Bible quiz show time. What is the most repeated commandment in the Bible?
There are a lot of bible commands like love your neighbor, love God, be thankful, but there is one that gets repeated more than any other command. If you answered, “Do not be afraid,” I have a blue ribbon to give to you. To claim your ribbon, see my after worship.
Of all the commands that we find in the Bible and there are many, why is “do not be afraid” the most repeated one? Well, let’s look at one of those times it is repeated. We heard that command just a little bit ago during our Old Testament reading from the Book of Jeremiah.
“Do not be afraid of them,” the Lord tells young Jeremiah.
Young Jeremiah. I say that because when Jeremiah is called upon by God to become a prophet, he is reluctant to do so because in his words, “he’s only a boy.”
My heart goes out to the youth of today. So much fear. So much anxiety.
In all my years of pastoral ministry, I don’t think I’ve ever been more concerned about the anxiety and fear among youth than I do today.
According to the National Institute of Health, 1 in 3 of all adolescents, which would include the ages of 13 to 18, will experience an anxiety disorder. 1 in 3! And this study was released just before the global pandemic started in 2019!
The three top reasons they give for this rise in anxiety disorders are because of higher expectations and pressures to succeed, the world is becoming scarier and more threatening, and the negative consequences associated with social media platforms.
Anxieties and fears are something in which we all struggle in varying degrees. A few years ago, a Chapman University survey was conducted which said that our biggest fears as adults are public speaking, heights, and snakes and bugs.
I am totally fine with speaking in public but please do not ask me to get on the roof of your house. I do not like heights. We paid someone to clean out our gutters and as I was watching this person heading to the top of our roof, I could feel the palms of my hands getting sweaty by the second. Not a fan of snakes either!
No wonder that the command, “Do not be afraid” shows up more than any other command in the Bible. So much fear that we face in our day to day living.
So back to Jeremiah. Why did he need to hear those words from the Lord, “Do not be afraid?”
Short answer. The Lord called him. Whenever the Lord calls us to do something, it’s understandable that fear will set in. We often do not know if we will be able to meet the challenges ahead. We wonder if we will have what it takes to succeed. We’re afraid of letting God down. We wonder if the Lord might have gotten our email address mixed up with someone else’s.
In our scripture reading, the Lord has spoken directly to Jeremiah so that’s not really the issue in this situation. What this text is inviting us to ponder is how will we respond when the Lord does indeed call us to a certain task?
I actually really respect Jeremiah’s response when the Lord called him. There is a lot of humility on the part of Jeremiah. He knows that he’s young and experienced. He is also very much aware that there are probably other people who would be able to accomplish what the Lord wants him to do. But of course, the Lord responded to Jeremiah to reassure him, “no, you’re the one.”
Here’s a thought that we sometimes forget as people of faith and today seems like a good opportunity to be reminded of it. Our baptism at whatever age that might have been, is to always remind us that the Lord has called each one of us to share in the ministry. And because of our baptism, God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower and equip us for any task we are given.
All of those who are baptized are ministers of God. This reminds me of the sign in front of a church that reads, “Pastor – And then it has the name of the pastor.” And underneath that line, it has the words, “Ministers – Every Church Member.”
Every person in the church is a minister. God has called each one of us to live out our faith and help to build God’s kingdom on earth.
In our United Methodist Book of Discipline, it describes each of our callings in this way. “The heart of Christian ministry is Christ’s ministry of outreaching love. Christian ministry is the expression of the mind and mission of Christ by a community of Christians that demonstrates a common life of gratitude and devotion, witness and service, celebration and discipleship.”
Now, listen carefully to this next part. “All Christians are called through their baptism to this ministry of servanthood in the world to the glory of God and for human fulfillment..This means that all Christians are called to ministry wherever Christ would have them serve and witness in deeds and words that heal and free.” All of the baptized are ministers and called by God to ministry and service through Jesus Christ.
As our benediction says in the first line, there are no exceptions, asterisks, or loopholes. God calls each one of us into ministry.
So, this scripture from Jeremiah chapter one has particular meaning for me. If it wasn’t for this scripture, I would not be with you here today. I don’t know what I would be doing, but I would not be standing here.
When I was in college, I attended a spiritual retreat in the mountains of Central Pennsylvania. And the leader of the retreat invited each person to take their bible and go and spend some time outside alone with God just to listen for God’s voice.
There was no agenda. We were to just take our bible and open it to whatever scripture passage that looked interesting and read and reflect on it.
I opened my bible and it just so happened to open to this very scripture reading from Jeremiah. And as I read how the Lord called on Jeremiah and Jeremiah’s response to the Lord’s calling, that’s when I finally realized that the Lord was calling me into the pastoral ministry.
Other people had told me that they thought God was calling me to become a pastor but I didn’t think that God was calling me, until that day I read this scripture at that retreat.
I read those words silently to myself, and here is what I was mumbling, “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak for I am only a youth.”
That’s when I stopped reading because I said to God in that moment, “Ok, I see what you’re doing here, God. The reason you wanted me at this retreat was so that I would read this one little scripture passage.”
“Nice try, God, but I don’t see myself as a pastor.”
But then I kept reading, “Do not say that I am only a youth for you shall go to all to whom I send you and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”
“Ok, God, like I was trying to tell you. There’s no way that I can see myself speaking in your name week after week. Just no way. I don’t see it.”
And then here was the clincher. I kept reading. “Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, Now I have put my words in your mouth.”
“Oh…. You mean, that you will write my sermons?”
Yes, I will speak through you. Do not be afraid.”
It was in that very moment, that I finally got it through my thick skull, that God was calling me to be a pastor. Watch out for retreats. They can change the course of your life!
And I am so thankful that the Lord spoke to me so clearly during that time away in the mountains so long ago. Like Jeremiah, all that the two of us needed to know was, will you give us the words to speak?
Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid.
Thankfully, the Lord has continued to remind me to not be afraid. This past summer, I was meeting with other pastors about how we can equip, educate, and empower our churches to overcome the sin of racism in our communities.
And in the course of the conversation, I said something like, “You know, I am just this white pastor who is still feeling really clumsy in how to approach this topic. I’ve become more aware of just how ignorant I am regarding black history and how pervasive racism is in our country.”
Another pastor in the group stopped me mid-sentence and she said, “Robert, find your voice and speak God’s truth. Your perspective is important. God will use you.”
That comment hit me like a ton of bricks.
Our Bishop, Gregory Palmer is known to say in his sermons, “Just get over yourself.”
This scripture from Jeremiah, chapter one reminds me “again and again and again and again and again,” to just get over myself. Just use your voice.
Get over yourself. You think you’re the only white pastor who feels clumsy about calling out racism? You think you’re the only one who feels ignorant and inexperienced on this topic? You think you’re the only one who is feeling fearful, anxious, humbled, scared, ill-equipped, and tongue-tied?”
“Well, I’m hear to remind you, just in case you have forgotten. I have put my words in your mouth.”
Do not be afraid.
Do Not Be Afraid!
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