Pastor's
Weekly Sermon
Burning Bones
Nashville UCC, November 3, 2019
Jeremiah never wanted to be a prophet. From the time that God called him, Jeremiah complained about it. When God first tapped him on the shoulder and said, “It’s you, Jeremiah. Time to get started!” he objected, “I’m too young to do this.” But God was having none of that! God rarely listens to us when we make excuses for not wanting to do what God asks us to do. God’s response is usually just what Jeremiah heard: “I’ve got plans for you! I’ve known you since before you were born, and you’re the person that I want for this job. Now, quit complaining and get going!”
Admittedly, the job that God gave to Jeremiah wasn’t an easy one. His assignment was to proclaim all the ways that the people weren’t following God so that they would start following God! After all, you can’t start something new until you recognize that the old isn’t useful any more. (We covered that topic in my last two sermons.) “Today I appoint you…” said God, “to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” And Jeremiah did just that. He became famous for all the ways that he showed the people just how far away they were from the God they were supposed to be following! He stood in the market place where everybody went to catch up on the latest news, and he told the people in no uncertain terms that they were worshipping the god of power and money, not the God of their ancestors. He stood right outside the gates of the Temple, and he told the people that they were fooling themselves if they thought that they could worship there on Sunday and then do anything that they wanted on the rest of the week. He even stood face-to-face with the King, and told him that he was a fool because he trusted politics more than he trusted God! None of that made Jeremiah very popular. The people got very tired of hearing him, and eventually, he even got tired, himself. He didn’t want to constantly criticize the people and their behavior. He wanted to tell them something uplifting! The trouble was that he had no choice! God had crawled inside his very being and was giving him instructions that he couldn’t ignore! “I can’t stop saying what God tells me to say!” Jeremiah complained. “If I decide not to speak anymore, it’s like a fire burning in my bones; and I just can’t shut up!” That’s the trouble with being one of God’s prophets. Once you start, you can’t ever stop. Your very bones burn to proclaim the truth and say what must be said!
Jeremiah wasn’t the last person whose bones burned to proclaim God’s message. They have proclaimed God’s message throughout history. Martin Luther, who began the Protestant Reformation in Europe 500 years ago, objected to some of the religious practices of his time, calling them non-Biblical and corrupt. The Church tried their best to silence him, all to no avail. When the Church wanted him to stop criticizing them and renounce his views, he refused, replying famously, “Here I stand. I can do no other.” 450 years later, his namesake, Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke out against the segregation and oppression of African-Americans, even though he knew that it might cost him his life. “If a man has not discovered something that he will die for,” he said, “he isn't fit to live." His bold message of racial equality did indeed, in the end, cost him his life. Even today, there are many people whose bones are burning to proclaim the truth in a society of denial. Teenager Greta Thunberg is a noteworthy example. She has traveled world-wide proclaiming the reality of climate change and the threat to our planet in the face of criticism, ridicule, and personal attacks. Her bones burn to protect the planet that God has given to us and told us to care for.
You don’t have to be a famous prophet, though, to have a burning in your bones to proclaim God’s message of love, justice, and compassion. As followers of Jesus Christ who are filled by the Holy Spirit, we should all have bones that burn to speak out and to act on behalf of God’s kingdom! We may not want the job – we may be far more comfortable sitting in a comfy recliner watching the world go by – but God has called us to go out and get involved! And there are all kinds of issues that should make our bones burn: mass shootings and other kinds of gun violence; children who come to school cold and hungry; refugee parents who are torn away from their children at our borders; immigrants who are deported even though they were brought here as children and have lived here all their lives; food deserts in our inner cities; climate change due to global warming; and hucksters who prey on the poor and elderly, who are the most vulnerable members of our society. Oh, there are plenty of issues that make our bones burn!
So, what makes your bones burn? Maybe your bones aren’t burning yet, but I’ll bet that they’re smoldering a little bit at something on that list that I just read – or at something else that I didn’t even mention! That’s what this month’s discernment topic is all about: identifying what Jesus is calling us as a congregation to do; and that begins with discerning what each one of us is called to do. A congregation is, after all, made up of lots of individuals, and each individual is called to do something just a little bit different than everybody else. (Remember what Paul said about the Body of Christ? We all do our own thing, and it all joins together for the common good!) Don’t be afraid that you’ll be unpopular for what you stand for, either. Remember that after all of Jeremiah’s complaining, he praised God for standing by him when people muttered about him, and made snarky comments about him, and even threatened his life. God won’t abandon us, especially when we are doing what God has called us to do!
Can you feel God tapping you on the shoulder? God is saying the same thing to us that God said to Jeremiah: “It’s you, Nashville UCC. I’ve known you for a very long time, and you’re the one that I need. Time to get going!” If you can hear that, then we’re on our way. Let’s discern together what God is calling us to do and who God is calling us to be; because, friends, our bones are burning, and it’s time to start doing something about it!
