15th
PENTECOST Sunday
Rev. Norman F. Seeger
Jeremiah
15:15-21
15 You understand, O LORD; remember me and care for me. Avenge
me on my persecutors. You are
long-suffering — do not take me away; think of how I suffer reproach for your
sake. 16 When your words
came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your
name, O LORD God Almighty.
17 I never sat in the company of revelers,
never made merry with them; I sat alone because your hand was on me and you had
filled me with indignation. 18 Why
is my pain unending and my wound grievous and incurable?
Will you be to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails?
19 Therefore this is what the LORD says: “If you repent, I will restore you that you
may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you will be my
spokesman. Let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them. 20 I
will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will
fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and
save you,” declares the LORD.
21 “I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you
from the grasp of the cruel.”
Jeremiah 15:15-21
"LORD,
Dear faithful followers of Jesus Christ,
Do you belong to the “ME” generation? If you were born in the 1970’s, ‘80’s or
‘90’s, social observers categorize you as the “ME” generation – people who
assume your ‘self’ comes first. As you build
relationships, do you wonder ‘What will ‘I’ get out of this friendship?’ As you attend classes; prepare for a
profession -- as you apply for work -- is your first concern, “What benefits
will this job bring ‘me’?” Do you
inwardly assume or do you outwardly act as if the world revolves around ‘Me’? We easily answer, whatever our age, “No, ‘I’
am not part of the ‘ME’ generation. I do
not consider myself the most important person in anyone’s world.”
Unfortunately, we often observe selfish,
self-centered behavior in our world. Not
only teenagers & twenty or thirty-year olds, but people of all ages act
like little babies who, inheriting original sin, naturally demand attention for
myself. We cry to be fed, to be changed,
to be lifted out of bed. We cry if any other
child takes away my toys, whether I was playing with that toy or not. Not only the world, sad to say, but even Christians
selfishly focus on what “I” want.
When we talk about the Lord’s will for
our life – “loving God & loving our neighbor” – believers often turn a
conversation back to what ‘I’ want my family or friends doing for me. As apostle Paul instructs us, “in
view of God’s mercy,” to “offer our bodies to the Lord as living
sacrifices”[ROM 12] we often end
up asking, “What benefit will ‘I’ receive when I faithfully live my life for
Christ as ’Christ lives in me’?” When Jesus orders disciples to “deny
myself, take up my cross & follow him,”[MT 16] my actions &
attitude too often, unfortunately, answer, “No, Lord, that’s not ‘my’ plan.”
Trying to impose our plans upon God’s
work in our world – specifically, trying to demand results we desire in our
Christian life -- is a problem we can identify with when Jeremiah moans about
opposition encountered as he voices God’s displeasure with people disobeying God’s
commands -- as he announces God’s plan to send Israel into captivity even as he
promises the Lord will send a Savior for every sinner. When we speak God’s truth, when we point out
people’s sins, when we offer our Savior’s forgiveness, does anyone listen? Or, as in Jeremiah’s case, do souls we want
to save ignore us; even oppose us?
Opposed, apparently overpowered &
persecuted, Jeremiah asks the Lord to pay attention to his situation. Did God forget his prophet? Will God let the world do what it wants with
Jeremiah? If we feel God is absent as we
let his words flow from our lips, we, like Jeremiah, might also like the Lord
to punish our opponents – to prove his power, to show souls he is serious about
sin -- but with Jeremiah we are reminded the Lord wants repenting people to
speak his truth faithfully. Instead of
focusing on what ‘I’ want & stressing what would please ‘M,’ the Lord would
lead us to pray the way Jesus prays in
“O Lord, remember me; care for me. Avenge me on my persecutors… Think of how I
suffer reproach for your sake.” Jeremiah is obviously tired of people
mocking his message. As he calls for
repentance, Israelites laugh. No one
expresses sorrow. No one seems to be changing
anything in their life. As a pastor, will
I weary of explaining God’s plans to people who supposedly want to know our
Lord’s will for their life, but do not appear ready to change any attitudes or
alter any sinful actions – people who frequently respond to our Lord’s words
with, ‘Yes, I know what God says, but I feel…I want to…?’ As a parent, do I get tired of ‘talking to a
wall’ as I outline God’s commands for my children again & again but never
see any evidence they are actually listening?
As a Christian friend, does it become too frustrating to warn some soul
about dangers they face as they step a little farther away from our Lord’s
truth when they worship less frequently or absent themselves from Bible
studies, only to be told, ‘I know, I know, but I’ve already made up my mind’ …
‘Don’t you think I’m a “strong enough” believer to not fall from God’s grace’?
Would we like God to quickly punish
people who mock his messengers today?
