100822 - Yabbut

Yr C ~ P13 ~ Jeremiah 1:4-10
So, Jeremiah realizes that it all begins in blessing and that God knew him from his first moment, and not only that but God had laid a calling on his heart from the beginning too. He responds like we would – by complaining! He has a pet name for God – it’s Yabbut! He uses it all the time. “Yabbut I don’t know how to speak. Yabbut, I don’t know what to say. Yabbut, I’m only a boy.” (he was probably in his late teens) But apparently lack of confidence in your ability and your age and stage in life are not barriers to God calling you to share your faith. “Yabbut, I’m just a kid!” – And God replies, “I’ll be having none of that – you’ll go where I send you and say what I tell you.”
 
But God doesn’t just leave it up to Jeremiah’s own skills and abilities. In v.9 God touches Jeremiah’s mouth (metaphorically, of course) – “I have put my words in your mouth” – “I have inspired you!” And God sends Jeremiah out to begin his life as a prophet – God’s messenger.
 
What does this passage say to us today? Was it just for one man at one time in history? Or is there something more universal here? I think we “Yabbut” God all the time – and this story is a perfect example of why. I mean, think about it. Jeremiah’s right. What could a youth possibly have to say to us about faith? “Young bucks, still wet behind the ears, what do they know?” Well, I’ll tell you.

 
Youth know what it’s like to grow up in a world with confusing values and messages – with shifting morals and expectations. They know first hand what racial diversity and religious pluralism are. How many of you had visible minorities as friends when you were young (or now even)? How many of you are friends with Muslims or Hindus? And youth can teach us how to wonder again – how to ask questions – how to believe that anything’s possible.
 
Let me tell you something; God expects a lot out of youth. “Yabbut, there’s a whole army over there and their champion is gigantic and nobody in our whole army is brave enough to fight him – and I’m just a boy. Why me?” [David] “Yabbut, why should I be able to hear your voice in the night when my mentor can’t and why do I have to replace him?” [Samuel] “Yabbut, I’m only about 14, I can’t be pregnant – I’m not even married yet!” [Mary]
 
But youths aren’t the only ones who Yabbut God. Hmm, who should we pick on next? – How about the seniors! Obviously seniors have much to teach us – years of experience – living through huge changes in the world, knowing civic and national pride, working hard for everything they ever got, building our world into a successful society. But what can they teach us about faith? How about perseverance, sacrifice, love, dedication, service… Enter the Yabbuts.
 
“Yabbut, I’m old now. I’m retired. It’s someone else’s turn. I’ve done my share.” Let me tell you something; God expects a lot from old people. “Yabbut, I’ve never built a boat that big before – and where am I going to get the animals – I’m an old man!” [Noah] “Yabbut, I’m in my 80’s, I shouldn’t be arguing with Pharaoh and leading all these people into the wilderness!” [Moses] “Yabbut, how can we have descendants like the stars when we’re so old and we don’t have any children at all yet?” [Abraham + Sarah] 
 
Or maybe you’re thinking that young or old only seasoned church folk get called by God. “Yabbut, I’m just a newbie. I’m just getting started in my faith journey. I don’t know enough yet.” Let me tell you something; God expects a lot from newbies. Who better to speak of the spark of faith than someone who has just felt it burn so fiercely? Who better than a former outsider to describe what it felt like to go from outsider to insider? Who better than someone for whom it’s all new and fresh and exciting to share their enthusiasm for how it could be new and fresh and exciting for another person? Will a newbie know what it all means and have a firm grasp on all the theological questions that may arise? Nope. That’s what we’re here for.
 
So as you can see, we’re in good company when we resist God’s calling. Moses tried to turn the job down four times! Jonah tried to run in the opposite direction and ended up as fish food. Even Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, asked God “if it’s possible can’t this cup pass me by?” So yeah, it can be intimidating to consider answering God’s call, whether you’re a youth, a senior, a newbie, or whatever.
 
But here’s the thing. It all goes to expose a basic reality about us – a shortcoming – but it might not be what you think. We think we’re inadequate because we don’t really understand that God isn’t actually relying on us but working through us. They’re God’s words, not Jeremiah’s. It’s God’s message, not mine. These are God’s truths, not our own design. Of course we’re inadequate to deliver God’s message. Are you kidding me?!
 
Every week I stand here and preach saying “this is what God means” about this or that. Now if I actually believed that it was my own knowledge that I was teaching about I’d be mad. Every week it’s the same thing – I read the texts, I pray hard about them, I wait for a nudge in some direction, and I start to answer that nudge. Yes, it’s me speaking, but underneath it all it really isn’t me, if you know what I mean. Our shortcoming is that we tend to think it’s all about us and our shortcomings! It’s not. It’s about God. God calls-taps-nudges us not so we can go out and get things done for God, but so that God can get things done, through us.
 
There’s a saying – God equips the called; God does not call the equipped. It’s so true. God doesn’t expect you to be fully formed, God wants to fully form you. All through the Bible, all through our faith history, time and time again we see it: God clearly values openness over giftedness. With God it’s “Yes, I will” more than “Yes, I can.” 
 
This pattern we see in Jeremiah applies to just about every character in our scriptures – and it’s a pattern that probably holds true in your life too. It goes like this:
You’re blessed. God calls.
You resist. God insists.     
You accept. God equips.
You try. God transforms.
 
