Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the LORD’s temple. – Jeremiah 36:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 2, 2014): Jeremiah 36

Jan Hus was a Czech priest born in the latter half of the 14^th Century. Hus was one of the earliest reformers of the Church, preceding both Martin Luther and John Calvin. Hus had serious concerns about the teachings of the church, especially the sale of indulgences to raise funds (this was one of charges that Martin Luther would later bring against the Catholic Church.) He began to see that corruption was rocking the faith and he called for a Reform of the Roman Catholic Church. Not surprisingly, the Roman Catholic Church was not amused. One of the biggest weapons in the arsenal of the church, short of execution, was excommunication – the removal of a person from the religious services and even a Christian burial. Excommunication was a serious threat, and often a deeply emotional event in the life of the one being evicted from the church.

On December 20, 1409, the Pope issued an edict that enabled the Archbishops to excommunicate anyone who possessed any of the writings of John Wycliffe. The church was attempting to wipe the memory of Wycliffe from the church. Jan Hus appealed to the pope, but the pope refused to hear the appeal. The result was that Hus was excommunicated, ending his relationship with the Catholic Church.

We are not sure what was happening in the life of Jeremiah during this part of his life. Some have wondered if Jeremiah was in prison, but the more likely explanation was that he had suffered some sort of excommunication by the king from Temple Worship. As a result, Jeremiah was no longer welcome at the temple. It was one way that the king could try and quiet the prophet, hopefully stopping the spread of the teaching of Jeremiah. So Jeremiah went to plan B, sending Baruch in his place.

Jeremiah was not going to let the restrictions of the king stop the message that God had given to him. And neither would the reformers. In spite of the threat of excommunication and execution, the message of God had to go forward. Jeremiah would find ways to get his message out to the people until after the destruction of Jerusalem.  In the case of Jan Hus, he was burned at the stake on July 6, 1415 at the age of 45. The charge that was brought against him was heresy against the church. His last words were "God is my witness that the things charged against me I never preached. In the same truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and preached, drawing upon the sayings and positions of the holy doctors, I am ready to die today."

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 45 and 25