Jeremiah 1: Called (whether we like it or not)

Jeremiah 1 

Welcome to Jeremiah, my favourite prophet.  The message God gave to the prophets resonates with our time, perhaps with all time, because it speaks to our basest human condition and to God’s offer to live our best life.  Most of us live somewhere in the middle, hopefully closer to the option offered by God.  The prophets also remind us that we are not a solitary animal.  Our existence, in its basest or best state, is dependent on the society in which we participate.  The call of God, the call of Jesus to us, is not only to live our best self, but to encourage, persuade, even manipulate others to do the same and to do it together. Our best friends (and partners) are the ones who help us be our best selves but it is not easy to challenge and correct others in the choices they make, even those we love. Jeremiah was called to correct the leaders and the people of his time. Like Jeremiah, we find God’s call hard to hear, to understand and to accept.

Jeremiah by Michelangelo
Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;


I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak,

for I am only a boy.” 

7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy’;
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”

 

9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth;

and the Lord said to me,

“Now I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for your comment. I will reply soon.

Popular posts from this blog

Online Jonah: Finding New Life: To Hell and Back Again

Image
Week 1 To Hell and Back Again  Jonah The story of Jonah is an Easter story.   Like Jesus, Jonah went to hell and back again in three days.   It is a story of grace, repentance, forgiveness, of dissatisfaction, of judgement and evil, of resisting and answering God ’s call, of prayer in desperation, of God’s mercy and humanity’s desire for and capacity for punishment.   Let’s begin this week with the story.   It is all of two pages and will take less than 10 minutes to read.    Photo by  Rémi Boudousquié  on  Unsplash
Read more

Jonah: Finding New Life 7 Get Over It!

Image
 Jonah 4   Get over it!! What is with Jonah?   Michael E. Williams (The Storyteller’s Companion to the Bible Vol. 7) asks: Is he angry, or disappointed?   Does he feel cheated, disheartened, or revengeful…is he worrying about himself and his reputation as a prophet…does this nonfulfillment of his prediction depress him?   Is he worrying about a world where crime and sin go unpunished?   Is he jealous of the easy life and reward the Ninevites received and the difficulty he has experienced?   Is he angry over the loss of his one alleviation, the plant?   Perhaps Jonah just has trouble accepting a God that is bigger, kinder, more gracious and more loving than anything he or we can imagine.  
Read more

Jonah: Finding New Life 4 Sacrifice

Image
 Sacrifice   Jonah 1:11-16   The theology of sacrificial atonement is repugnant to me.   The idea that God demanded or planned that Jesus should be tortured and die “in my place” or “for my sin” is ridiculous.   How could Jesus “pay the price” in order to redeem my sin?   Are my sins, or yours, so great that they demand torture?   Who is Jesus paying?   Is God so vindictive that the only way to satisfy God’s anger is with murder?   I have no desire to be washed in the blood of Jesus. It just doesn’t make sense to me.   (Excuse the rant.) However, I have experienced the sacrifice of one for the salvation of many.   Sometimes a dangerous situation requires someone to put themselves at risk so that others can be saved.   In that sense, Jesus died for the sins of the world and Jonah was sacrificed for the sake of the other sailors.   Sometimes evil or nature, is going to take its toll. Jesus stood firm in his resoluti...
Read more