Monday, February 14, 2022

Sermon - Epiphany 4 - Jeremiah 1:4–10

Jeremiah 1:4–10

The Word of God in the Mouth of the Youth

National Lutheran Schools Week

January 30th, 2002

Today we have a few different threads to weave together.  It is the Fourth Sunday in Epiphany, a season in which we continue to ponder the revelation of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God, the Christ.  We see Jesus visit the synagogue of Capernaum, cast out a demon, heal the sick, and go off to preach in the towns of Judea.  He does all the things the Messiah, the Savior, is supposed to be doing.  And of course, we know it will lead to his ultimate saving act – his death on the cross and glorious resurrection.

We also recognize today “National Lutheran Schools Week”.  It’s our once-a-year celebration of not just our own school, but the Lutheran schools God has blessed throughout our country.  We have a rich tradition of teaching children not just the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, but also the fear and love of the Lord.  We want them, especially, to know Christ – their savior from sin and death.  And we certainly seek to do that here at Messiah Lutheran Classical Academy.

In light of all this, I want to focus on our reading from Jeremiah today.  Here we read about the call of Jeremiah, to be a prophet of God.  It was a tough job that God was calling Jeremiah to do.  He lived in a time in which the people of God had in many ways turned away from the truth.  They blended together their worship of false gods with the true God.  They abused and took advantage of the poor.  And the religious leaders, especially, thought that no judgment of God would come upon them.  Nothing bad could happen to them.  They felt safe and secure, because, after all, Jerusalem had the temple – and no one was going to destroy God’s house!

Jeremiah was sent to warn them otherwise.  It was a false sense of security.  It was a lie.  If the people persisted in their ways, God would send them punishment and judgment.  He would not protect them from their enemies.  He would withdraw his presence from the temple and let the wicked nations have their way.  And that is just what happened.  The Babylonians came and destroyed Jerusalem, demolished the temple, and carried the Jews off into exile in Babylon.

Jeremiah is known as the “weeping prophet” because he lived to see all of this unfold.  His other book, the book of Lamentations, describes this judgment of God, too.

So what does the weeping prophet have to do with Lutheran Schools, or more importantly, our Epiphany season revealing of Christ?

In each of these cases, we see the Word of God being spoken – for the good of God’s people.

With Jeremiah, you have a young man called and appointed as a prophet.  But Jeremiah was hesitant.  He was timid, because he was young.  He didn’t know how to speak.  Perhaps he wasn’t well educated and well-polished in the art of rhetoric.  Maybe it was just a scary task that he’d never undertaken.

And furthermore, the people he was to preach to – they were a tough crowd.  They were hard-hearted and hard-headed.  They weren’t likely to receive Jeremiah well.  Any student of the Old Testament knows how people treat the prophets who come with an unwelcome message.  They often kill the messenger.  So there was plenty of reason for Jeremiah to be afraid.

But God sends him anyway.  He tells him not to be afraid.  He tells him not to say “I’m too young”.  He doesn’t accept excuses and fear, but instead provides exactly what Jeremiah needs.  God gives him his word.  He puts his words in Jeremiah’s mouth.

And so it is for our children, and for us.  Though we are not prophets like Jeremiah was, God calls us to be his disciples.  Students of his word. Though we are not given to preach and foretell of doom and gloom, we are witnesses to Christ always ready to give an answer to the hope within us. 

Though, like Jeremiah, we may feel ourselves unqualified.  First of all, we are sinners.  We get things wrong.  We are unworthy.  No good works or good intentions we have measure up before God.  But he does not call us on our merits any more than he did Jeremiah.  Our God operates by grace.

And so he puts his word in our ears.  Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  He sends pastors and teachers and Christian friends and parents and grandparents to teach us the faith, to train us up in righteousness.  To thoroughly equip us for righteousness.

And this is a huge part of what we do at our Lutheran school.  Every day our students hear the word of God, the good news of Jesus Christ.  Every day we sing and pray and hear the Scriptures.  Every day in chapel, in the classroom, and in many other ways – God’s word is set forth, taught, and cherished. But of course it starts at home with Christian parents teaching their children God’s Word.

And this is what matters.  So when we say, “I don’t know what to say”, God has already spoken.  He has put his word in your ear, your heart, and yes also your mouth.

One of the blessings of our school is that the children take to heart and recite God’s word.  They speak it, and through repetition, make it their own.  Each week our catechesis – questions and answers – our children learn key passages from Scripture and important explanations of it from Luther’s Small Catechism.  (For Example, “What is John 8:31-32?” Jesus said… “If you abide in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”) These treasures and blessings are truly some of the best gifts we parents can afford our children. 

Ah, but we can’t forget about Jesus, either.  He’s the one who God’s Word is all about.  We keep seeing more, learning more about Jesus in the Epiphany season.  Who he is, and what he has come to do.  More and more, the gospels reveal him to us.  We’ve seen him as God’s beloved Son at his baptism, as the one who amazes the teachers of Israel in the temple as a boy.  He shows himself as the True Bridegroom at the wedding at Cana.  Even the demons confess him as the Holy one of God, the Son of God, the Christ.  And today our reading from Luke shows further who Jesus is – he’s the Messiah.  For he drops all the important calling cards.  He heals the sick.  He casts out demons.  But most importantly of all – he preaches God’s word.

Now, Jesus isn’t just any ordinary preacher.  He preaches with authority.  He doesn’t need to defer to anyone.  He doesn’t wait for God to put his words in his mouth – he is the very word made flesh who dwells among us.  He is no mere prophet, just a mouthpiece and representative of God.  He is the Son of God, the very God of very God, begotten, not made.  He is the way, the truth and the life.  His words are spirit and life. 

And his message is like no other message.  He’s not just another among the many religious leaders who tell you how to do the right things, say the right prayers, work the right works to get yourself right with God.  He doesn’t bring a to-do list for salvation, a hidden secret to spiritual success, a recipe for the good life.  Jesus preaches the kingdom of God.

And what is the kingdom of God?  It’s God’s gracious activity as our king.  It’s his work in our midst.  And most especially it’s the cross. 

Jesus died for you. This simple message of salvation in Christ crucified is the greatest gift of all.  It is the truth that sets us free.  It is the word of God that he places even in the mouths of babes, of youth, of those who are unqualified and rough-around-the-edges.    It is the salvation of sinners, and of you and me.

Friends, let nothing ever sever you from the Word of God.  For that word is about Jesus Christ crucified for you.

Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you to deliver you,

declares the Lord.”

 

Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

 

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