Jeremiah's Call

Jeremiah’s Call is our worship theme for the fourth Sunday after Epiphany, February 3, 2013. Our focus scripture is Jeremiah 1:4-10.

It is not easy to be a prophet. For that matter, it is not easy to follow God’s will in this world where all people are continually tempted to substitute their personal immediate advantage for God’s eternal purpose. When Jeremiah hears God’s call, he knows this instinctively and reacts in fear. Like Moses and Isaiah, he feels inadequate to do what he knows God will ask of him. Jeremiah knows that his beloved people will treat him as the hometown folks in this week's passage from Luke treat Jesus. They will try to run him out of town. They will try to silence him. And, indeed, Jeremiah is made a laughing stock. At one point he is literally put into the stocks because of the things he is compelled by God to say.

The truth is that it is hard for us to hear God’s voice in the words of a real prophet. Our motives are mixed because it is hard for us to believe that what benefits all really benefits us as individuals. Often we see our security and well-being as diverging from the well-being of the world. It feels like a sacrifice for us to act on behalf of the whole.

In a “perfect world” we would all get along. There would be no hunger because the resources of the world would be shared equally. There would be no denigration of people based on age, intelligence, education, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, nationality, connections or the lack of them, handicapping conditions, marital status, etc. There would be no exploitation of the world of nature. No global warming, no mass destruction of species, no killing other species just for the thrill of it.

But that is not our world. Passively and actively we compete for a larger share of resources than we really need. Wants become needs. Where we inherit positions of privilege because of being born an American, or coming from a family of material wealth, or being born white, or male, or straight, we are generally happy to claim those privileges and feel that we need them. Life is scary and there is a real sense that it is hard to have too much. Yet all kinds of violence support these lifestyles. The violence of destroying other species’ habitats. The violence of strip mining and burning too much fossil fuel. The violence of exploiting third world workers to produce cheap goods. The violence of the men expecting women to “automatically” do more than their true share of the housework or work in businesses for less pay. The violence of competition at work, so that in order for me to advance, I might undercut a fellow employee. The violence of one company cutting corners to out-compete another company for a larger share of business. The violence of nations fighting wars over turf or natural resources or the right to rule.

The problem with the violence is that when we passively accept it or actively perform it, it messes with the state of our souls. And this is where the prophets come in. We are meant to live with each other in harmony and peace. There is something in each of us that knows when we are in balance and when we are out of balance. We know God loves us and forgives us. But we also know that it is not that easy to get off God’s divine hook. So Jeremiah and Jesus speak words that penetrate our hearts and souls and re-orient us to God’s will.

The question before us this week is whether we will choose to listen to them amid the temptations life presents. And even more, whether we will choose to join them in speaking God’s truth to the powers of this world.

Here is a Call to Worship based on Psalm 71:1-8. Please use or adapt anything in this post that is helpful to you.

Call to Worship     From Psalm 71:1-8

L: God, I run to you for protection! Don’t let me be put to shame.

P: Save me and guard me. Get me out of this mess!

L: You are my rock and my fortress. You always do what is right.

P: Rescue me from the clasp of the crooked and the clutch of the cruel.

L: O God, you are my single hope. I’ve trusted you from my youth.

P: From birth, you’ve cared for me. I will always sing your praise!

L: You call me to speak truth to power, yet you always make me strong.

All: That’s why I always praise you, God, speak your glory all day long.