In
this lead up to the election, there seems to be a tremendous focus upon whether
or not we are God’s nation on earth. I
realize that my Facebook feed is only anecdotal and limited by the fact that it
includes only those with whom I am friends and/or pastor and those who have
sought me ought for their various reasons.
But there is a great deal of back and forth among my FB friends about
our national status before God. Again,
as the prophet Jeremiah reminds us this morning, this argument is nothing
new. There may be nothing new, but that
familiarity and ground well-travelled certainly deserves a strong reminder, and
maybe I need to discuss some differences even as I point us to Jeremiah’s hope!
One big difference, for starters, is that
Jeremiah was prophesying to Judah, the Southern kingdom of God’s chosen
people. No doubt the northerners and
southerners fought every bit as much as we do in the states over which is
better, but both Israel and Judah were kingdoms of God’s people. They had simply been divided because the
people forgot the true king! (OK, technically, the king forgot the King, but
you get the point.) Unlike us in the
modern United States, both the people of Israel and the people of Judah could
trace their respective lineages to Abraham, both had the prophetic traditions
reminding them of their responsibility and call to be a nation of priests and
light unto the world, and both claimed a right to exist in God’s promises to
David and then Solomon. Both were as
“people of God” as descendants of both Union and Confederate soldiers are today
in America. I know! Ouch!
A little civic wedgie to go with our spiritual wedgies this morning. . .
Another similarity, of course, was the
perception in how the two kingdoms were governed. Both Israel and Judah traced their
governmental heritage through the torah.
Now, while neither the northern kingdom nor the southern kingdom tended
to do a good job, both were meant to run themselves according to God’s revelation. That revelation had social, economic, and
political repercussions, which is probably why both kingdoms chose to ignore
their responsibilities even as they were desperately seeking their
privileges. Way back in the torah, you
might recall, Israel was instructed that it was to be honest in its dealings
with foreigners and with one another.
The combined kings were told that, so long as they kept the Covenant,
God would bless them. They were also
warned that a failure to keep the Covenant, a willingness to fall into idolatry
of any sort, would result in their disgorgement from the Land.
One of the specific blessings was the
promise of rain, and that is obviously the important in the passage we are
considering today. Israel, as you many
know, and really much of the area around it, is rather dry. There are not many creeks and rivers. There are few ponds and lakes. Even today the modern political state of
Israel finds itself struggling with water needs. Given the weather patterns, little rain falls
between late Spring and late Fall. In
fact, it is the Fall and Winter rains which make the land arable. This understanding is not new. God, in Leviticus 26:4 and Deuteronomy 11:14,
promises that He will send the rain as part of His covenantal blessing with
Israel. The corresponding curse, of
course, for failure to keep the Covenant, was that God would withhold that same
rain. That is our theological background
of our reading from Jeremiah today. The
people of God were experiencing a drought.
In a people chosen by God and promised both a blessing and a curse, what
should they have inferred about the drought in Jeremiah’s day?
Now, unless you think we are being a bit
too hasty or you are quick to point out that the vagaries of the world’s
weather pattern are not enough to confirm this inference of divine judgment;
other parts of the text, some read and some skipped this morning, confirm our
understanding. Verse 7 acknowledges that
their sins testify against them. And
verse 12 brings in the added judgments of the sword, famine, and plague. The drought, combined with these last three
judgments, ought to be enough that the blind can see and the deaf can hear that
God is displeased with Judah! Back in
Chapter 2 of his prophesy, Jeremiah directly accuses Judah of forsaking God,
the living water, in an effort to fill their broken cisterns by means of
idolatry. Judah has forsaken God; and
God has withheld His grace . . . for a
time. In fact, God instructs the prophet
not to intercede on their behalf and even announces through the prophet that He
will not accept their sacrifices because they are wholly committed to Him.
For those of us who like to think of God
as a big buddy in the sky or as anything but as equally committed to justice
and righteousness, these instructions
may seem . . . mean or cruel. But such
judgment, in the end, is hubris on our part.
Do we really think ourselves able to evaluate God’s commands and
judgment? And, given our failing eyes,
do we really believe ourselves able to see beyond the judgment to the deliverance
that God ultimately promises His people?
You see, if we stopped at God’s pronouncement that He was withholding
grace and fought about the appropriateness of that, we would miss the deliverance
ahead. Look again closely at the words
of the prophet. Though he has been
instructed not to intercede on behalf of the people, still he does make an
appeal to God based on God’s revealed character. Verse 9 Why
should You be like someone confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot give
help? Yet You, O Lord, are in the midst
of us, and we are called by Your Name, do not forsake us! And verse 21 Do not spurn us, for Your Name’s sake; do not dishonor Your glorious
throne; remember and do not break Your covenant with us. . . We set our hope on
You, for it is You who do all this.
Even in the midst of this judgment, God’s prophet understands and
expects God to deliver His people. Why
would God deliver His people? Because He
has promised! And He is a God who always
keeps His promises! Thankfully, and
mercifully, the Judge is also the Savior!
That is a message we would all do well to remember.
So, why did I think Jeremiah a good place
for us to be this morning? What was in
Jeremiah that I felt we as a congregation needed to hear? Two things really stand out to me in light of
discussions going on around us. The
first is this public discourse about us being God’s chosen or favored
nation. Are we? Do we really think that the United States of
America is God’s chosen people? Sure,
people outside these walls claim it.
