Jeremiah 16:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

His intentions not only aim at rendering one unseemly but also to eradicate the very capability to bear children. Nothing has been his greater ambition than to obliterate our lineage and to accuse God of having made something unnecessary. Thus, he introduced immorality that leads to the loss of children. Therefore, do not participate in their gatherings. The place of festivity is a communal assembly, which occurs during times of joy and also in moments of mourning, to comfort those who grieve.

The Savior also instructed the apostles not to greet anyone on their journey (Luke 10:4). Thus, Elisha was directed not to greet those who would go to heal the boy Giesias (4 Sam. 4:29). There exists a tradition of providing food for those in mourning and hosting feasts, known in Greek as περίδειπνα, while among our common people, they are referred to as parentalia, as they are customs made in honor of the deceased relatives. Additionally, Sacred Scripture points out: give drink to those who are sorrowful (Proverbs 31:6), allowing them perhaps to forget their anguish. Therefore, the prophet is commanded not to offer comfort to any of the people, not to partake in the feasts with those opposed to God, nor to perform customary rites at the burial of the dead. There are two distinct types of death: one according to the natural law, and the other per the decree of God. He declares, I have taken peace from this people; they do not deserve mercy; I shall show no distinction of age, for both great and small will face demise and shall lack burial. They shall not, he states, afflict themselves, nor will they shave their heads in mourning. It was customary in ancient times, and still observed by some Jews today, to express sorrow by striking their hands and cutting their hair, as Job himself displayed in his trials (Job 1 and Job 22). Thus, the prophet is instructed not to share bread with them, not to comfort the deceased, nor to offer drink, nor to enter the houses of feasting, nor to associate with those under God’s judgment. If this instruction pertains to those in mourning, what can be said concerning heretics, whose influence spreads like a disease, constantly conducting funerals within the Church for the souls they have misled?

And when the people inquire, "For what reason have we encountered these misfortunes?" remind them of the iniquities of their ancestors, reveal their own actions, and illustrate that they have sinned even more than their forebears, failing to live according to My commandments and instead pursuing their own inclinations. Therefore, declares the Lord,