St Theodore's Sermon

	St Theodore's Wattle Park

Sermon of the Week

21/6/00

Protest & Challenge Jer 15:10-21

   For those who are visitors here today, we've been following the book of Jeremiah in our sermons over the past few weeks, and today we come to that passage we just heard, Jer 15:10-21. Now if you were listening as it was read to us you may have been thinking that's a strange reading to have at a baptism. I mean, wouldn't it be better to have something pleasant and optimistic rather than that depressing passage?

   Well, let me suggest that the more you think about it the more appropriate it is. Think about these words that we've just heard: "Will you by God's grace, strive to live as a disciple of Christ, until your life's end?" "Live as a disciple of Christ, fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith." "Almighty God deliver you from the power of darkness and lead you in the light of Christ to his everlasting kingdom." The journey that Laura has embarked upon today is a lifelong journey as a disciple of Jesus Christ. It's a journey that as likely as not will involve hardship. It's a journey that will involve giving up some things in order to live a life that's pleasing to God. It's a journey that may involve facing opposition and even persecution because of her faith in Christ.

   Jeremiah was a man who experienced all the realities of life as a follower of God. As we'll see in a moment he experienced the joy of knowing God. He faced opposition. He experienced disappointments. He got angry at God. There were times when he was puzzled by what happened to him. // I'm sure there are people here today who have experienced every one of those emotions at different times. So let's look at what Jeremiah has to say about his situation and how God responds to him.

   We begin in v10: "Woe is me, my mother, that you ever bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land!" Have you ever wished you'd never been born? Things have got so bad that you can't bear it? Well that's how Jeremiah is feeling. He's been given a message to proclaim to the people of Jerusalem and no-one wants to hear it. Wherever he goes he runs into strife. Whoever he meets turns their back on him. People call him a traitor. They deny that his words come from God. And he's sick of it!

   Injustice

   He cries out to God that there's a great injustice happening. He doesn't deserve this treatment. He says, "I haven't lent or borrowed, yet all of them curse me." He hasn't done anything wrong. He hasn't taken advantage of anyone. He's a good citizen. "Why can't they treat me like anyone else?"

   And even God seems to be acting unjustly. "The LORD said: Surely I have intervened in your life for good." Well, it doesn't feel like it. In fact what it feels like is that God has imposed enemies on him in a time of trouble. The message he's been given for the people is that destruction is coming on them because of their sins and that the people will be taken away as slaves to another land. But God doesn't seem to want to act. He's given Jeremiah a message to proclaim, but he's taking too long about doing what he's said he'll do. So people are starting to say that Jeremiah's a fraud. He's worried that if God delays any longer it'll be too late. His enemies will have got to him and killed him. It's easy to feel like that isn't it? To feel that God has let you down. He's promised to look after you and he doesn't seem to be doing it? He's promised that all things work together for good to those who love God, but all you can see is a whole lot of loose ends. Nothing's working together at all. In fact everything seems to be falling apart. So what's God doing?

   What do you do when you feel like that? Do you give up? Do you get depressed? Do you start to wonder whether it's all nonsense after all? Do you get angry? Well, lets see what Jeremiah does.

   The first thing he does is he talks to God about it. He doesn't bottle it up. He doesn't start mouthing off to the guys down the pub. He doesn't try to pretend that it's not happening. Nor does he feel guilty that he can't take it any more. No, he brings it to God. He prays about it. And again, notice the way he prays. He doesn't use any special words or rituals. He doesn't start with the Lord's prayer. He doesn't guard his words. He doesn't use pious phrases. He just says what's on his mind. "O LORD, you know; remember me and visit me, and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors. In your forbearance do not take me away; know that on your account I suffer insult." He wants God to get on with it so that's what he says. "Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts." He says, I've always delighted in your words. I gladly preached what you told me. So why aren't things working out for me?

