Since early August, we have been focusing on our appointed Old Testament readings from two of the major prophets, the Prophet Isaiah and the Prophet Jeremiah. They are known as “major prophets,” not because they are more important than the other prophets that we find in the Old Testament but because of the length of the books about them.
For the first two weeks of August, our focus was on the Prophet Isaiah who provided two messages from heaven for us, “Do Good,” and “You Can Get Through This.”
A couple of Sundays ago, we were introduced to the Prophet Jeremiah, who like Isaiah lived during a very challenging time for the people of Israel. When God calls Jeremiah to be a prophet, the northern Kingdom of Israel had already been taken over by the Assyrian Empire. And now, the Babylonian Empire is threatening to take over the southern kingdom of Judah.
When God called young Jeremiah to become a prophet, his response was “Ah, Lord God” which was basically another way of saying, “You can’t be serious, God!” But God promised young Jeremiah that he would be with him and give him the messages from heaven to share with God’s people. The message from heaven for that Sunday was God telling Jeremiah, “You can do this!”
Today’s scripture reading which comes just a chapter after God called Jeremiah to become a prophet helps us to understand why Jeremiah was so reluctant to say, “yes.”
And if he thought that God would redshirt him his freshman year as a prophet, that ends quickly when God tells Jeremiah here in chapter 2, “here’s the first message I want you to deliver to my people. The message I want you to deliver is for them to remember who brought them here.”
God doesn’t waste any time because there isn’t any time to waste. In fact, chapter 2 is just the beginning of several messages of judgment that God will be giving Jeremiah to share with the people. This will go on through chapter 6! Nothing like jumping in with both feet!
As you might imagine, these messages of judgment are not going to go over well. And since this sermon series on Isaiah and Jeremiah is ending today, here is some of what happened to Jeremiah for sharing these messages of judgment like the one we have from today.
During his time as a prophet which lasted for a span of almost 60 years from 627 BCE to 570 BCE, Jeremiah was arrested, placed in a prison, and lowered into an abandoned cistern left to die.
This is what you get for telling the people to repent of their shallow and superficial worship and for their lack of social justice in not taking care of the poor and those in need. People do not usually like it when they get called out for their sins.
But these messages from heaven weren’t just to call them out for their sins but to invite them to renew their covenant with God by remembering who God is and who God was calling them to be.
And this leads us to today’s message from heaven, the first of several judgments that are designed to help the people of God get back on the right track. And that message is for the people of God to remember who had rescued them from slavery in Egypt and led them to the Promised Land. Jeremiah was inviting the people to remember that it was God who formed them to be God’s chosen people.
In today’s scripture reading, Jeremiah is reminding them that it was the Lord who had brought them from the land of Egypt, and out of slavery, and into this plentiful land. But over the years, they had forgotten along the way.
Their forgetfulness of who God is and what God had done for them is why their worship had become shallow and empty and it’s why they are no longer caring for those who are oppressed and vulnerable. And when that happens to one generation, it can easily spill into the next generation and the next.
Keep in mind that Jeremiah is delivering this message of judgement to a people who are living several centuries after God had rescued the people from slavery in Egypt. Not to make any excuses for their empty worship and lack of social justice, but have you ever noticed how easy it can be for us to forget all that God has done for us as time goes by?
This is why when we read several of the Psalms, many of them are simply reciting all that God has done for the people of Israel. They will tell the story of how God saved the people from Egypt and led them into the Promised Land so that they would become God’s people and be a blessing to the world.
Today’s message from heaven to remember who brought you here is doing something very similar. It’s to remind us of all that God has done for us.
A while back, I was on a zoom meeting with other clergy and during one of the break-out sessions, someone mentioned a resource that educators and schools use that is known as 40 Developmental Assets. It lists 40 building blocks for healthy development that help young people grow up to be healthy, caring, and responsible people.
Half of these developmental assets are external, and the other half are internal, and these include support from others, empowerment, boundaries, and constructive use of time. Let me read off the 40 developmental assets. Here they are:
Family support, positive family communication, other adult relationships, caring neighborhood, caring school climate, parent involvement in schooling, community values, opportunities for youth to have roles in the community, service to others, safety, family boundaries, school boundaries, neighborhood boundaries, adult role models, positive peer influence, high expectations, creative activities, youth programs, religious community, time at home, achievement motivation, school engagement, homework, bonding to school, reading for pleasure, caring, equality and social justice (sounds like Jeremiah’s message for today!), integrity, honesty, responsibility, restraint, planning and decision making, interpersonal competence, cultural competence, resistance skills, peaceful conflict resolution, personal power, self-esteem, sense of purpose, and positive view of personal future.
These are the 40 developmental assets that researchers have identified as key building blocks to help young people be successful.
The more assets that someone has, the less likely they are to engage in a wide range of high-risk behaviors. They are also more likely to engage in positive and thriving behaviors like succeeding in school, helping others, maintaining good health and overcoming adversity.
Having these assets in place does not mean that everyone will have a healthier and more positive outlook on life, but it does increase the chances of a better life for that young person.
I share all of this with you because we often forget the building blocks that we need to be the people who God has called us to be. This is Jeremiah’s message from heaven for us today. He is calling on us to remember who we are, what God has done for us, and who we are called to be.
After this person shared a summary of these 40 developmental assets with us during that zoom break-out session, he then said something that has continued to be on my mind. He said, “As I looked over these 40 assets, I realized that the church can be that place where we provide over half of these basic building blocks for the next generation.”
Jeremiah’s message from heaven for us today is timely in this new school year. I have always felt that this time of year with schools recently beginning their new school year that this really feels more like New Year than the one we observe on January 1st.
Now is a great time of year to make some New Year resolutions that will help us to remember who brought us here and being more intentional in growing in our faith.
A couple of years ago, Penny and I hosted the McDowell family reunion. We came from all over the country to be together as a family.
We did all the family reunion type of activities like playing yard games, grilling out, going swimming, and catching up with each other. But we also spent a lot of time, sharing stories of parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts, as well as other family members who were an important part of our lives.
If you would conduct a study to see how many of those 40 developmental assets were part of our lives growing up, it would be close to all of them. We were all so blessed to grow up in such a loving and caring family. That’s what makes our family reunions so much fun! It gives us an opportunity to remember who brought us here and who we are.
In a way, every Sunday morning is a family reunion for us as the church. We gather from all over each week to remember what God has done for us and who we are as God’s people. And yes, sometimes our gatherings include food and fellowship.
This is why we need the prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah. Their messages from heaven are to remind us that we have everything we need because we are part of God’s family.
So, remember the messages from heaven that Isaiah and Jeremiah have given us during this month of August:
To do good because God is loving and good. To remember that with God’s help we can get through any challenge we may be facing. To remember that we can do anything with God by our side. And to remember what God has done for us and that it is God who has brought us here to be his family together.
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