Some expect to be sucked up to to curry votes. But do we think this country is God’s
favorite?
I hope your answer is no for two
reasons. First, we are reminded in the
Testament that follows God’s ultimate deliverance of His people, you know,
Jesus, that God’s people is the Church.
I know everyone here remembers Confirmation class and can define the
Church and Her mission in accordance with the catechism on pages 854 and 855 in
our BCP’s. Ok. I know you don’t remember the class; everyone
just refreshes their memory when they are incredibly bored by our sermons. Why are you chuckling? You think we don’t see? Turn there.
Have a refresher glance. In
particular, look at its mission on page 855.
Do we live in a country that is prays
and worships, that proclaims the Gospel, that promotes justice, peace, and
love? If only 1/5 of us Americans go to
church and less than ½ of us self-identify as Christians, we are failing on the
first instruction and the second. I
guess the election proves we, as a country, promote justice, peace, and love,
right? Again, why the chuckling? Seriously, though, if America is God’s
favorite or chosen people, we are doing a terrible job of living into our
calling. And that failure ought to
terrify us.
Secondly, how does God treat His people
when the fail? Heck, how does God allow
His people to be treated when they do follow His instruction? Judah and Israel received the curses from God
because they fell into idolatry, right?
God kept His promise to them. He withheld
the rains; He allowed armies to conquer them; He disgorged them from the very
Land He promised their forefathers and foremothers. If we as a nation are His people and we are
failing God as a nation, what ought we expect to happen to us? And nearly as bad, what ought we expect if we
are doing His will? Jeremiah gets three
years in a cistern for his faithful preaching and prophesying. That’s not exactly the reward promised by the
prosperity gospellers who tell us we deserve a mansion, a private plane, and
successful businesses for deciding to worship and follow God, is it? And Jeremiah is not alone. Scripture is full of people doing God’s will
who suffer, culminating in the Passion and death of our Lord Christ, the only
One to keep His torah, the only One sinless before God. God uses redemptive suffering . . . A LOT . .
. to reach us humans. If we are His
chosen nation, maybe we should expect some suffering that needs redemption? I’m just sayin’ . . .
Whether the United States of America is
not God’s chosen nation is, in the end, of little consequence to you and to
me. We are part of His chosen people; we
are the Church, that visible and invisible Body called to restore all people to
unity with God and each other in Christ.
That’s our job, yours and mine.
Are we doing our job? Are we
living as if He is alive and that His Resurrection has meaning for us? Certainly, at least in one way, we have
failed as a community. We are, what, a
month into a drought here in central Tennessee.
How many of us are praying for it to end? I share that guilt, right? I blamed the lack of rain on Jerry for
changing the drainage system around the rectory. He worked at that and, ever since, we have
had no rain to test his work. Is the
basement drier? Yes. Is it because of Jerry’s work? We don’t know. It has not rained! You and I claim to be God’s chosen
people. We claim that we are inheritors
of His power. We are instructed to
intercede on behalf of others. We even
claim this as part of those benefits of His passion during the Eucharist,
right? Why are we not praying to end the
drought?
Back to the election. How many of us are praying to God that He
help us as a country discern our next leader, or are praying to God that He
begin to equip our next leader to be the leader we need?
How many of us are praying against the
violence in the Middle East?
How many of us are working to feed the
hungry here in Middle Tennessee?
How many of us are working to clothe the
poor in Central Tennessee?
You and I, by virtue of our inheritance as
sons and daughters of our Father in heaven, are uniquely equipped to fight the
things that God hates, to serve those whom God loves, and to be the hands and
feet and voice of our Lord! What kind of
job are we doing? Are we living like we
believe those promises? Are we allowing
His voice to be co-opted by those who would continue to enslave those around
us?
I know this has been a bit of a
downer. I have probably afflicted the
comfortable a bit too much this morning.
I would be remiss in my duties if I did not point each one of us, myself
included, to the God of Jeremiah and us, the judge AND deliverer. Jeremiah’s message was a hard one to hear and
a hard one to give. It is hard to hear
and hard to tell people that they are failing God. The truth, of course, is that we often are,
right? We are all sinners in His sight. The gracious news is that God will deliver
His people!
You and I live on this side of the Cross
and the Empty Tomb, and so we know the way in which God has begun to fulfill
all His promises. But even here, on the
side of the Resurrection, you and I still do not understand how our redemption,
how our vindication, will ultimately happen, do we? We still live on the wrong side of the Second
Coming. How can we all share in His
glory? How can we all be kings and
queens? How can there be no tears? Are we going to be in church for all
eternity? For all we know with
certainty, there is much yet to be revealed.
And like the people of Judah, who are about to see God’s prophet
imprisoned in a cistern and their way of living wiped out by a conquering army,
you and I are called to remember that God is the One who calls us into
existence, who creates His Church even as He created the world, and the One who
fulfills all His promises.
In the end, it does not matter whether the
United States is His chosen people. He
invites us all. And for those who have
accepted that invitation, like you and like me, there is a responsibility
placed upon us. We are called to live as
if we truly believe He has been raised from the dead. Such a calling means we intercede, we feed,
we teach, we proclaim, and we serve. It
also means we will likely suffer. Brothers
and sisters, this election that is fast approaching is not one that truly
determines our fate. That election was
sealed a long time ago, when you and I were marked as His own for ever. Now, now we are called to live as if we
believe we are elected, called to share in His glory and His light for all
eternity.
In
Christ’s Peace,
Brian†
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