Thomas J Parlette
“Some Homework”
Jeremiah 1: 4-10
1/30/22
We all know what it’s like to wake up from a frightening dream and think, “Wait a minute, was that real?” And once we get a little more alert, we realize that it was just a dream, and we hopefully fall back asleep.
Psychologists say there is one type of dream that is nearly universal – the dream of being unprepared for an exam. It’s awful isn’t it? School children all over the world report having this dream, or I should say nightmare, for that is what it truly is. In this dream, you realize on the day of the exam that you never showed up for class – you missed the entire semester. Or the exam questions are written in a foreign language you don’t recognize, or you completely forgot to study the night before.
Dr. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, studied these exam dreams and concluded that they are never about the exams we have failed. Rather, he discovered that these dreams usually involve exams in which we did well. So he believed that exam dreams were actually our brain’s way of reassuring us that we’ve faced this challenge before, did well, and we could do it again.
I hope he’s right – especially as we continue to face this COVID epidemic. It feels like we’re waking up and wondering – is this really happening, is this really happening again. But I like the thought that those panic dreams might be our brains way of reassuring us that we been through this before and we can do it again. That feeling of being unprepared helps us to relate to the situation of Jeremiah the prophet in our passage for today.
Jeremiah was a young priest in a small settlement near Jerusalem when God spoke to him one day and called him to be a prophet to the nations. Nothing scary about that, right? Don’t kid yourself.
I’ve often heard others say, “If God would just speak to me and tell me what to do, life would be so much easier.” I’ve thought that to myself as well. We all think that if God spoke to us in a clear, unmistakable way, we would feel immediate relief and would obey instantly. But look at all the people God spoke to in the Bible. Very few responded with, “Sounds great! I’m on it. Thanks for the clear directions, God.” No, almost everyone responded with fear, questions or excuses. So let’s not kid ourselves that we would be so faithful and courageous if God spoke to us. When God calls us to do something, it’s not unusual to respond with a little bit of fear, some questions and whole lot of excuses.
Jeremiah responds like we all probably would, with an excuse – I don’t know how to speak, I’m too young. Which might sound like a reasonable response – “No thank you Lord. I’m going to take a pass on this one. I’m not ready. I’m not the best choice for this. This just isn’t my thing.”
Reminds me of a comment a manager wrote in an employee evaluation: “He’s never been very successful. When an opportunity knocks, he complains about the noise.”(1)
Jeremiah wasn’t exactly complaining. He just wasn’t listening. All Jeremiah heard was the responsibility. He didn’t hear the reassurance. God never gives a responsibility without first giving reassurance. God never calls someone without first comforting them. God never appoints someone without first anointing them, to use religious and theological language.
Look at God’s words in the beginning of this passage: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…”
These words are not just for Jeremiah – they are for us as well. God made us – God made you – for a purpose. In fact, God tells Jeremiah “… before you were born, I set you apart.” The word used here literally means “set apart for a sacred purpose” or “consecrated.” You weren’t just made for a purpose. You were made for a sacred purpose. For God’s purposes.
Dr. Robert Schuler – famous for coining the phrase “possibility thinking”– was once asked in an interview how he developed such a positive, optimistic outlook on life. He said he developed this attitude through his morning prayer time. Every morning he would pray, “Dear Lord, lead me to the person You want to speak to through my life today. Amen.”
When I first heard about that prayer during a youth group meeting during my high school years in Bloomington, Illinois, I thought– how could such a simple prayer change his whole outlook on life? Dr. Schuller says that that prayer caused him to see the people around him as opportunities for God’s blessings. Because of that prayer, every interaction became an opportunity for God to speak through him. Don’t misunderstand - he never assumed he had all the answers. No – that just meant that the burden wasn’t on him. God had all the answers and fill someone else’s need. Schuller saw himself as the delivery method, not the source of wisdom, comfort or love.
Wouldn’t it be great if we all could approach life like that, if we could view every moment as a limitless opportunity for God to work through us? Every moment, every conversation – no matter where you are or what you’re doing.
Another thing we can take away from this passage today is that, in order to accomplish God’s purposes, we must live without fear.
I like the story Pastor Peter Blackburn tells about a family camping trip to a national park in Australia a few years ago. The Blackburns and their friends spread out and explored the different hiking trails around their campsite.
