Uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant

25th August 2013

I got into a few discussions about American politics and politicians during our visit. And believe me if we have a low opinion of politicians here it is nothing compared to how things are over there. Everything over there is so polarised. So you either like Obama or you don’t. There is no “I don’t really like Obama but I do think he is trying his best on so and so.”

There is a great deal of cynicism about politicians and the feeling that they are only in politics for themselves. (And I suppose that’s true here too.) And one comment caught my attention because it sums up much of what is felt I think.

“Whoever wishes to be elected President should be disqualified out of hand.”

I think what this comment meant was that if someone runs for President, they must be so power hungry and must be so deluded to think they have the skills for the job, that they should be stopped.

Of course if we turn this logic on its head, anyone who refuses the nomination to be President should be elected because they won’t let the power corrupt them.

In the first chapter of the Book of the Prophet of Jeremiah, Jeremiah refuses the nomination to become a servant of God, a prophet.

God says to Jeremiah:

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

And in reply Jeremiah says:

6 “Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

And this isn’t false modesty on behalf of Jeremiah. Jeremiah really doesn’t think he has what it takes to be a prophet. Hence why he initially refuses God’s summons.

Actually this is often the way with prophets in the Old Testament. They are shown either as reluctant to take up their calling as prophets or otherwise they are shown as hesitant to take on a ministry God has given them. I suppose a good example is that of Jonah.

This reluctance is not false modesty. It always seems to be a sign of someone who genuinely feels they are not up to the task or that there is someone more worthy than them. But it is almost as if this initial or on-going reluctance to embrace the appointed task or speak the divine word, is there to prove God’s summons. In other words, if a prophet comes forward eagerly then they may well be false prophets or at least a prophet or a servant who treats God’s call too lightly.

Last Sunday I went to a service at Fairview UMC in Mooresville. The service was being led by an American Methodist minister called Ed Kilborn. Ed told a wonderful story.

A powerful matriarch at his home church was a woman called Willybelle. When young people reached 18 Willybelle told people what plans God had for new. She did this by laying hands on them. She told Ed he’d be a missionary. Ed comes from a long line of missionaries. His parents had been missionaries in China, Japan and Korea. He grandfather had been a missionary in northern China. So being a missionary meant entering the family business. Ed denied he’d be a missionary. Today he travels the US telling stories, performing songs. Not a missionary in the classical sense but a missionary all the same.

When Ed told that story I was reminded of my own reluctance to enter ministry despite all the calls from God over many years. At least 4 times over a 15 year period God had spoken to me through other people saying they thought I should be a minister. And each time I always had an excuse. I certainly didn’t see myself as a minister. I certainly didn’t think I was a good enough theologian. I wasn’t sure I’d make a good pastor. In fact even now I sometimes wonder whether I have got what it takes to be a minister yet here I am.

But God knew. God prompted those various people over the years to speak to me. To pass on what God knew.

The words God spoke to Jeremiah

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;

are words for each of us too. They are words to remind us that God knows us from the very start of our lives and knows what he would like us to be – though whether or not we follow that path of course is another matter. That must always be a dilemma for God; seeing his children doing their own thing and ignoring his paths.

But my reluctance is nothing when compared to why Jeremiah was reluctant. He was reluctant for God was calling him to a hugely challenging task. And the nature of Jeremiah’s call is set out in v10 of chapter 1:

10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

God was calling Jeremiah to challenge his own people and nation. Jeremiah will be God’s mouth piece during the last decades of the Judean monarchy before the country is crushed and its people enslaved. The reason Jeremiah has been born at this point in history is in order for God’s message to be given – no matter how unpalatable the message is.

God may as well have said to Jeremiah:

“I appoint you to go out and make yourself really unpopular in my name. In my name you are to say things no one will want to hear.”

No wonder Jeremiah was reluctant to answer God’s call.

There is so much to take in from the exchange. But one thing I know, I have felt affirmed in my ministry. And as always God has spoken to me through other people. On the day we left we were presented with a book about Lake Norman – which is a huge reservoir near Mooresville. Inside the book was the following inscription:

“David, Jesus called the disciples while they were fishing at the water. He preached from the Sea of Galilee. He even walked on water. You came to us from over the water. May the waves you see in the days and years to come serve as a reminder of our Christian love and prayers coming your way. Thank you for being YOU”

That was a wonderful affirmation of my calling. Not that I had doubts. But it is was nice to know.
And yet when I was away I had a sense that God has other things in mind for me. I had a sense that God is moving me, nudging me in to a different phase of my ministry. I do not know what that is yet and I do not know what God wants me to say or do. But my time in America means I am open to God’s bidding. That said I felt assured that part of my ministry is to be a Jeremiah and speak out to

“ … uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

As an ordained minister I have been called to something specific. To be first and foremost a minister of word and sacrament. But I want to go back to what I was telling you a moment ago about Ed Kilburn. For God calls each of us as his missionaries. God calls each one of us as his servants. Jesus uses each of us to be Christ like in this world. Yes we may put up excuses:

6 “Alas, Sovereign LORD,I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” or

“Alas, Sovereign LORD I am too busy” or

“Alas, Sovereign LORD, I am too old.”

And yet deep down in our hearts we hear God’s call. And believe me he keeps calling until we answer. He has known us since before he formed us in the womb and has set us apart. And because he knows us so intimately he knows what we are capable of in his name and with the strength given to us by the power of the Holy Spirit.