“Modern Prophets” sermon based on Jeremiah 32:1-3, 6-15 Preached at York Pines United Church September 29, 2019

 The word that came to Jeremiah from God in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah, where King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him. Zedekiah had said, “Why do you prophesy and say: Thus says the Lord: I am going to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

Jeremiah said, “The word of God came to me: Hanamel, son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.” Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of God, and said to me, “Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that this was the word of God.

I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, Thus says the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. For thus says the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.
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Prophecy. We have always thought of prophecy as being some kind of fortune-telling. And that prophecy was always from people who were old. And that prophecy was always “back then”, not in our times. Well, all these assumptions are incorrect. Biblically, prophets spoke directly to their current time, and it was a kind of “If not this, then that will happen.” Not fortune telling, but good logical thinking, the ability to see consequences to actions. 

And there was no apparent age limit. Samuel was a boy about eleven when he heard his call. Jeremiah was perhaps a bit older than that….we infer from the opening of the book of Jeremiah - where Jeremiah received God’s call. God says “before you were formed in your mother’s womb, before you were born, I knew you. I consecrated you and appointed you as a prophet to the nations. And Jeremiah responds “Ah but I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” And God says “Do not say ‘I am only a boy; you will speak the words I will give to you.” Jeremiah, a youth – is set aside and called by God to speak to the people, to call them back to faithfulness.

He doesn’t have an easy time of it. Like all prophets, he’s attacked by naysayers. He must be paid by someone, controlled by someone. Things get so bad for Jeremiah he ends up in ‘prison’. People don’t want to hear what he says, life is too easy; they don’t want to take him seriously.

At the core of the passage from Jeremiah this morning is Word. No ordinary word, but an extraordinary Word that pulls all of the rest of the swirling words and action into obedient orbit. And the Word from God comes to Jeremiah with such jarring effect that it locates him precisely in time: when Zedekiah the Israelite King was finishing his first decade, and more ominously, when King Nebuchadnezzar was finishing nearly two decades of fierce rule.

And this was the worst possible time for such a Word to come to Israel: Jerusalem is outnumbered and surrounded by a superior military - they have run over to neighboring Egypt to form an ally to fight Babylonians. And it gets worse - not only has the Babylonian army set up a siege against Jerusalem, but Jeremiah the prophet languishes in jail. And Jeremiah isn’t there as the town drunk, to sleep it off.  He’s there because of the annoying Word from God. He has dared to speak up and speak the truth about reality. That, of course, is not the politically correct thing to do - especially if the King holds a different view than God’s.

Here’s what sent Jeremiah to prison: “Its about to happen. The thing you have ignored, hoping it would just disappear. So I’m going to tell you plainly - your dreaded enemies are going to break through. Your king – Zedekiah - will surrender and Nebuchadnezzar will bring him back to Babylon. There he’ll stay put until I’m done. So if you keep on fighting it will be worse for you -: you will lose.

What if all throughout world history those who had received such a Word  would have listened? How many thousands of lives would have been spared? No doubt there were other prophetic types in Jerusalem during these dangerous times. Certainly some early spin masters were busy spinning a better picture instead of Jeremiahs bleak prediction. Earlier comments had put a positive spin on Jeremiah’s message. But if the king had decided Jeremiah was a false prophet, why wasn’t he killed? That’s what happened to false prophets – but Jeremiah is simply put in prison. Maybe there was something so raw and real about Jeremiah’s words, that the king wasn’t quite sure if he was a real prophet or not.

Last week, a young woman from Sweden, sixteen years old speaking in a language not her own, electrified not just the United Nations but the world. She spoke clearly to the real science explaining changes in our world and our climate. She spoke clearly and forcefully. “How dare you?” she demanded. And sure enough, right away the naysayers began – she’s just a child, how does she know anything? Who is controlling her, who is payrolling her to do this? She couldn’t possibly be this literate by herself, she’s only sixteen. Right away there are those who only want to hear what makes them feel better. And right away they try to shove her into a kind of prison, to limit what she can say and do. The Word is too hard to hear – better avoid listening and hearing, instead call her ‘mentally ill’ – as someone did – or try to dump on her, make slurs against her, question her motives. Easier than hearing.

Yet don’t we have a text where Jesus says “whoever has ears to hear let him hear.”

How do we mask our real condition by choosing only the words that we want to hear? How do we dance around reality and deny, because to do otherwise is too frightening? We continue believing in life as usual, choosing to ignore the messages that God sends to our bodies, our neighborhoods, and to our nation. And it’s hard, because we have to keep on living, eating, working – we can’t just drop everything.

And Jeremiah sits in jail, silenced for speaking out and breaking the silence about the truth. And the silencers in our world keep trying. Strange thing, though. Even though the villagers ignore Jeremiahs words, as they have throughout his career, deep down they know he’s right. They know the truth when they hear it. So the story begins with nothing in the present that encourages any investment in the future. And today, at the very heart of it, the naysayers know it's true.

The young woman who addressed the United Nations and the world spoke as a true prophet. The Hebrew Scriptures are full of prophets who were the least likely, and called when they were young – Jeremiah, and Samuel. Jeremiah’s words “I am only a boy”, and God saying “Don’t’ worry about that, I will give you the words.”

I will give you the words. I will tell you what to say.

"Hey, Jeremiah," God whispers to the prophet who sleeps between two goon guards. "That you again, God?"

"This is me, God, speaking, so listen up. When your cousin drops in for a prison visit and starts talking about the family farm, go ahead and buy it."
 

Part of this story is about betting on the future when everything seems hopeless. It is the gospel of grace that speaks to a future even when we are aware we may barely have a present. What a daring, risky act of faith - to believe the Word that says, "Don’t despair, there are things you can do to save this – I know and I give you this word.”

And facing us is a 16 year old, voice strong even when emotional, who calls us out to face our own "self-invited troubles.", to start paying attention. She calls for courage and wisdom to move forward and return to where we are intended to be as part of Creation - to take hold of that possible future, to buy the land- so to speak – when everything looks grim.

Finally, the story teaches that God through us is not limited. Together with the support of God we can bring about a new reality. The caveat, which we heard this week – is that we have to get moving and do it. Take the risk of listening to the words of a prophet – the words given by intelligence, logic, commitment and passion.  And if there were no hope – if prophets truly believe there is no hope, they won’t speak. It’s because there is yet hope.

And as we listen, work on a new spirit, a new life,  a new way of living and thinking in the presence of God.

Sources: Betting on the Future a sermon based on Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 by Rev. Thomas Hall