The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.
Jeremiah was a reluctant prophet who didn’t like what he saw, correctly anticipated that speaking out would make him seriously unpopular, and tried his best to dodge the responsibility of what the Quakers call “speaking Truth to Power”.
But there is something about God’s truth that simply won’t let him alone. Maybe that’s what it means to be a prophet, someone who can’t just be content to do what everyone else does – turn a blind eye to injustice and wrongdoing, choose what is convenient, expedient, and comfortable over what we really know deep inside is responsible and good.
Jeremiah’s prophetic career started early. One of the first objections he made to God’s call on his life was that he was way too young – nobody would listen to him. God promised he would be with him. That may not have been entirely reassuring. I remember the great preacher John Wimber commenting that God’s way is never easy. What he actually said was, “Get filled with the Holy Spirit and spend the rest of your life desperate!” John Wimber said he knew three prayers: “Help!”, “Oh God!”, and “Oh God, help!”
I guess Jeremiah knew what he meant.
O God of truth, whose word burns like fire, whose light exposes what is hidden away, who calls us to live as the prophets of our day – give us wisdom and courage, give us honesty and determination, and with that give us graciousness, gentleness, and kindness, so that we may witness to both your truth and your love to the people of our own day. In Jesus’ holy name; Amen.
