One thing I notice
with Jeremiah is that he isn’t telling people to go to worship. Jeremiah is
saying: God doesn’t want you to worship in the temple, and then go and live for
yourself.
I remember a
song when I was a young adult. It was called ‘To obey is better than sacrifice’,
by Keith Green. In it he writes:
I
want more than Sunday and Wednesday nights
Cause
if you can't come to Me every day
Then
don't bother coming at all
What might it
mean to come to God every day. To worship every day. It is important for our
relationship with God through Jesus Christ to be nurtured, and as with all
relationships that means regular time together.
I haven’t
heard it for a while, but there is a saying that goes like this: “If you were
arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”[i]
One thing I think
we hear through Jeremiah, is that worship alone will not save us from God’s judgement.
What Jeremiah
was talking about, and the other prophets is summed up by Micah:
Micah 6:8 (CEV)
The
Lord God has told us
what
is right
and what he demands:
“See
that justice is done,
let
mercy be your first concern,
and humbly obey your God.”
See that
justice is done,
let mercy be
your first concern,
and humbly
obey your God.
God does not accept
our hymns and prayers on Sunday morning, if the rest of the week
we
hurt God’s creation,
we
hurt people with our words and actions,
if
we allow injustice to continue.
It seems to me
injustice is everywhere.
·
violence
against women, often at the hands of a partner or ex-partner
·
children,
women and men languishing on Nauru
·
low
prices paid to our farmers for their produce
·
a
housing market that is distorted meaning people can’t afford to live in their own
home.
·
The
gap in life expectancy for indigenous and non-indigenous Australians
·
Conflict
in many parts of the world
·
An
increasing gap between rich and poor in our society
Add to this
climate change, environmental degradation and animal extinctions.
Jeremiah could
be speaking to us.
I hear talk
about the way the church is under threat. Under threat from secularism, and apathy.
But I wonder
if we need to take a long hard look at ourselves.
All through
the prophets we have been hearing of the importance of justice,
compassion;
caring for the
poor, the widows and orphans.
Right back in
Genesis, in the first story of creation, God declares the world good, and makes
people in the image of God.
I hear talk that
this Parish is under threat, from reduced numbers and reduced giving and ageing
members.
We are not
here to keep the Parish going, we are here to worship God with our whole lives.
to
be bearers of Good News,
to
be people who offer hope and healing,
to
show the mercy to others that God shows to us
to
love
to
live in peace with God, ourselves and the whole creation
Throughout the
centuries, people have found it easier to be people of faith by meeting
together, to worship, to pray, to learn, to share faith and food and dreams.
Do we want this
Parish to continue so we can meet on Sunday morning?
Or do we have
something else that drives us to maintain our buildings and our time together?
This Parish
has much to offer the community around us.
To start with
we have good news of God’s love and grace.
The group of people
who have been to Mission Shaped Ministry workshops this year are about to do
some dreaming of possible ways of connecting with the community, in ways that speak
of good news and hope and grace. and the church council is looking at possibilities
for the future, in terms of financial viability, and leadership into the future.
Another thing
I hear is that we are too old to do anything, to try anything, to change anything.
Well Jeremiah thought he was too young, Abraham and Sarah thought they were too
old, Moses wasn’t a good speaker, David was the youngest, Elizabeth and Zechariah
were too old. Seems like God doesn’t care about our age, or our status. God
does care about us, and the whole world. And God expects us to care about the
whole world.
On Friday
evening we looked at this passage and wondered what gift God gave to us - …[name]
God knows you and has given you gifts to do important
things.
That is true
for each one of us. God knows you and has given you gifts to do important
things.
Just as
Jeremiah was called to speak God’s word, each of us is given gifts to do
important things, amazing things. And each of us is called to be a person of
hope and faith, a person who shows love to others, who is kind, who works for social
justice.
Are we people
of God,
who live out
compassion for the poor,
who stand against
injustice,
who speak hope
and mercy into people’s lives?
or will God
judge us, for being people who worship, but do not live out our faith?
[i]
https://www.yourmodernfamily.com/if-you-were-arrested-for-being-a-christian-would-there-be-enough-evidence-to-convict-you/
