Jeremiah 1:1-10

1These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. 2 The Lord first gave messages to Jeremiah during the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. 3 The Lord’s messages continued throughout the reign of King Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son, until the eleventh year of the reign of King Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons. In August of that eleventh year the people of Jerusalem were taken away as captives.

4 The Lord gave me this message:

5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

6 “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!”

7 The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. 8 And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!” 9 Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said,

“Look, I have put my words in your mouth!
10 Today I appoint you to stand up
against nations and kingdoms.
Some you must uproot and tear down,
destroy and overthrow.
Others you must build up
and plant.”

This morning’s reading reminds me of the one about two men who were roommates in a hospital. Because they were both weak from sickness, the men were unable to speak for weeks.

Finally, one man said to the other, “American.” His roommate replied, “Canadian.” Another week went by, and the first man said weakly, “Danny.” The roommate could only reply, “Phil.” Another week passed, and the first man muttered to his roommate, “Cancer.” His roommate replied back, “Virgo.”

Today we’re setting out on a 6-week journey with the prophet Jeremiah and like all of God’s prophets, his words carried a lot of weight. Why? Because his words weren’t really his words. They were God’s words, and we know enough about God to know that his words are powerful words. As we heard in reading, God’s words have the power to “uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow.” At the same time, they can also “build up and plant.” God’s words are powerful words, and a person should use caution in speaking them to the word. I suspect Jeremiah understood this all too well when he gave his excuse of being too young to be a legitimate spokesperson for God. Of course, we all tend to have excuses for not doing what God wants us to do. Just recall the other great leaders in scripture. Moses didn’t think he was eloquent enough for public speaking, so he often called on his brother, Aaron, to do the speaking. Abraham and Sarah thought they were too old to bear children. Jonah just plain refused to go and speak to the people of Ninevah without even one excuse! Yes, we are an obstinate people when it comes to obeying God. Even the prophet, Isaiah, needed a burning coal pressed to his lips before he was willing and able to speak on behalf of God. At least Jeremiah didn’t need that, only a gentle touch on the lips from God.

And though God’s words are powerful, they are often misheard or misinterpreted as illustrated by that simple exchange between two men in a hospital room. One man giving his diagnosis while the other interpreting it as his zodiac sign. Isn’t that how it is more often than not? One person says one thing and the other person hears something completely different? It’s the cause of the breakdown in so many relationships. Poor communication tears down so many relationships in this world. I sometimes wonder what communication will be like in the next world. Will it be much clearer, much more truthful, much more succinct? I can only hope!

As we will see with our friend Jeremiah, I don’t think the words that God gave him to speak were misheard or misinterpreted. I think they were simply words that no one wanted to hear. Who wants to hear words that will tear down and destroy? No, people would much rather hear words that build up. But sometimes you can’t plant and build up without first getting rid of the stuff that inhibits life and growth. There are situations that get overrun with such stuff. Death and decay are insidious and persistent. Sometimes you have to first take the time to uproot them like weeds before you can plant good, healthy situations. Some words are bad for death but good for life, good in the long run. I think Jeremiah understood this about the words he was asked to speak on behalf of God.

So just a little historical context in which Jeremiah was called to be a prophet. He was born in 645 BC and this encounter with God took place when he was 18, certainly not all that young despite what he thought. He preached and taught under the godly king Josiah for the next 18 years until king Josiah was killed in battle. He continued to preach and teach for the next 12 years under king Josiah’s ungodly son, Jehoiakim. It was during that time when both the king and all the people were behaving in God-displeasing ways. Jeremiah preached into that time using words that tore down and destroyed until finally the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar came and took over Judah. Jeremiah continued preaching his woeful words in Judah for 10 more years before the people were eventually sent into exile. For 22 long years, Jeremiah had the unfortunate task of preaching uprooting words to God’s disobedient people. They simply didn’t want to listen to the words he had to say but it eventually caught up to them. They were cast into exile for many years before the prophet Isaiah would help bring them back.

As you can imagine, Jeremiah wasn’t a well-liked prophet. Most of his life was spent speaking words of woe to the disobedient people of Judah. They understood his words; they simply didn’t want to hear them. God’s words are powerful words though. Hebrews says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (4:12) Jeremiah came to realize the truth of these words all too well. Let us explore Jeremiah’s witness and honor the power of God’s words. God’s words are truly powerful indeed! Thanks be to God!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.