August 14, 2005 Sermon

Jeremiah Warns the Kings
Jeremiah 5:20-31

Jeremiah was a prophet. He lived about seven centuries before Jesus. God called him from an obscure, common background to thunder out judgment against the kings of the Hebrews. Jeremiah, in other words, spent his life yelling about the two things your mother taught you never to talk about: politics and religion.

Today we read part of Jeremiah chapter five. Even in this early part of his career Jeremiah finds himself threatening people with the cold, hard truth in the name of the Lord. ÒHear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but do not see, who have ears, but do not hear. ÔDo you not fear me?Õ says the Lord; ÔDo you not tremble before me?ÕÓ

Our daughter Laura and Kaitlyn Scott shared a lead role in last springÕs high school musical, Aida. They played Amneris, the flighty princess. At first the slave girl Aida talks to her as an equal, not the princess of Egypt . Amneris shrieks, ÒDid you just speak? You do not lower your eyes! You do not tremble!Ó Though Amneris will grow into a strong and merciful character, at this early stage she is still weak. She demands fear from her subjects because only then can she feel powerful. God has no such problem. ÊGod does not need our fear but it would seem logical for us to fear God all the same.

Jeremiah harshly criticized the kings for not trembling before God. This mattered because it proved they were clueless about the real power of God. Indeed, they intentionally stayed blind to it. ÒThis people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;Ó Jeremiah claimed, ÒThey have turned aside and gone away (from God).Ó But do we see any more clearly? Have we also let our hearts grow stubborn and rebellious?

You may have seen a photograph of a U.S. Marine platoon kneeling in a rough circle, their arms around each otherÕs shoulders. They wear desert camouflage. Dust cakes their faces and their boots. They are someplace in Iraq . Some say they are praying for a dead comrade; others, that they are praying for safety before going out on patrol. You may have seen this picture, but you did not see it in a newspaper. No paper or newsmagazine would run the photo, presumably because it showed soldiers praying. The only place to see it was on the Internet or via email.

We have quietly watched the systematic removal of all God-talk and God-picture from our national life. And this has gone on for a very long time. We now find it difficult to talk about GodÕs work in the world around us. When healing occurs we ÒseeÓ it as medical technology doing its job, not God at work. When young people grow into responsible adults, get married and have families we ÒseeÓ it as schools and families doing their jobs, not God at work. When extended families reconcile old angersÑoften at a funeralÑwe see it as time doing its job, not God at work.

We, too, have grown blind to the power of God. And thatÕs a shame, as far as it goes. But this problem goes much deeper. Jeremiah again: ÒYour iniquities have turned you away (from seeing God at work), and your sins have deprived you of good.Ó Blindness to GodÕs power is a sin. And this sin carries a consequence. Jeremiah, speaking for God, warns us that God will punish those who turn away from Him.

We have grown deeply uncomfortable with the idea of a God who punishes. After all, God is Love, right? And Jesus came to save us from ourselves, right? DoesnÕt that make all this Old Testament prophet-rant about a punishing God obsolete? Not so fast.

What happens when parents do not hold their children accountable for their misdeeds? Chaos. Selfish, wild behavior. When children learn they can get away with anything, anything is what they do. The same goes for us. When we imagine God does not hold us accountable for our blindness we act stupidly and destructively. We stray farther and farther from the Way of Christ. We dream that nothing bad can happen. But Jeremiah concludes this piece of prophecy with a chilling question: What will we do when the end comes?

God may withhold our punishment for a time, but that does not mean God will never punish. What will we do when the end comes? What will we do when the end of our time on this earth comes, when our bodies die? And what will we do when the end of time itself comes, when Christ executes the final judgment?

Jesus was born into a human body. He was one of us in every way except he did not sin. He did not grow blind to the power of God at work in this world. He healed using that power. He told the truth using that power.

But when it came time to die, he willingly gave up that power. We will remember his death in a few moments, when we celebrate communion. When you take that piece of bread in your hand will you see the love of God, a God so seriously in love with us that He accepted the pain of deathÑor will you just see crumbs? When you take hold of that cup will you see the blood of Christ, a God so serious about consequences that he took them on Himself rather than write us off as hopeless casesÑor will you just see grape juice?

GodÕs judgment proves GodÕs love. JeremiahÕs shouting about it proves GodÕs love. My father always told me that the only time I had to worry about my coaches was when they stopped yelling at me. I certainly did not believe him then, but I do now. Do you? Do you see the love and the power of God at work around you? Or do you remain blind? Your answer has consequences.