Would we like a sudden display of God’s power & displeasure against
sin to get everyone’s attention -- like opening the earth to suddenly swallow
Korah & his followers when they rebel against Moses’ message or striking
Ananias & Sapphira with sudden, fatal heart attacks when they lie to Peter,
lie to the Holy Spirit? Would we, with
Jeremiah, like God to very visibly punish at least one person who mocks God’s
messengers so others will listen?
Lord knows, Jeremiah was a faithful
student & Scriptural spokesman. “When
your words came, I ate them; they were my joy, my heart’s delight, for I bear
your name.” Just as believers
too often, too boastfully recount our own righteous actions today – sometimes
sounding as if we should be given an award for avoiding some sin, Jeremiah
notes, “I never sat in the company of revelers, never made merry with them; I
sat alone because your hand was on me & you had filled me with
indignation.” Did Jeremiah envy
-- do I envy -- some fun sinners seem to have as they shatter God’s
commands? Not really. But wouldn’t it be nice – just once – to see the
Lord ‘reward’ our refusal to sin by singeing our wicked opponents with a few lightning
bolts as deadly as the fire & brimstone he once poured upon
“Avenge me on my persecutors,” Jeremiah asks as he wonders, “Why
is my pain unending; my wound grievous & incurable? Will you be to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails?” Will
God’s Word work? Unable to see faith
planted in a person’s heart really taking root & growing by the Holy
Spirit’s power, if we do not see sinners being changed into saints -- if fruits
of faith are not heard in people’s true & loving words nor seen in friends’
helpful, unselfish works, I am tempted to ask the doubtful question Jeremiah poses. Will God work faith & faithfulness through
his Word? Or will Bible passages we speak
be as useful as a once-water-filled river run dry, as effective as a broken
water main? Will a pastor not even
bother talking to some soul about sin because we ‘know’ they will not listen,
will not be led to repent, will not believe & be saved? Will a parent use our Lord’s law to order
obedience? Will we, with threats or
earthly coercion, force children to do what we desire because we do not trust God’s gospel truth to
motivate our sons & daughters to do what we ask out of love for their Lord? Will I keep quiet when I know a Christian
friend may not want his consciences pricked & will probably not respond
favorably to Biblical advice the Lord would offer through me? Sad to say, we do, too often, stay silent. If not by our own admission, our actions at
times expreses doubt about the power of God’s Word.
When we modern Jeremiahs too easily &
too often assume God will not do what he promises in his Word – will not
produce saving faith in Christ that simply “comes from hearing the message of Christ”[ROM 10] – will not work in people “to
will & to act according to his good purpose”[PHIL 2] – God would call us to repent as he calls Jeremiah to
repent. As if he were splashing a little
ice water in his prophet’s face, “the Lord says: Jeremiah, if you repent, I will restore you
that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless words, you will be my
spokesman.”
Instead of wishing & waiting for his
opponents to be punished, Jeremiah should be repenting of his own sinful desire
for a few personal-pain-producing souls to be destroyed instead of wanting, as “God
our Savior wants all souls to be saved & to come to a knowledge of God’s
truth.”[1 TM 2] Today, when we grumble about sinners who may
make life miserable by ridiculing a righteous life we live while ignoring whatever
godly advice we would offer, rather than complain & privately pray for God
to powerfully & publicly punish these evil individuals, the Lord clearly
calls us to repent – to repent of our lack of trust in God’s powerful Word --
repent of our misuse of God’s law & gospel – repent of our failure to speak
God’s commands & speak our Savior’s promises as we should. Calling us to confess our sins with prophet
Jeremiah, please notice our Lord’s promise to forgive: “I will restore you that you may serve me.”
Promising forgiveness, God repeats his
prophet’s assignment, essentially the same assignment we Christian witnesses
receive today: “You will be my spokesman…utter
worthy, not worthless words… Let this
people turn to you, but you must not turn to them … You must not turn to them.” If friends, if our children, if our
audience listens or laughs when we speak God’s truths, we must not ever alter
God’s message. Faithful witnesses must
never turn away from the Scriptures to offer advice people might find more
palatable.
Please understand, speaking God’s truth will
not necessarily be easy. The Lord never
promises Jeremiah everyone will listen; never promises all his opponents will
disappear, at least not until Jesus returns for his final Judgment. However, our Lord does promise his truth –
spoken by Jeremiah; spoken by faithful witnesses in every age – his truth will
never be able to be refuted. “I
will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will
fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue &
to save you,” declares the Lord. “I will
save you from the hands of the wicked & I will redeem you from the grasp of
the cruel.”
Friends -- faithful friends from every generation
– forget what ‘I’ might want. ‘My’ self
is not most important. Our Lord God who
promises salvation & redemption wants us to speak Jesus’ truth at all
times. Whatever our world’s response
might be, as “Christ lives in us,” I pray we will truthfully, lovingly; I
pray we will faithfully deliver God’s message to our family & friends.
Amen.