Nashville UCC, November 3, 2019
Jeremiah never wanted to be a prophet. From the time that God called him, Jeremiah complained about it. When God first tapped him on the shoulder and said, “It’s you, Jeremiah. Time to get started!” he objected, “I’m too young to do this.” But God was having none of that! God rarely listens to us when we make excuses for not wanting to do what God asks us to do. God’s response is usually just what Jeremiah heard: “I’ve got plans for you! I’ve known you since before you were born, and you’re the person that I want for this job. Now, quit complaining and get going!”
Admittedly, the job that God gave to Jeremiah wasn’t an easy one. His assignment was to proclaim all the ways that the people weren’t following God so that they would start following God! After all, you can’t start something new until you recognize that the old isn’t useful any more. (We covered that topic in my last two sermons.) “Today I appoint you…” said God, “to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” And Jeremiah did just that. He became famous for all the ways that he showed the people just how far away they were from the God they were supposed to be following! He stood in the market place where everybody went to catch up on the latest news, and he told the people in no uncertain terms that they were worshipping the god of power and money, not the God of their ancestors. He stood right outside the gates of the Temple, and he told the people that they were fooling themselves if they thought that they could worship there on Sunday and then do anything that they wanted on the rest of the week. He even stood face-to-face with the King, and told him that he was a fool because he trusted politics more than he trusted God! None of that made Jeremiah very popular. The people got very tired of hearing him, and eventually, he even got tired, himself. He didn’t want to constantly criticize the people and their behavior. He wanted to tell them something uplifting! The trouble was that he had no choice! God had crawled inside his very being and was giving him instructions that he couldn’t ignore! “I can’t stop saying what God tells me to say!” Jeremiah complained. “If I decide not to speak anymore, it’s like a fire burning in my bones; and I just can’t shut up!” That’s the trouble with being one of God’s prophets. Once you start, you can’t ever stop. Your very bones burn to proclaim the truth and say what must be said!
Jeremiah wasn’t the last person whose bones burned to proclaim God’s message. They have proclaimed God’s message throughout history. Martin Luther, who began the Protestant Reformation in Europe 500 years ago, objected to some of the religious practices of his time, calling them non-Biblical and corrupt. The Church tried their best to silence him, all to no avail. When the Church wanted him to stop criticizing them and renounce his views, he refused, replying famously, “Here I stand. I can do no other.” 450 years later, his namesake, Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke out against the segregation and oppression of African-Americans, even though he knew that it might cost him his life. “If a man has not discovered something that he will die for,” he said, “he isn't fit to live." His bold message of racial equality did indeed, in the end, cost him his life. Even today, there are many people whose bones are burning to proclaim the truth in a society of denial. Teenager Greta Thunberg is a noteworthy example. She has traveled world-wide proclaiming the reality of climate change and the threat to our planet in the face of criticism, ridicule, and personal attacks. Her bones burn to protect the planet that God has given to us and told us to care for.
You don’t have to be a famous prophet, though, to have a burning in your bones to proclaim God’s message of love, justice, and compassion. As followers of Jesus Christ who are filled by the Holy Spirit, we should all have bones that burn to speak out and to act on behalf of God’s kingdom! We may not want the job – we may be far more comfortable sitting in a comfy recliner watching the world go by – but God has called us to go out and get involved! And there are all kinds of issues that should make our bones burn: mass shootings and other kinds of gun violence; children who come to school cold and hungry; refugee parents who are torn away from their children at our borders; immigrants who are deported even though they were brought here as children and have lived here all their lives; food deserts in our inner cities; climate change due to global warming; and hucksters who prey on the poor and elderly, who are the most vulnerable members of our society. Oh, there are plenty of issues that make our bones burn!
So, what makes your bones burn? Maybe your bones aren’t burning yet, but I’ll bet that they’re smoldering a little bit at something on that list that I just read – or at something else that I didn’t even mention! That’s what this month’s discernment topic is all about: identifying what Jesus is calling us as a congregation to do; and that begins with discerning what each one of us is called to do. A congregation is, after all, made up of lots of individuals, and each individual is called to do something just a little bit different than everybody else. (Remember what Paul said about the Body of Christ? We all do our own thing, and it all joins together for the common good!) Don’t be afraid that you’ll be unpopular for what you stand for, either. Remember that after all of Jeremiah’s complaining, he praised God for standing by him when people muttered about him, and made snarky comments about him, and even threatened his life. God won’t abandon us, especially when we are doing what God has called us to do!
Can you feel God tapping you on the shoulder? God is saying the same thing to us that God said to Jeremiah: “It’s you, Nashville UCC. I’ve known you for a very long time, and you’re the one that I need. Time to get going!” If you can hear that, then we’re on our way. Let’s discern together what God is calling us to do and who God is calling us to be; because, friends, our bones are burning, and it’s time to start doing something about it!
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