   Loneliness

   In fact, he says, the only result of doing what you said is that I'm left without a friend. "I did not sit in the company of merrymakers, nor did I rejoice; under the weight of your hand I sat alone, for you had filled me with indignation." Do you sometimes feel lonely? Do you feel like no-one understands you? Do you feel like you don't have a friend in the world because of your beliefs? If you do then you have a lot in common with Jeremiah. If you're not like that, if you never feel like that, then consider yourself blessed. Think about those who do feel like that. Think about whether you could be a friend to someone who's feeling friendless at the moment.

   Anger

   For those who do feel like that, like God's abandoned you, or God's let you down, what do you do with it? Do you bottle it up inside, until it eats away at you; until it turns you bitter? Do you take it out on those around you? Do you perhaps harbour a grudge against God? I can think of a few people I've come across in the last few years who felt like God had let them down, who were angry with God, and were still blaming him many years later. I think of someone I knew whose father had died when they were quite young, who still couldn't forgive God for taking him away from them. I think of a woman whose mother died in her late 60s who couldn't bring herself to come to Church because God had taken her mother away. I think of some people who were badly hurt by a fellow Christian who are still holding a grudge some 25 years later, not only against the person but against God as well.

   Yet I think of a friend I met some 10 years ago whose 11 year old son had been diagnosed with a brain tumour. She found that whenever she stopped to pray all that came out were angry words. God, how could you do this to an 11-year-old boy? Why should you choose my son to suffer all this? Why don't you answer when I pray? Why are the people you send to care for me so insensitive? And so she'd pour out her anger at God. She didn't turn her back on God or pretend that everything would be all right. Rather she turned to God and called out to him from her heart. That's what Jeremiah does isn't it? "Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail." Jeremiah is angry and he lets God know in no uncertain terms. Why am I suffering like this? Can't you be trusted?

   It's good to know that you don't have to be piously calm and accepting to be used by God, isn't it? It's good to know that you can yell at God when you're upset. But God brings us back to earth with a thud as he replies to Jeremiah's complaints. He both warns Jeremiah and reassures him at the same time.

   Repentance

   He says: "If you turn back, I will take you back, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth. It is they who will turn to you, not you who will turn to them. ²⁰And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the LORD." We have to be careful when we start complaining that God isn't doing what he said he'd do that we understand his timetable. That at least was Jeremiah's problem. He thought God was too slow going about fulfilling his promises. But God says, "If you stick with me, I'll look after you. You may think it's all too slow, that they're going to get to you before I act, but be patient and you'll see that the opposite is true. Before you're finished they'll be turning to you for advice. They may even try to hurt you, but I'll make you strong, as strong as a wall of bronze."

   We're like that sometimes aren't we? We read that all things work together for good and think it should happen now. Why can't God let me win Tattslotto this week, so all my financial troubles will be over? Why doesn't he let me meet the man or woman of my dreams? Why can't my marriage be full of harmony and companionship and care? Why can't my children be models of respect and self-discipline and enterprise? Why can't I get more satisfaction out of my job? Why can't my boss be more understanding or my subordinates be more efficient or show more initiative?

   But we forget that God's horizon stretches far into the future, in fact, into eternity. We forget that that promise of things working together for good is immediately followed by this: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. ... and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified." (Rom 8:28-32 NRSV) All things work together for good in the end because those who are called are brought into the glory of God's kingdom forever. Laura may not find that life is always easy, any more than you or I do. But if she continues as Christ's faithful servant to her life's end, than she'll certainly enjoy all the benefits, all the blessings, of living in God's world, for all eternity. And so Paul can finish that passage with these words: "³¹What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³²He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?" It's an extension of the message that God gives to Jeremiah: "I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless." God can be trusted to deliver us in his own time. He may not remove the pain and suffering, the opposition, the struggle, but he will in the end bring us into the peace of his presence. In the meantime, here are words that are as apt for us as they were for Jeremiah: "Therefore thus says the LORD: If you turn back, I will take you back, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth." Let's be sure that whatever happens we continue to come and stand before the Lord with all of our thoughts, all of our complaints, as well as our thanks for his goodness. And let's be sure that our mouths are used to utter, not worthless words, but precious words, words whose value derives from their source, from God himself.

