“But I’m Only…..” sermon based on Jeremiah 1:4-10 Sunday August 25, 2019 preached at York Pines United Church

Now the word of God came to me saying, "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."  Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." 

But God 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. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says God. Then God put out a hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. 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."

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Jeremiah speaks. He says clearly “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.”

“But I am only a boy…” says Jeremiah.

“But I swore I’d never be a minister!” That was me back in 1990, griping about not getting a job I wanted because I didn’t have a Master of Divinity. “So”, said a mentor, “then why don’t you go get one!”

Before Jeremiah knew God, God knew Jeremiah. This isn’t quite how we think about God, is it?  God is an object about which we have questions. We are curious about God, we make inquiries,  read books, drop into church, absorb an occasional sunset or symphony to cultivate a feeling of spiritual reverence – and there is no doubt God infuses all those experiences and places.  But one of the things about God is that before we ever got around to asking questions about God, God has been questioning us. Long before we got interested in the subject of God, God subjected us to the most intensive and searching knowledge. Before it ever crossed our minds that God might be important, God singled each of us out as important. Every single human being is known. How that happens, we don’t know. We each define God – a person, entity, concept, whatever – differently.

However, we are born into a world we didn't create, a life we didn’t conceive at all. We arrive in a complex of relationships with other wills and destinies that are already in full operation before we are introduced. If we are going to live appropriately, we must be aware that we are living in a kind of ‘neverending story’ which may go on after we are done.

So here is a question to ponder this week – when did your identity begin? When were you aware of wrestling with identity?

Jeremiah's life didn't start with Jeremiah. Jeremiah's truth didn't start with Jeremiah. Jeremiah’s calling didn’t begin with Jeremiah. He entered the world in which the essential parts of his existence were already ancient history. That’s the human story.

But if we believe God has known us even before we were conceived, why do we have so much trouble believing that we each have gifts which are to be shared with others – and I don’t necessarily mean physical gifts, although those count- I mean the gifts of the spirit.

Many years ago in one of my earlier congregations, a decision was made to close. People were tired, they didn’t want to “do” church any more, they just wanted to go to church and someone else to things. No one wanted to chair the board, or be the secretary – but those things were vital to a smooth transition and closing. I remember approaching a woman who had been chair of the UCW and asking if she would chair the Board. Hesitatingly she said “I don’t know if I have the skill for this, but yes, I will take it on.”

At the next Board meeting, I noted that I had asked her and she had agreed. Right away, all those men – and yes they were all men – insisted she couldn’t do it, because she “didn’t have the experience needed for such a difficult time.” So I asked politely which of them was willing to step in and take us through the rough time ahead. And as I thought – No one. Yet they could not see that someone else might have gifts and could grow into that position.

And as that congregation worked its way through the intricacies and grief of closing, she led them with compassion, insight, helpful suggestions – she modelled the best kind of leadership. Humble, not sure of her own gifts, probably terrified she’d do something ghastly – in fact she was the best chair they could have had.

 Notice also that God says to Jeremiah “Before you were born I consecrated you.” Consecrated – blessed, set apart. It means that somehow each of us is chosen for something important. Right now, today, there is a spiritual war in progress, an all out moral battle. There is evil and cruelty, unhappiness and illness. There is superstition and ignorance, brutality and pain. God is in continuous and energetic battle against all of it. God is for life and against death. God is for love and against hate. God is for hope and against despair. God is for heaven and against hell. There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square foot of space is contested.

Jeremiah, even before he was born, was consecrated to be on God’s side in this struggle. He didn’t even get a chance to grow up before he was called to get moving with the message. He was chosen by God. Just as we are chosen for the side of compassion, care, love, humility. In a time when cruel people name themselves as a “chosen one” , we need to be able to acknowledge that we are in fact God’s people, working to further the realm of God on earth – not the realm of self-serving humans.
For a long time all Christians called each other saints, regardless of how they lived, or how experienced or inexperienced they were. The word ‘saint’ did not refer to the quality or virtue of their acts, but to the kind of life to which they had been chosen, life on a spiritual battlefield. It was not a title given after a spectacular performance, but a mark of whose side they were on. The word ‘saint’ is the noun form of the verb ‘consecrated’ that gave spiritual shape to Jeremiah even before he had biological shape.

God is out to win the world in love and each person has been selected in the same way that Jeremiah was, to be set apart to do it with God. God doesn't wait around to see how we turn out before deciding to choose or not to choose us. And God is specific in noting Jeremiah was appointed to be a ‘prophet to the nations. ’The word appointed is, literally ‘gave’ -  as a prophet. Before Jeremiah ever got it together he was given away.

Can you hear Jeremiah objecting, “Wait a minute. I've got my inalienable rights. I have a few decisions about life that I am going to make myself.”

Some things we have a choice in, some we don't. It is the kind of world into which we were born, and the call of God is to a life of giving. Giving is the style of the universe, the structure of God’s realm. Giving is woven into the fabric of existence. If we try to live by getting instead of giving, we are going against the grain. It is like trying to go against the law of gravity, the consequence is bruises and broken bones. In fact, we do see a lot of distorted, misshapen, crippled lives among those who defy the reality that all life is given and must continue to be given to be true to its nature.

There is a rocky cliff on the shoreline of the Montana lake where I live part of each summer. There are breaks in the rock face in which tree swallows make their nests. For several weeks one summer I watched the swallows in swift flight collect insects barely above the surface of the water then dive into the cavities in the cliff, feeding first their mates and then their new-hatched chicks. Near one of the cracks in the cliff face a dead branch stretched about four feet over the water. One day I was delighted to see three new swallows sitting side by side on this branch. The parents made wide, sweeping, insect-gathering circuits over the water and then returned to the enormous cavities that those little birds became as they opened their beaks for a feeding.  

Have you ever sat and watched swallows – their beautiful swooping flight. Swallows have feet and can walk. They can use their tiny little feet to grasp a branch securely. They can walk; they can cling. But it’s flying that’s their gift; it’s what they do. When they soar they are living into their identity, what they are, gracefully and beautifully.

Giving is the air into which we were born, the action that was designed into us before our birth. Giving is the way the world is. Everything that is, is to be given away. No exceptions. We are given away to our families, to our friends, to our enemies, to the nations. Our life is for others. That is the way creation works. Some of us try desperately to hold on to ourselves, to live for ourselves. We look so bedraggled and pathetic doing it, hanging on to the dead branch of a bank account for dear life, afraid to risk ourselves on the untried wings of giving. We don't think we can live generously because we have never tried. But the sooner we start the better, for we are going to have to give up our lives finally, and the longer we wait the less time we have for the soaring and swooping life of grace. Amen.

With material from “Give Yourself Away” by Rev. Thomas Hall.