Jeremiah's Call

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak,
for I am only a boy.”  

But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a boy,’
for you shall go to all to whom I send you,
and you shall speak whatever I command you.
Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
           says the Lord.”

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth,
and the Lord said to me,

“Now I have put my words in your mouth.
See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
(Jeremiah 1:4-10, NRSVUE)

God calls Jeremiah to a prophetic ministry. And like other faithful before him (Moses, for example), Jeremiah has an excuse – I am only a child! I don't speak well!

But God has called Jeremiah from before his birth, a possible reference to his priestly heritage. And God will be with him. God will give him the words to speak.

Presence and Prophecy.

We even get a nice summary of Jeremiah's primary message: 4 verbs of destruction and 2 verbs of construction.

Judgment and Hope.

Gospel of Luke Coming in September

Uncle Ishmael will focus its commentary on the Luke passages in the Revised Common Lectionary passages during September.

September 4 Luke 14:25-33
September 11 Luke 15:1-10
September 18 Luke 16:1-13
September 25 Luke 16:19-31

Advent Planning

Look for lots of resources starting next month as you plan for Advent. You can also explore Unto Us A Child Is Born: Isaiah, Advent, and Our Jewish Neighbors (Eerdmans, 2020).

A Benediction (Or Miscellaneous Thoughts)

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