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	Sermon of the Week
	21/6/00
	Protest & Challenge	Jer 15:10-21

	For those who are visitors here today, we've been following the book of Jeremiah in our sermons over the past few weeks, and today we come to that passage we just heard, Jer 15:10-21. Now if you were listening as it was read to us you may have been thinking that's a strange reading to have at a baptism. I mean, wouldn't it be better to have something pleasant and optimistic rather than that depressing passage?
	Well, let me suggest that the more you think about it the more appropriate it is. Think about these words that we've just heard: "Will you by God's grace, strive to live as a disciple of Christ, until your life's end?" "Live as a disciple of Christ, fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith." "Almighty God deliver you from the power of darkness and lead you in the light of Christ to his everlasting kingdom." The journey that Laura has embarked upon today is a lifelong journey as a disciple of Jesus Christ. It's a journey that as likely as not will involve hardship. It's a journey that will involve giving up some things in order to live a life that's pleasing to God. It's a journey that may involve facing opposition and even persecution because of her faith in Christ.
	Jeremiah was a man who experienced all the realities of life as a follower of God. As we'll see in a moment he experienced the joy of knowing God. He faced opposition. He experienced disappointments. He got angry at God. There were times when he was puzzled by what happened to him. // I'm sure there are people here today who have experienced every one of those emotions at different times. So let's look at what Jeremiah has to say about his situation and how God responds to him.
	We begin in v10: "Woe is me, my mother, that you ever bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land!" Have you ever wished you'd never been born? Things have got so bad that you can't bear it? Well that's how Jeremiah is feeling. He's been given a message to proclaim to the people of Jerusalem and no-one wants to hear it. Wherever he goes he runs into strife. Whoever he meets turns their back on him. People call him a traitor. They deny that his words come from God. And he's sick of it!
	Injustice
	He cries out to God that there's a great injustice happening. He doesn't deserve this treatment. He says, "I haven't lent or borrowed, yet all of them curse me." He hasn't done anything wrong. He hasn't taken advantage of anyone. He's a good citizen. "Why can't they treat me like anyone else?"
	And even God seems to be acting unjustly. "The LORD said: Surely I have intervened in your life for good." Well, it doesn't feel like it. In fact what it feels like is that God has imposed enemies on him in a time of trouble. The message he's been given for the people is that destruction is coming on them because of their sins and that the people will be taken away as slaves to another land. But God doesn't seem to want to act. He's given Jeremiah a message to proclaim, but he's taking too long about doing what he's said he'll do. So people are starting to say that Jeremiah's a fraud. He's worried that if God delays any longer it'll be too late. His enemies will have got to him and killed him. It's easy to feel like that isn't it? To feel that God has let you down. He's promised to look after you and he doesn't seem to be doing it? He's promised that all things work together for good to those who love God, but all you can see is a whole lot of loose ends. Nothing's working together at all. In fact everything seems to be falling apart. So what's God doing?
	What do you do when you feel like that? Do you give up? Do you get depressed? Do you start to wonder whether it's all nonsense after all? Do you get angry? Well, lets see what Jeremiah does.
	The first thing he does is he talks to God about it. He doesn't bottle it up. He doesn't start mouthing off to the guys down the pub. He doesn't try to pretend that it's not happening. Nor does he feel guilty that he can't take it any more. No, he brings it to God. He prays about it. And again, notice the way he prays. He doesn't use any special words or rituals. He doesn't start with the Lord's prayer. He doesn't guard his words. He doesn't use pious phrases. He just says what's on his mind. "O LORD, you know; remember me and visit me, and bring down retribution for me on my persecutors. In your forbearance do not take me away; know that on your account I suffer insult." He wants God to get on with it so that's what he says. "Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts." He says, I've always delighted in your words. I gladly preached what you told me. So why aren't things working out for me?
	Loneliness
	In fact, he says, the only result of doing what you said is that I'm left without a friend. "I did not sit in the company of merrymakers, nor did I rejoice; under the weight of your hand I sat alone, for you had filled me with indignation." Do you sometimes feel lonely? Do you feel like no-one understands you? Do you feel like you don't have a friend in the world because of your beliefs? If you do then you have a lot in common with Jeremiah. If you're not like that, if you never feel like that, then consider yourself blessed. Think about those who do feel like that. Think about whether you could be a friend to someone who's feeling friendless at the moment.