Soon, Blackburn heard two of his sons calling for help. He looked up to see his sons and a friend had climbed a high rock ledge along one of the hiking trails and now they weren’t sure how to get down. Fortunately, the boys discovered a safe route on their own and soon rejoined the family at the campsite.
Once they returned, Blackburn had to remind them of one of the rules of rock climbing: never jump unless you can see where you’re going to land. And before you climb to a higher peak, make sure you see a way back down.(2)
That is great advice for rock climbers, but it’s not great advice for followers of Jesus Christ. God says – “If I say so, Jump, and I will catch you.” God says, “Climb out on the higher peak and trust that I will show you the way.” Listen again to God’s word’s to Jeremiah: “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.”
How many opportunities are lost to fear – especially the fear of rejection. I don’t think anyone ever died of rejection. How many blessings wither and die in the face of our excuses, made out of fear. Fear shrinks our vision. Fear stunts our potential. Fear robs our potential impact. How? By making us doubt God’s call. Listen again to God’s words: “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.” Repeat that to yourself a few times every day, “I will not be afraid for God is with me and will rescue me.” Then see what opportunities God brings your way.
Let me tell you about somebody who conquered her fear and is doing a lot of good in her community. After suffering through an abusive relationship, an addiction to alcohol, and a cancer diagnosis, Debrah Constance found success and stability as vice president of a major realty company in Los Angeles, California. In her role as vice president, she was also in charge of her company’s philanthropic giving. As a result, she developed an interest in helping kids in disadvantaged, crime-plagued neighborhoods in South Central Los Angeles.
Through her volunteer work, Debrah sensed that she had a larger mission than running a successful real estate company. When she shared this growing conviction with a friend, he asked her, “What do you really want to do when you grow up?”
And without thinking, Debrah said, “All I really want to do is open a safe house for the kids at Jefferson High School.”
And her friend said, “Then just do it.”
And then the panic set in! Debrah began listing all the reasons she couldn’t open a safe house for young people. She, herself, had dropped out of high school. It would cost too much money. She didn’t have the education or the work experience.
And her friend looked her in the eye and said, “You can do it. And you must do it.”
That conversation led to the founding of a community center named A Place Called Home that serves hundreds of young people every day in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The workers at A Place Called Home offer counseling, academic tutoring, mentorships, vocational training, after-school programs in the arts and various sports. They also provide college scholarships, job placement, and a safe hangout for kids.(3)
Debrah Constance got over her fears and doubts, and look all she was able to accomplish.
The last take away from this passage is that in order to accomplish God’s purposes, we must trust God’s plan. Doing great things for God begins with the simple trust that the One who has called us will not leave us all alone as we seek to follow the call.
Recently I came across some wise words written by a finance blogger named Bob Lotich comparing God to an NFL quarterback. He wrote – “God loves throwing lead passes.”
God loves throwing lead passes. Lotich explains that a lead pass in football is when the quarterback throws a long pass not to where the receiver is, but to where the receiver is going.
Bob writes, “When you follow God’s principles, the results are almost always delayed. As in, when God asks us to do something, we rarely see the results immediately. We have to keep doing what God tells us to do – running – and trust that God will get us the results – the ball – somewhere down field… If I were playing catch with an NFL quarterback, and he said “Just start running and the ball will be there when you get there,” I would trust him. He’s a pro – he knows what he’s doing. How much more can we trust God when God says, “Just start running, I’ll take care of the rest.” Whatever you are trusting God for today,” says Bob Lotich, “just keep running, and trust that God has it all worked out.”(4)
That’s exactly what Jeremiah learned to do. God didn’t choose Jeremiah because of his outstanding skill and charisma. Look at the last verse from today’s passage: The Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. Today I appoint you over the nations to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
God’s plan is not about you. It’s not about me. It’s about God working through us. As the Lord said to Jeremiah, “I have put my words in your mouth.”
God made us all for a sacred purpose. Every moment you are alive is a sacred opportunity to good works that God prepared in advance for you to do. The only obstacle between you and God’s sacred purpose is your willingness.
So today, I have some homework for you to do. Keep repeating that phrase – “I will not be afraid for God is with me and will rescue me” – three times, every day. And then, just keep running, and trust that God’s got it all worked out.
May God be praised. Amen.
1. Dynamic Preaching, Vol. XXXVIII, No. 1, p23.
2. Ibid… p24.
3. Ibid… p25.
4. Ibid… p25-26.
