Jeremiah 2:4-13 with
Psalm 81
This week we return to our lectionary
readings and although the gospel reading for the day was compelling, I found
the most fruitful texts to be in the Old Testament. Both of our readings for this morning, from
the prophet Jeremiah and the writings of the Psalmist, serve as warnings for
the people of Israel. They have turned
their hearts from God, and a period of suffering will soon be on its way.
We start with the prophet
Jeremiah. Jeremiah has been chosen by
the Lord to speak to the people of Israel on God’s behalf. When he states, “thus says the Lord” he is
pointing out that the message he has come to deliver comes directly from God,
and it is clear from our reading that God is not happy.
The language of the passage is
legalistic. God and the people of Israel
had entered into an exclusive covenant.
God would support and provide for the nation if Israel would remain
faithful in their worship of God. Israel
has failed on their part of the covenant, and so in the language of trial, the
people are being called to account for their actions. They have broken the covenant with God and
they deserve punishment.
The language of a lover’s quarrel is
also present. Often Israel is pictured
as the bride of God. Again, the idea of
exclusivity and fidelity is implied. In
seeking after other gods, Israel has cheated on her husband. And so the language God uses to condemn the
nation reveals God’s disappointment and hurt.
So what happened? Most of us remember the story. God made covenant with the people through
Abraham and then following the lineage through Jacob. We know the story that God is referencing,
how the people were brought out of slavery in the land of Egypt. Through Moses, God led the people for forty
years in the wilderness, through a land that no one passes through. God brought the people to a Promised Land, a
land that was plentiful and flowing with milk and honey.
Everything was great, but the people
got distracted. Over the years the
people forgot the stories of their faith, they forgot the providence of their God,
and they began to look for God in other things.
Jeremiah accuses those who were chosen to lead the people of failing in
their leadership. Those who handled the
law did not look for God, the rulers did not follow God, the prophets turned to
Baal, and most disappointing the very priests of the faith did not look for God
in the world. The whole leadership team
failed and the people fell away.
God is shocked and astounded that such
a thing could ever occur. Look, Jeremiah
cries, and see if you can find another nation who has done such a crazy
thing. “Has a nation changed its gods,
even though their new gods are no God at all?!?” The people have abandoned glory for something
that does not profit. In beautifully
poetic language, the prophet states that the people have abandoned the living
water of God and instead chosen to drink from stagnant cisterns. The people are dying of thirst and yet they
continue to dig empty wells.
The writings of the Psalmist follow a
similar theme. First the people are
called to praise the Lord. Then they are
told to remember their story once more, their God is the God who has promised
to provide and who has brought them out of the land of Egypt. But the people have turned away. They have not listened to the voice of
God. And God has allowed them to stray,
giving them over to their stubborn hearts and allowing them to follow their own
unwise counsel.
Again we hear that God longs for the
people to return in faith. God would
provide for the people, to nourish them and help them grow. God longs to feed the people of Israel the
finest wheat. In poetic language the Psalmist
claims that God will provide honey from the rock, combining the two images of
the water from the rock that Moses struck in the wilderness with the image of
the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey.
My favorite line of this Psalm is where God tells the people, “Open your
mouth wide and I will fill it.” What an
image of the abundance that would be available if only we would cooperate.
Both of these scripture readings
follow a similar overarching pattern.
The people have become dis-oriented.
As individuals, and as a nation, the people of Israel are lost. Both writers are seeking to re-orient the
people into the path of God. There is a
pattern here of orientation, dis-orientation, and re-orientation. We can find the pattern in the story of the
people of Israel and we can find it in our own lives today.
At one time the people of Israel were
properly oriented. They were grounded in
their faith and their reliance on God.
The writers of these texts seek to provoke memories of that time as they
call the people to remember the story of God’s providence through Joseph, of the
exodus from Egypt, of the continual presence of God in the wilderness, and of
the abundance of the land flowing with milk and honey.
