on wisdom and restraint
• 14:07 – Reflection: Baruch’s suffering and consolation
• 16:30 – Lamentations: The purpose of structure in grief
• 19:59 – The theology of lament: Turning pain into prayer
• 22:06 – Encouragement, closing remarks

Tone & Takeaways

Father Mike delivers these readings and reflections with empathy, gravity, and gentle encouragement. The pain of the ancient Israelites is not minimized, but rather used as a bridge to the pain we feel today. The episode reassures listeners that while suffering is part of life, it does not have to be borne in silence or isolation. Instead, like Baruch and Jeremiah, Christians are invited to bring their agony, fear, and heartache into conversation with God, trusting that even in destruction, it is not the end. Wisdom lies in honesty and restraint, prayer and perseverance.

Summary prepared for listeners seeking depth, encouragement, and scriptural understanding from Day 253 of The Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz.