Call of Jeremiah and Evangelism
Lord, you call each of us to ministry, ministry that takes on many forms, from the words of my mouth and the mediation of all our hearts, may we hear a word from you about the ministry that you have for us this day and going forward. Amen
In starting I would like to thank you all for having me here and thank Cathie for inviting me to speak today.
I have known Cathie’s husband David for quite a long time.
He has been a long time friend of my Dad and our family
We have gone cross country skiing and hiking together, he was a frequent guest for Sunday dinners when I was growing up
he taught me how to sail
and was one of my Sunday school teachers
I had the strange experience of helping him move into Wycliffe college when I was just 15 years old
Strange because I remember wondering if I would ever go there
And 20 years later I graduated from Wycliffe
It was in David’s first few months that we (our) family started hearing about Cathie and to our joy they married while they were both still in Seminary
Later when we would go to visit them, it was Cathie that was great to talk to
So it is truly a pleasure to be here this morning
I tell you all of that as a means of introduction
But also to tell you a little something about me
You see a very earlier age I had thoughts and feelings about being called into ordained ministry
Even before I helped David move into Seminary, I thought about it
And while there at Wycliffe, God was sending me powerful hints, which I remember clearly… as if it was yesterday
That is one of the reason that for today I will be looking at the Old Testament reading for the day - know as “Jeremiah’s Call and Commission”
There is some powerful stuff in the reading for today that has gripped me since the first time that read it.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;”
Now my name is Paul Matthew Tinker
Tinker because that, of course, is my family name
Paul after St. Paul
And Matthew after the gospel writer and disciple
My parent’s didn’t know how I would turn out, but they had hopes and gave me names that reflect their ideals
I have four kids and before they were born Kelly and I named them
Madison Debra Anne
Debra & Anne being the two grandmas
And Madison because we like the name and it is a derivative of Matthew, my middle name
Jackson David Gary
David & Gary again for the two grandpas
And Jack, because to us Jack was a name that we associated with being a friend and buddy - extended to Jackson for a more formal alternative
Grace Lisa Elizabeth
Lisa after Kelly’s sister, and Elizabeth for two great grandmas
Grace because we believed her to be a gift from God
Now naming our baby, was the most difficult for me, Kelly knew all along, but I didn’t, until I started to look at the meanings of names
When I looked into the meanings of our first three, the decision became clear:
Madison - Derived from Matthew 'gift of God'
Jackson - Based on John - God has been gracious; has shown favor.
Grace - from the Latin 'gratia', meaning God's favor.
So the names that Kelly had all along - Elizabeth or Matthew were perfect
- as they both mean - Gift of the Lord
We were blessed with a beautiful baby boy - a true gift from God
Before any of our kids were born, before they were even in their mother’s womb, we, their parent had hopes and ideals for them
How much more must God have for each of us…
Today, Cathie asked me to speak about the ministry of evangelism
And today we have the incredible prenatal - preconception choosing of a great prophet - one of the most influential prophets of the Old Testament
God conveys a clear message to the young Jeremiah - still a boy
Notice the language - the emphasis expressed by the use of the strong and frequent verbs in - I formed you,
I knew you,
I set you apart,
I appointed you
Incredible commissioning!
Oh, if only it were that easy for the rest of us!
If only God had such a clear statements of the hopes and ideals for us
But I believe that we all have a vocation
- I believe that we are all called to one form of ministry
By our birth, we are all made in the image of God, and there is a purpose for all of us
Now this might start to sound like our lives are fully planned out - that God has predestined our existence
Jeremiah being called as a boy, might look like he has his life laid out
I mean when he objects to God’s calling - when he says that he is too young and doesn’t have the words to speak
the Lord put out his hand and touched his mouth; and the Lord said “Now I have put my words in your mouth.”
Sounds like God will be in control of Jeremiah
But we need to look deeper
We need to look at the very fact that God has people who are called as prophets at all
You see, the people were going about their lives doing what they wanted to do
And God introduces someone to suggest differently
The dynamics of the dialogue, still require a response from Jeremiah and subsequent acts of obedience.
If you consider the undertones throughout the narrative that is the book of Jeremiah are those of human freedom and the capacity to respond …or not, to the divine call.
In the expression of God’s will for his people, the purposes for the world as a whole, he employs the instrumentality of human servants, who have the capacity to choose
We all intuitively know that we choose our actions, we know that even though God is with us, we still are the one with the foot on the gas pedal
It is precisely because we, humanity, have free will that God calls Jeremiah and tells him of his purpose for him
God is saying that despite your ability to choose, I want you on my team, I will coach you and be with you through the difficult times
This makes one wonder about what prophet might look like today, in our times
Makes you question what a prophet actually is
Do they fulfill only a narrow definition - a stereotype, if you like, of the Old Testament prophet that spoke God’s words and warned people of the errors in their ways?
Or is the definition of a prophet broader, someone that is empowered by the Holy Spirit to testify, in some form, of God’s ways?
And here is precisely where we connect both with last week and this week’s NT reading
The two together because one is the response to the other
Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians finishes the message of chapter 12
Last week we were told that we are all members of Christ’s body
That the hand is just as much a member of the body as the eye or ear
That there is a need for apostles, prophets, teachers; gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, and there are varieties of services, and there are varieties of activities,
To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
Gifts from God are defined as such - if they are for the common good
So we are all potential witnesses of God - if we use our gifts for Christ’s body - the church universal
We are all evangelists
We all proclaim the Good news of Jesus Christ
Evangelists if we live out our role, our vocation, our calling with Love
Live out our gifts in the greatest of the gifts - Love
As the scripture says
if we do not have love, we are nothing.
And maybe as you are striving to live out your life empowered by the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given you
Someone will see God’s love shine through you and ask you something like
‘why do you work differently from the rest?’
and you can tell them your story
Don’t worry - you don’t need to have gone to ‘Evangelist training academy’
You don’t have to have all the answers to every question they might ask
Just tell them how God has worked in your life
Just tell them your story!
We are all called to be a witness in some form
As St Francis of Assisi has famously said
Proclaim the gospel in everything you do and if you must - speak
And in closing I would like to leave the final thought to God’s inspired word from Paul’s letter to the Romans (from the ‘message’ version)
Rom 12:1-2, 6-7,21 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Rom 12:6-7 let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't. If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching;
Rom 12:21 Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good
Take your everyday, ordinary life - and place it before God as an offering.
And be the evangelist God has called you into,
in the role and with the gifts… God has given you
AMEN