10/10/10 The Outcast
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jeremiah is one of my heroes.
He loved God more than anything
And he loved God’s people.
The son of a priest, Jeremiah became a prophet at a young age.
Early on he was one of a band of professional prophets.
He was part of the “ prophets’ union.”
One of the problems, though, was that these
court prophets were paid by the King --
and by the people they advised.
So, to protect their livelihood,
they would give False Prophecies on an as needed basis.
But Jeremiah was different.
He was scrappy, courageous,
A real truth-teller.
He told God’s truth no matter what,
even when it would be difficult to hear.
In the process, he found himself excluded from
this comfortable “prophets union.”
But he kept on speaking the truth.
King Zedekiah didn’t particularly want to hear
that the Babylonians would prevail,
but he kept Jeremiah around anyway.
He knew that sooner or later Jeremiah’s words were always confirmed.
The King’s ministers hated Jeremiah -- this bearer of bad news
Was often putting a damper on the mood at court.
They wanted to kill him but were afraid to.
Instead they had him dropped into a cistern full of mud,
without food or water.
When the King learned of this, he had him pulled out.
Can’t you picture this scrappy man, looking up, covered with mud?
When Jeremiah spoke of the exile of Israel,
he knew exactly what he was talking about.
He understood that exile is a hard place,
a painful place, a place of feeling abandoned, forgotten,
and forsaken.
On the surface this text is very poetic, even soothing to the ear.
God is telling the Israelites to do very positive, life-giving things –
build houses, have children, plant gardens and eat from them.
It sounds like a pretty good life to most of us.
But as far as these Israelites are concerned
this prophecy was not good news.
How is that?
First of all, those who were sent into exile
were the very wealthiest people of Jerusalem.
The most privileged and most powerful class.
They were forced to leave behind their fine homes and many possessions.
Jeremiah was the only prophet willing
to tell the truth about this period of exile.
His nemesis the prophet Hananiah was quick to tell the people
that they would be back home very soon, two years at the most.
But Jeremiah’s prophecy speaks of a very long exile.
"Build houses, have sons and daughters, give your daughters
in marriage that they might multiply."
This was much more than an extended vacation.
Some of these Israelites would spend the rest of their lives in exile.
Never again would they see their beloved Jerusalem.
So, Why has God sent the Israelites into exile?
Earlier we learn that God is doing this
because the Israelites’ are disobedient.
The wealthy and powerful in Jerusalem are too busy
manipulating the political scene to listen to God.
They refuse to consider that there might be an end of limit
to their wealth and influence.
Let’s take a moment to put the reading in context:
Just before this period, in the reign of King Josiah
the Jews religious practice became centralized around the Temple.
Jews were taught that God was present only in the Holy of Holies,
And they were required to travel to Jerusalem
for major observances.
This was a way to keep them from worshipping false idols.
During this time, altars in the countryside were destroyed to
keep the people from making sacrifices to false gods.
Now, fast forward to today’s reading.
Tens of thousands of Israelites are living
in a foreign land, and at the same time
they are convinced that their God is in Jerusalem.
Because of this they are not only experiencing a physical exile,
They are experiencing spiritual exile.
What does this have to do with us?
When we look at our country’s economic struggles,
and the difficulties many folks are facing today,
it can feel like a time of exile.
We turn on the TV and listen for prophets
who will tell us the ship will be righted,
and that, in two year’s at the most.
We want things back the way they used to be –
we long for the comfort of home.
Whatever form our exile takes, we experience it as
a time of loss, of feeling abandoned by God.
At these times, we can’t help but ask:
“Where is God in all of this? How could this happen?”
Often times there is no easy or clear answer for these questions.
But, know that nothing is wasted.
For the Israelites, they were in exile long enough
to learn that God cannot be limited by a temple or geographic location.
God cannot be contained.
Jeremiah’s prophecy hints at the possibility that the God of Israel is universal –
A God for all people.
Let’s take a look at the very last verse:
God tells the Israelites to seek the welfare of the city
where they have been sent.
He tells them to pray to the Lord on behalf of
the barbarians who have captured them.
He tells them: “In their welfare you will find your welfare.”
That had to have sounded pretty radical to the Israelites.
Just about as radical as “Love your enemies.”
Love those who disagree with you (That one can be hard!).
Love those who are different.
During the past several days, we’ve heard about many people
who know all too well about exile.
Young people who have experienced persistent bullying,
often because they are different in some way.
They are outsiders (“foreigners”).
They may have a different ethnicity. A different body type.
A different religion. A different sexual orientation.
Maybe they are just shy.
We have watched the deeply tragic story of Tyler Clementi --
A gifted young man who, with the assistance of internet
technology was so publicly ridiculed and shamed that,
in his pain, he found it necessary to throw himself
off the George Washington bridge.
Tyler knew what it is to be in exile.
To feel abandoned by those he trusted.
We can safely assume that he felt abandoned by God.
This tragedy makes me want to take back every careless, idle remark,
every chuckle or barb that I have either offered or silently tolerated.And Tyler is not the only one to experience exile.
The pain of his family and friends –
their anger, their guilt and their inconsolable sadness –
must be excruciating.
His roommate and the young woman who were arrested,
both no doubt would like to take back every action or attitude
that contributed to this tragedy.
They probably wonder if God will ever forgive them.
They must wonder if they will ever be able to move
beyond the events of the last few weeks.
They too know the pain of exile – and their exile is only beginning.
Jeremiah tells the Israelites to seek the welfare
of the city where they have been sent and
to pray to the Lord on its behalf.
He tells them that in the welfare of their enemies
they will find their own welfare.
His is a call to reconciliation: “Love your enemies.”
Perhaps in the biblical story, God is showing the people of Israel
that he is so powerful, so loving, and so boundless,
that he is not only the God of Israel, but
the loving God of the whole creation.
We can see through the prophet Jeremiah
that more is being revealed.
Our understanding of God is ever evolving and broadening.
This theme is also reflected in today’s Gospel as the leprous Samaritan –
doubly despised – receives a healing.
He alone turns back to give God thanks and praise.
The only foreigner -- the one most despised,
yet loved unconditionally by a merciful, generous God --
is the only one who bothers to turn back and say “thank you.”
He shows no sense of entitlement – only surprised and jubilant gratitude.
He alone understands that this blessing is an unmerited gift.
From time to time, we will find ourselves in exile –
It may seem that God himself has led us into the snare,
that he is trying us, as silver is tried.
We may go through fire but God longs to bring us into a place of refreshment.
One writer describes this passage in Jeremiah as
“the creative work of God among the exiles and among enemies.”
Their welfare is inextricably linked.
We are called to love and care for the foreigners in our midst –
to love “the other, the one who is different.”
This call to love is not merely to make us more compassionate and generous Christians.
We are called to this love, because our very lives depend on it.
AMEN.
Beth Tjoflat
Sermon Oct. 10, 2010
Christ Church Redding Ridge
Jer. 29:1, 4-7; Ps 66:1-11; 2 Tim8-15; Luke 17:11-19
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