Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21 / Matthew 13:44-46
King Josiah of Jerusalem died in 610 BC, and at his state funeral there were thousands of mourners.
Among the mourners was a young man who was unnoticed, unhappy and unsettled.
He was unnoticed because of his youth, unhappy because of king Josiah's death, unsettled because God had called him to be a prophet, and he was very reluctant and also very unwilling, even though God had chosen him even when he was in the womb of his mother.
Jeremiah had often been called the "Weeping prophet" because he only had bad news for the people and for that he suffered endless persecution for that.
In the 1st reading, we can hear Jeremiah's lamentation of being God's prophet.
Yet, what kept him going on as a prophet was that the Word of God was his delight and the joy of his heart and he devoured God's Word as God spoke to him.
He may be called a "Weeping prophet" yet he was also a tough one, just as tough as the other prophets and maybe even tougher when we consider what he went through.
He treasured the Word of God and even though he was called a "Weeping prophet" yet he was also a faithful prophet.
When we treasure the Word of God that we hear from the readings, the kingdom of God begins to take root in our hearts.
May we be able to let go of ourselves and rise with the blessings of God and let the kingdom of God grow in us.
Indeed, true happiness is when we keep the Word of God in our hearts and let it bear fruit in our lives.