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There are passages in the Bible which we are
familiar—favorite verses which bring us comfort in the
face of difficulty. “God is our refuge and strength, a
very present help in trouble.” (Ps 46:1) There are
verses that encourage us when we are feeling down or
ready to give up. “Keep alert, stand firm in your
faith, be courageous, be strong.” (1 Cor. 16:13) Then
there are the challenging words that require us to take
stock of our lives realizing that we are not where we
should be and then make the necessary changes. Jesus
said, “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me
cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27)
There are also biblical heroes that come to mind. There
was Moses who led the people out of Egypt to begin a
journey to the Promised Land. There is King David who
united two kingdoms. His words continue to inspire us.
“My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and
earth.” (Psalm 121:2) The people of old expected a
messiah to come from the royal line of David.
In
the New Testament of course there is Jesus. We travel
with him each year from the cradle to the grave and
beyond. We listen to his words trying our best to be
more like Jesus and to follow in his footsteps. Many
are intrigued by the Apostle Peter who frequently acted
without much thought. On the night of Jesus’ arrest,
Peter sliced off part of a guard’s ear thinking he could
protect Jesus. There is Paul whose ministry opened the
way of salvation for all people. Paul was the first
missionary who brought the good news to the gentiles.
Today we encounter the Old Testament Prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah was a prophet called by God; his task was to
deliver God’s word. The problem that he repeatedly
encountered was that the people really did not want to
hear what he had to say. Jeremiah lived through some
difficult days. It is never easy to be a prophet, who
wants to be told they are wrong and need to change? To
say that people despised Jeremiah would be an
understatement. There were times when he was fearful of
his life. Jeremiah appears only about a dozen times in
the three year lectionary cyle.
Jeremiah is older when he looks back over his life
remembering fondly his call. At the time he might not
have fully understood what God was calling him to do—but
over time his sense of calling became clear. He might
have been able to look back over his life and without a
doubt see the hand of God at work in his life.
One of the first tasks of someone called to ministry is
to share their sense of calling. For some it takes time
to recognize the call God has on their lives. Others it
is a moment of clarity that they can easily recall. The
candidate is asked to describe their calling. I’ve read
many over the years serving on the Board of Ordained
Ministry. If there is a common thread it is that they
came to a point when they realized God was calling them
and the call would not go away. Some will try to ignore
the call while others might put it off for a time but
the sense of call is so strong that it never goes away.
Jeremiah was young, “only a boy” when the word of God
came to him. God called Jeremiah making the amazing and
somewhat scary claim that God knew him intimately, from
the time before he was even born. “Before I formed you
in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I
consecrated you.” God called Jeremiah for a specific
task, “I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah’s assignment would be to speak the word of God,
not only to Israel, but to the entire world—including
enemies. He was literally “a prophet to the nations.”
It
seems to me that we go out of our way to separate
religion and politics. Several years ago I taught an
adult Sunday school class with an assigned passage from
Jeremiah. My conclusion was that our faith should play
a more significant role in politics. An older woman
stood up and said that she was taught the “religion and
politics do not mix,” and found that good advice to
follow. The rest of the class nodded in agreement. So
much for my well prepared lesson. There are times when
from a faith perspective we need to engage in the
political process. There are times when we see
injustices that we cannot remain silent—but must speak
up.
We
live in a time when people of faith should speak up and
become more involved in politics. We need leaders who
will govern from a faith perspective. Concern for the
poor and issues of social justice, economics, as well
as, war and peace are issues for God’s politics found
throughout the pages of the Bible.
Jeremiah remembered well when he was first called as a
prophet. Like many before, and after him, his first
reaction was to try his best to get out of it. In
responding, “Ah, Lord God,” Jeremiah was acknowledging
that he belonged to God. Like Moses he claimed that he
did not know “how to speak,” never took a course in
public speaking. And if that were not enough to get him
off the hook, he cites his inexperience, “I am only a
boy.” Evidence of God at work in our world today is
that God calls young women and men. The present
generation of young people is doing amazing things in
the name of Jesus Christ.
Jeremiah’s excuses do not hold up. God assured the
young man that God will be with him whenever he faces
people and will give him the right words to say.
Jeremiah would not need to come up with his own
material—God would give him the words to speak. The
words he would speak would be the word of God. What an
awesome responsibility.
In
telling the young prophet, “Do not be afraid of them,”
God knew that some people would reject Jeremiah’s
message. It’s not easy being a prophet, but even when
he meets resistance, rejection, perhaps violent threats
against him, God would be present with him, “for I am
with you to deliver you,”
In
that intimate call setting the Lord God reached out and
touched Jeremiah’s mouth, signifying that God placed
words, divine words, in the prophet’s mouth. Instead of
imagining a loving touch, we might do better to think of
a jolt or shock. We might want to ask whether it hurt
or left a scar. God’s words placed in his mouth would
forever change Jeremiah’s life. There would be no
turning back. I would think that if Jeremiah realized
what he was getting himself into he might very well have
told God, “no thank you.” Yet I wonder, later in life
if Jeremiah felt the satisfaction of knowing that he
obeyed God and was faithful to his calling?
God appointed Jeremiah “over nations and kingdoms,”
again the public aspect as a prophet to the nations and
all people is noted. Jeremiah would confront rulers,
speaking the word of God. Jeremiah is the only prophet
described as an international prophet.
A
final thought, Jeremiah was called to “pluck up and to
pull down,” which you would expect from a prophet.
There are times when we need to set out in a new
direction—turning away from destructive behavior. Turn
from the past to embrace God’s bright future. Jeremiah
would spend the majority of his career pulling down in
an effort for the people and nations to change their
ways. We must first clear away the old before we can
“build and to plant.” God is a God of second, and
third, and as many chances as we need. Jeremiah might
not have had much experience building and planting, but
I believe the fruits of his ministry would one day be
evident.
Each one of us has been called by
God—that is why you are here this morning and every
Sunday. Through prayer and scripture reading we discern
how God might use our own unique gifts to accomplish
God’s plan in our personal lives, in our church, and
ultimately in our world.
We
live out our faith, we share the good news with others,
and we do not always see results. But be assured that
one day fruit will come, one day our efforts will yield
results because we have been faithful and obedient to
the God who loves us. We have followed in the footsteps
of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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