	Anger
	For those who do feel like that, like God's abandoned you, or God's let you down, what do you do with it? Do you bottle it up inside, until it eats away at you; until it turns you bitter? Do you take it out on those around you? Do you perhaps harbour a grudge against God? I can think of a few people I've come across in the last few years who felt like God had let them down, who were angry with God, and were still blaming him many years later. I think of someone I knew whose father had died when they were quite young, who still couldn't forgive God for taking him away from them. I think of a woman whose mother died in her late 60s who couldn't bring herself to come to Church because God had taken her mother away. I think of some people who were badly hurt by a fellow Christian who are still holding a grudge some 25 years later, not only against the person but against God as well.
	Yet I think of a friend I met some 10 years ago whose 11 year old son had been diagnosed with a brain tumour. She found that whenever she stopped to pray all that came out were angry words. God, how could you do this to an 11-year-old boy? Why should you choose my son to suffer all this? Why don't you answer when I pray? Why are the people you send to care for me so insensitive? And so she'd pour out her anger at God. She didn't turn her back on God or pretend that everything would be all right. Rather she turned to God and called out to him from her heart. That's what Jeremiah does isn't it? "Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Truly, you are to me like a deceitful brook, like waters that fail." Jeremiah is angry and he lets God know in no uncertain terms. Why am I suffering like this? Can't you be trusted?
	It's good to know that you don't have to be piously calm and accepting to be used by God, isn't it? It's good to know that you can yell at God when you're upset. But God brings us back to earth with a thud as he replies to Jeremiah's complaints. He both warns Jeremiah and reassures him at the same time.
	Repentance
	He says: "If you turn back, I will take you back, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth. It is they who will turn to you, not you who will turn to them. ²⁰And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the LORD." We have to be careful when we start complaining that God isn't doing what he said he'd do that we understand his timetable. That at least was Jeremiah's problem. He thought God was too slow going about fulfilling his promises. But God says, "If you stick with me, I'll look after you. You may think it's all too slow, that they're going to get to you before I act, but be patient and you'll see that the opposite is true. Before you're finished they'll be turning to you for advice. They may even try to hurt you, but I'll make you strong, as strong as a wall of bronze."
	We're like that sometimes aren't we? We read that all things work together for good and think it should happen now. Why can't God let me win Tattslotto this week, so all my financial troubles will be over? Why doesn't he let me meet the man or woman of my dreams? Why can't my marriage be full of harmony and companionship and care? Why can't my children be models of respect and self-discipline and enterprise? Why can't I get more satisfaction out of my job? Why can't my boss be more understanding or my subordinates be more efficient or show more initiative?
	But we forget that God's horizon stretches far into the future, in fact, into eternity. We forget that that promise of things working together for good is immediately followed by this: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. ... and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified." (Rom 8:28-32 NRSV) All things work together for good in the end because those who are called are brought into the glory of God's kingdom forever. Laura may not find that life is always easy, any more than you or I do. But if she continues as Christ's faithful servant to her life's end, than she'll certainly enjoy all the benefits, all the blessings, of living in God's world, for all eternity. And so Paul can finish that passage with these words: "³¹What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³²He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?" It's an extension of the message that God gives to Jeremiah: "I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless." God can be trusted to deliver us in his own time. He may not remove the pain and suffering, the opposition, the struggle, but he will in the end bring us into the peace of his presence. In the meantime, here are words that are as apt for us as they were for Jeremiah: "Therefore thus says the LORD: If you turn back, I will take you back, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth." Let's be sure that whatever happens we continue to come and stand before the Lord with all of our thoughts, all of our complaints, as well as our thanks for his goodness. And let's be sure that our mouths are used to utter, not worthless words, but precious words, words whose value derives from their source, from God himself.


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