What a really odd story from the scripture this morning! At the core of the passage from Jeremiah, is a Word. Word, you say - so what? Yet this is no ordinary word, but extraordinary Word. Think about some times when there were extraordinary words, which located us so completely that we remember to this day where we were and what we were doing. They might be words of disaster, words of insight, or prophetic words which stop us short in our tracks.
Have you had an experience where a word comes, just an ordinary word, but it comes in such a powerful way that it is WORD.
Back in my administrative days, around 1990, I was discouraged by a superior from applying for a higher position because - he said- a Master of Divinity degree was needed. Yet that requirement was not listed in the job description; I was too naive then to realise that the motives were political and personal on the part of the other person, and not even legal. I remember sitting in a car venting to a trusted friend, who responded “Well, why don’t you just go get the degree!”. The effect was jarring, and I can still feel it. It might seem like a simple thing to say, but the words stuck as prophetic. .....it was the equivalent of God telling Jeremiah to go out and buy land.
The Word from God comes to Jeremiah with such jarring effect that the text is even precise about the timing - right when Zedekiah the Israelite King was finishing his first decade, and King Nebuchadnezzar was finishing nearly two decades of fierce rule.
Probably the worst possible time for this Word to come: Jerusalem is outnumbered, surrounded by a superior force. They have tried to ally with Egypt to fight the Babylonians. That, according to the king of Babylon, is the end. It gets worse - the Babylonian army sets up a siege against Jerusalem; Jeremiah is in jail. He is there because he dared to speak the annoying Word from God. He has dared to speak up and speak the truth about reality. Now, if the King has a different view than God has, obviously there is a problem.
Here’s the Word which landed Jeremiah in the guardhouse:
This is God speaking . . .the thing you have ignored, hoping it would just disappear, is about to happen. So I’m going to tell you plainly- your dreaded enemies are going to break through, and I’m the one letting them in. Your king Zedekiah will surrender, Nebuchadnezzar will take him to Babylon, and he will stay put there till I say otherwise.
So listen up - keep on fighting, you will lose.
Now, that should have resulted in Jeremiah being executed - yet he wasn’t. There must have been something about the unvarnished, raw quality of the Word that had the ring of truth to it. The message was clear: God?s judging actions would seem to end things forever for these people.
That raises questions for us. How do we masking our real condition by choosing only what we want to hear? Prophets speaking prophetic words better be on the appointment system and not the popular vote system - because otherwise they won’t be around long. How do we dance around reality and the truth about our lives because to do otherwise would be painful?
It’s easy, actually, to become the villagers who see the truth about the emperor and his clothes when he’s making a naked fool of himself. Everyone of the villagers see his nakedness but keep silent, because they have been told, "only the dull and incredibly stupid cannot see the new clothes." So the silence goes on; we continue believing in life as usual, choosing to ignore the messages that God sends to our bodies, our neighborhoods, our congregations, and our nations.
So Jeremiah sits in jail, silenced for speaking out and breaking the silence about the truth.
Strange thing, though. Even though the villagers ignore Jeremiah?s words, as they have throughout his gadfly 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. "Hey, Jeremiah," God whispers to the prophet who sleeps between two guards.
"That you again, God?" “Yes, it’s me. Listen up. When your cousin drops in for a prison visit and starts talking about the family farm, go ahead and buy it.”
Note that Jeremiah says no fewer than five times "this is the Word of the Lord", as if to say, not my idea! So Jeremiah buys property from jail with the Babylonians at the gate. Imagine the press coverage in the village paper the next week: Real Shekels Nets Worthless Land." S
So what did the writer want us to walk away with? What is it about this story that will help us in our own discipleship?
This story is about betting on the future. It is the gospel of grace that promises a future even when we barely have a present. What a daring, risky act of faith in God-to believe the Word that says, "Don’t despair, don’t fear; this is not the last chapter for my people. In my time and through my grace, you will once again be back and buying and selling and living in peace."
To those who didn’t believe Jeremiah, his actions would have been cause for great humour. His purchase of land would seem completely against logic and completely silly. But the point is, even when things looked totally hopeless, Jeremiah didn’t just sit on his hands - he still did something to bring about significant change in the fortunes of the people. God doesn’t say to him “Leave it all to me.”, God says “Do something while you’re trying to see what comes next.” His purchase of the land is God’s Word of blessing in the midst of the reality of hopelessness. We discover that God has placed the people and land on loan to the Babylonians, but both will be given back, because the God of hope sent a Word.
This story reminds us that there will always be Babylonians on the doorstep. They have been there before, and they will be back again. In a struggling church facing financial difficulties - expenses seem to go up annually, making the budget shrink even as you seek new ways to be in mission-this story is for you. Not hard to feel surrounded by gloom and negatively that sees only next week, let alone a renewed, empowered future. Take this story and own it. Devour the Word
of God to this ancient people. Take a risk. Trust God. Even while you are trusting God, do something, but still continue to trust that God sees, hears and knows. Let this story be your hope - God’s grace will sustain where God leads.
There will be times when we face our own "self-invited troubles."times when we get boxed into a corner through misguided choices. That is, of all times, when we turn to God for courage and wisdom to go forward, to return to where God wants us to be. We can bet against the future because we know that God invites us into a hope of recovering, and becoming fruitful again.
Finally, the story teaches that God has no limitations - but that we do, and we cannot overcome those limitations without God. God can break out of all conventions and overcome all constraints - to bring about a new reality.
May the God of all hope in our future produce from our wayward fearful hearts a new spirit, new life, and a new way of living and thinking in the presence of God.
Sources:
1. Buying New Land - a sermon by Fran Ota
2. Betting on the Future, a sermon by Rev. Thomas Hall
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