I hope you see that it’s a conversation – a dance – not an order. No, we’re not exactly equal partners when we dance with God but we’re also not robots who get programmed to do what we’re told. It begins with blessing, then you dance (call, resist, insist, accept, equip, try) and in the end God transforms your efforts and you into something holy and beautiful.
 
So, I wonder if something else is going on here. Maybe our resistance has less to do with whether we feel qualified or worthy than it does that we simply don’t want the job. Bill Cosby said, “I’m not the boss of my house. I don’t know when I lost it, I don’t know where I lost it, I don’t know if I ever actually had it, but I know this: I’ve seen the boss’ job – and I don’t want it!”
 
Maybe what’s going on for Jeremiah is that he knows all too well that the life of a prophet – a messenger – can be very challenging. It seems like you either speak soft and gooey words that make everyone happy but utterly betray your calling to speak the truth of God’s awesome power and presence and will for us, or you speak strong and challenging words that ruffle feathers and put peoples’ backs up and tend to get you run out of town – but at least you’re speaking truth.
 
Funnily enough, people don’t seem to enjoy being told that they’ve missed the mark. Even when we’re wrong and know we’re wrong, we still resist being corrected. For some bizarre reason people would actually prefer to live a lesser life than embrace the gift that God offers – because to accept God’s gift means to change. It’s hard to let go of the familiar even if it’s not working. So maybe what’s churning in Jeremiah here isn’t that he’s too young or doesn’t have the skills but that he’s seen the prophet’s job and he doesn’t want it! Do you? Well, you’d better – because it’s yours!
 
In v.10, God commissions Jeremiah (us) to go out and shake things up. God says, “I’m sending you to pluck up, pull down, destroy, overthrow, build, and plant.” Did you notice that there’s twice as much deconstruction as there is reconstruction? It’s because you can’t build and plant something new until the people have let go of their grip on what was.
 
Have you ever used one of those fancy weed puller things? You know, the ones where you put the claw part over the centre of the weed and push down and then twist it and the weed pops out roots and all. It’s an awesome tool. But think about how much work it is to pluck up all those nasty weeds. It takes forever. Even with that cool tool it’s still really hard work. But if you don’t spend the time plucking out the weeds you’ll never be able to reseed or overseed your lawn. If you don’t spend the time plucking you can’t get to the planting.
 
Yabbut, we’d all prefer to be planters than pluckers, builders rather than destroyers. We all want to be the ones who help things grow and flourish, who start new projects and tackle new ministries. For some reason bringing forth newness seems holier and more “Christian” than tearing stuff down. 
 
But tearing down doesn’t have to be negative. Usually what you’re tearing down is an oppressive barrier for a person that really needs to be brought down. Weeds have to come out or the grass gets choked. Something is making the person feel separated or removed from God’s Shalom – your job is to “destroy” it.
 
Sadly, for many people the barrier is their religious upbringing or a rigid interpretation of the Bible that they learned. So we offer a different lens, a different way to approach faith, a different way to read scripture – not to replace their former rigid system with our new and improved rigid system, but simply to say, “Here’s another way to look at that passage. What do you think?” That’s deconstruction – poking holes in a barrier and bringing it down.
 
Now, it’s highly irresponsible to lead someone to deconstruction and just leave them there. Without a solid sense of reconstruction on the other side all you’re doing is tearing down the only shelter they may have.  This is where I think many so-called atheists are right now. They’ve deconstructed their ideas and understandings of God that don’t work for them anymore but then they didn’t bother to do any reconstructing, so they’re left with nothing. How sad! 
 
They say things like, “God isn’t an old man in the sky who grants wishes if you pray the right words!” Yeah, that’s right. That’s not God at all. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing – it just means their former understanding is gone – so it’s time to build a new one with new images, and maybe a new vocabulary.
 
Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here – this being prophetic thing doesn’t have to be all theological and heavy like I’m making it sound. Being a prophet of God doesn’t have to be confrontational at all. It simply means to share the message that God has given you. So what you need to do is just ask yourself this simple question: What shall I preach?
 
What am I to say? What word has God put in my heart and on my lips? And who needs to hear it? Only you can know those answers for sure, if you can get quiet enough to listen for them. But I’d suggest that right now, without too much effort or self-analysis, you could easily preach what Jeremiah knew from the beginning. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you,” says God.
 
You could simply say to someone, “You are known and loved by God. You are not irrelevant in this vast universe. You are not insignificant. You matter. You are loved. I don’t know how I know it, but I absolutely know it. I am God’s beloved, and so are you.” If that was the only thing you ever preached it would be enough for a lifetime.
 
Or how about explaining the 3 C’s to someone – could you do that? Or how about just chatting about what draws you here to this place week after week. What deep spiritual itches are getting scratched for you here? Don’t you think the people you encounter in your life are probably spiritually itchy too? You don’t have to polish up a speech – just talk from your heart. I bet you’ll find the words will just pop out if it comes from a real, deep, authentic, honest place. It’ll be like God has touched your lips and given you the words to say.
 
“Yabbut, I’m worried about what people might think – Yabbut, I’m afraid of upsetting or offending someone – Yabbut, it feels risky.”
 
And God says, “Yabbut, I’ll always be with you. So don’t be afraid. Now get going!”
 
Amen.