We too have had times in our lives
when we were properly oriented. As individuals,
we can remember days when we felt the presence of God, when it seemed easy to
do the right thing, and when we could confidently share and welcome others
because we knew God would provide enough for all of us. We remember God getting us through the rough
patches of an illness or the death of a loved one. We remember knowing that we were going to be
ok, even if things didn’t turn out all right.
We remember being oriented in God as individuals.
As a nation too, we remember times
when we were focused together on higher ideals.
We were less afraid of the stranger in our midst and we were more eager
to share what we had with those in need.
We remember putting resources into building up the infrastructure of our
country and in helping the poor. We
remember a day when political rhetoric wasn’t so vile. We remember a time when we were a “united”
states.
The people of Israel had gotten
distracted, they had become dis-oriented, they had turned away from God. So too have we as individuals and as a
nation. I could go on for days about the
dis-orientation in our culture, but I really want to point out the dis-orientation
and distraction in our personal lives.
Think of all the ways we are
distracted from God. There is the
constant stream of input from television and radio. There is the nonstop demand of our phones and
social media. There is the god of
busyness that takes over everything. And
there are always the worries that like gods of their own demand our devotion. From concerns about money, to concerns about
the weather, to the constant drum beat of terror, we are living in a hyper
alert, hyper concerned state every day.
We are fed a constant stream of distraction that requires our devoted
attention, throughout our day every day, and it will never stop unless we take
the action to turn it off.
The Scripture writers tell us that the
people of Israel were dying of thirst.
They had become dis-oriented.
While in the very presence of the living water, they had turned instead
to dried up old wells. I think we could
say the same about ourselves. We are in
the presence of the living water, yet we seek comfort instead from all of our
distractions. We are spiritually
thirsty. Like the Israelites, we are
dying of thirst.
The writers of the Biblical text want
the people to become re-oriented. They
are urging the people to return to God.
Unfortunately, that won’t happen.
Both of these texts foreshadow the exile into Babylon. For the people of Israel, things will get
much worse before they get better.
What about for us? As individuals and as a nation, is re-orientation
a possibility or are we too facing a period of exile in Babylon? I cannot speak to the future of our country,
in fact, I am not sure anyone can these days, but I do believe we can become re-oriented
as individuals.
This week, I want to encourage you to
consider re-orienting around God. I want
to encourage you to take action to change the way you interact with your
world. Even a small thing can change the
narrative of the story you are in. For
example, is the weatherman warning you that it might rain or that there may be
thunderstorms? Don’t get panicked or
worried; you and I both know that the actual chance of danger is very low. Instead, go outside (if there is no
lightening) and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation, or look out the window and
marvel at the powerful wind in the trees, or take a moment to recognize the awe
you inherently feel at that clap of thunder.
Change the story from one of distraction and fear, to one of praise and
thankfulness.
Or perhaps the political scene is upsetting
you and causing your blood pressure to rise?
Don’t let yourself get upset at yet another offensive comment or email
scandal. Instead, turn off the TV, stop
thinking about it, let it go even for just a few minutes. Seriously, no one is voting anytime soon, so
taking a break from the election cycle will be OK. In fact, it will be better than OK, it will
be good to stop and focus on unity in Christ for just a few minutes instead.
Now pay attention because this is my
favorite idea for the week and the one I need the most. You know that moment when you have 5 minutes
while you wait for the next thing and so you pick up your phone to check your
email or see what’s happening on Facebook?
Well, don’t do that, that’s your leaky cistern. Stop looking for water there. Don’t pick up that phone. Instead sit still and connect with God. You can pray, you can meditate, or you can
just sit and be. Spend 5 minutes a day
doing absolutely nothing. Take time this
week to re-orient yourself around the divine.
Thousands of years ago, the people of
Israel were distracted by their world and they forgot about their God, and they
suffered for it. We live in a world of
much greater distraction. Let us make an
effort this week not to forget about our God.
Let us recognize the thirst we feel and quench it from living waters
instead of dried up old wells. As the
voice of God says through the Psalmist, “Open your mouth wide and I will fill
it.” Amen.
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