Jeremiah's Call Sermon

Jeremiah 1:4-9

4 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.’
⁶Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ 

⁷But 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.’
⁹Then 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. ’

My kids are 17 and 18 years old, about the same age I imagine Jeremiah was when God came to him, calling him and leading him into a future specifically designed for him.  Though they are not PKs…yet…they have grown up in the church, they have been expected to do what they are asked, even when it wasn’t their turn, and they have conformed to a worship that has been, in their opinions, forced upon them.  They are at the age of discovery and are stuck between dependence and independence, not wanting to disappoint their parents, but wanting desperately to explore their own beliefs, their own ways of worship, with their own kinds of people.  And, most of all, they don’t know if they believe in the God of their parents.

It is an age-old story.  We adults who hover around the lives of teens watch them as they are caught between childhood and adulthood.  We want to help them navigate these rough waters.  We sometimes remember how we felt at that age and we wish we could make it easier for our youth.  Each story is as unique as each teen, but each one resonates with the truth that growing up is hard work and it is filled with difficult decisions.  Not everyone gets as clear a message as Jeremiah. 

Jeremiah was a PK, a priest’s kid.  He was a part of a faith community who expected him to be at temple, participating, helping and becoming a true follower of God.  Always there, Jeremiah could be counted on to pick up the slack when others did not show up.  They knew that Jeremiah would be there.  He didn’t have their sports schedule or school work or parents who would allow him to sleep instead of coming to temple.  If he was like any other adolescent, he begrudgingly did what he was asked and deep inside wondered if what he was doing really meant anything.  Who is this God and why does God matter?  And maybe even more importantly, what am I to God?

With a desire to be invisible and to hide in his own thoughts, dreaming of growing up and getting out of this oppressive home and temple life, Jeremiah did what any obedient child of a priest would do:  he practiced a faithful life, even though he did not fully understand his place in it.  For that matter, he wasn’t even sure if he believed in the God of his father.

The world seemed like so much more than this microcosm of temple life.  Rumors of war, corrupt kings, conquered communities, death and destruction outside these walls were the conversation of the elders.  Wide-eyed, Jeremiah would listen.  He watched as his peers played at war, learning skills they may need.  Stuck beside his father, Jeremiah would dream of a different world, a world where he could be something besides a priest. 

And so it was on that day.  Jeremiah was sweeping up the ashes from the sacrifices offered earlier.  His mind wandered to a day when he would stride away from home in search for his future.  Kicking at the ash and grumbling about the unfairness of it all, he heard an unfamiliar, but soothing voice. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.”  Alone in the temple, he whirled around, looking for the source.  When he did not find one he shook his head as if to remove a bug from his ear.  He closed his eyes and he cocked his head.  Opening them, his eyes darted from side to side as he pondered the words.  Who could possibly know someone before they were even in the womb?  He sighed and went back to his sweeping.  It was just his imagination.  He hadn’t really heard anything. 

The voice returned, louder this time.  “I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”  For a brief second Jeremiah thought, “This is my ticket out of this place!” But, who was he?  All he knew was here, in the temple.  “Ah, Lord God!”  The awareness of who was speaking surprised him.  “Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.”  He was reluctant, not to hear God, but to understand his worth as a human.  He was in between childhood and manhood; that place where nothing seems to fit right and the internal battle between wanting to be taken care of conflicts with the strong desire to take care of oneself.   That place where he wanted to do something, ANYTHING but the family business!  He did not know how to claim his independence when his future seemed firmly planted.  And now he was hearing that God’s plan was different than his father’s?  Could he really explore the world outside of these walls and still do the work of God?  Would his father approve?

All these things ran quickly through Jeremiah’s mind as God went on, “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.”  He had heard of prophets.  Those were men who claimed to speak messages from God.  They did not have much credibility in his world.  And now God wanted him to do that kind of work?  How would his father react?  And worse, what would the other elders think?  They would laugh in disbelief of this tale. 

Jeremiah remembered listening to them talk about prophets.  They rarely said anything good. They called them “false prophets” or “sooth-sayers” or “dreamers” or “magicians.” Those that did divination were scoffed at the most.  The elders often blamed the prophets for the devastation caused when bad advice was given. For the most part, the elders never trusted the prophets or their messages.  They did not believe God could want what was happening.  What was even worse was the way they would cheer when they heard of the torture and execution of the prophets.  And now God is telling him that he would be a prophet?

As if reading his mind, God went on, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you.” 

Do not be afraid?  Does God not know all the pressure of a PK?  Everything is supposed to be ‘just so.’  Not only was God telling him he was going to be one of those people who were ridiculed by the believers, God was telling him he had to disobey his father.  It sounded to him that he would have to leave, and even though he thought that was his greatest desire, he never really wanted to go. 

The voice quieted.  Jeremiah looked around.  His shoulders slumped with disappointment as he thought that all that just happened was all in his head.  Just another dream.  The texture of the broom in his hand brought him back to the present.  He swept with a rapid motion and the dust billowed around him.  Angry with himself for allowing this dream to give him hope, Jeremiah berated himself.  “Why would I think I could leave?”  The dust was thick and his eyes began to water.  Not tears, no, no tears!  As he moved forward the broom bumped into something, stopping Jeremiah in his tracks.  Something touched his mouth. It was soothing and warm, but nothing like he had ever experienced.  Loving, like the caress of his mother when he was feverish.  His heart leapt, and sent a tingling out to his fingertips.  Dropping the broom, he shivered, but was not cold.  A sense of peace overcame him. He understood, deep within, that everything he had heard was true.  The voice spoke again.  “Now I have put my words in your mouth.”

Wow.

I don’t expect our kids will have as close an encounter with God as Jeremiah did, but if they did, I would want them to hear God like that.

I would hope they would understand that God’s intimate relationship with them began before they were born.  I would want them to know that they matter in this world and that they have a purpose that is unique to them.  I would want them to hear that their doubts about God are normal; that their parents accept and love them through this time of discovery.  I would desire that they can do the work of God outside of their church, in the world in which they live as they seem to want to do. 

And though I want these things for my own children, I also want them for me and you.  God has known and chosen and called each one of us in some way.  Like Jeremiah, many of us struggle with reconciling the things of this world with the work we are called to do.  We hope that God will fill us with the ability to overcome our doubts and fears and will give us the right words at the right time.  We hope for our own electrifying caress from God, holding us and guiding us as we do the work we have heard God call us to do.

Let us pray.  You may not have come to each of us as you came to Jeremiah, God, but it is comforting to know that you created us for a purpose.  Help us to know and understand how to balance what we want to do with what you have planned for us.  Take away the fear when we believe we are not well prepared to do your work. Fill us with your grace and with the strength necessary to BE for you.  Amen.