Tenth Sunday after Pentecost - Sermon and Video
2025 Proper 15C – 10th Sunday after Pentecost
Hebrews 11:17-31; 12:1-3
St. Luke 12:49-56
O Lord, your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.
Way back in the ancient days before cell phones, home computers, and Internet, I sat amongst my peers in a catechism class at Faith Lutheran Church, Geneva, IL. I was as excited as the next boy to be sitting in yet another class after a day of classes, but this time at church. But, unbeknownst to ignorant me, there were things to learn. I remember when Pastor Rossin started us out in the Apostles Creed. He had us turn to the second half of the catechism book which contains the Explanation of the Small Catechism. In response to the question “Who is God?” we read together the long list of words that describe the attributes of the Lord our God as revealed in Holy Scripture. Some of those words were familiar to me: spirit, eternal, holy, just, faithful, good, merciful, gracious, love. But other words were not familiar: Immutable (unchangeable), omnipotent (almighty, all powerful), Omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (present everywhere).
I recalled learning those words because of the reading from the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah and other faithful orthodox prophets at the time spoke harsh words of judgment about Jerusalem’s near collective decision from the king to most of the population to turn away from the one true Lord God and worship Canaanite gods. Not only were they worshiping the local gods, they also chose to listen to false prophets that promised a future that was contrary to what God intended. The prophet Jeremiah called the people to repent, to turn away from their sinful behavior, and return to faith in the one true God. Jeremiah was also preaching Jerusalem’s destruction if they did not repent.
Because God is omnipotent, he allowed the growing superpower Babylon to defeat Assyria which had defeated and emptied out the northern kingdom and had already been a nuisance to Jerusalem. But Babylon was on the rise now. They defeated Assyria. They began to expand their influence and territory. In God’s omnipotence, He could have stopped Babylon dead in their tracks. He could have stopped Babylon as their Army traveled to Jerusalem determined to conquer Judah and Jerusalem. But, God’s patience had worn thin. He had been ignored and insulted a thousand times too often. So, he was going to use Babylon to enact his punishment upon His wayward people. Sometimes it takes a horrendous event to get people to repent.
As it turns out, Jeremiah and the other faithful prophets that called for repentance and fidelity to the Lord God, were being undermined by those posing at prophets. Instead of preaching about the need to fast, express contrition, and engage in repentance, the false prophets cast a vision of future glory. They affirmed the king and the people’s worst instincts. They essentially blessed paganism and self-centered living in the name of God. Most of the leadership and the population of Jerusalem responded favorably to the prophets who uttered what they wanted to hear. Who wants to hear about accountability, justice, and destruction if there is a competing voice that presents a glorious vision of a future laden with wealth and pleasures? Who wants to heed words that condemn your thoughts and behavior as sinful, wicked, and displeasing to God and God’s expectations when there are persuasive voices that sound so confident and trustworthy that affirm what feels right and natural to you? Who wants to return to a God that has clearly stated ideas of how you should worship and behave when there are so many other choices out there to explore? The prophets that they prefer to listen to, say it is okay to explore. So, the king, most of his counselors, and the people, consistently decided to go with those that told them what they wanted to hear.
In the reading today, we hear through Jeremiah the LORD’s frustration. In the course of stating His frustration, the attributes of God are affirmed. God declares his omniscience and omnipresence when he asks, “Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?” His omniscience permits Him to know what is on anyone’s heart and what they think and what they say. He hears the lies as well as the truth being spoken.
God remains immutable. He does not change. His righteousness remains the same. His Word to us does not change. The Ten Commandments hold us just as accountable as they did when Moses wrote them on the tablets and when the people of Jerusalem in Jeremiah’s day ignored them. The Lord insists that he be the only God in our life. Everything else is an idol.
The Lord’s immutability also means that His mercy does not change either. The Lord is righteous and makes demands of us. At the same time, the Lord is merciful and gracious beyond compare. So much so that he gladly receives the contrite and repentant sinner. He gladly forgives and forgets. If the people had responded to Jeremiah’s preaching with repentance and faith in the one true God, there would not have been a destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC and the subsequent Babylonian captivity.
Jesus is born for us so that he can take up the cross in our behalf. Jesus is obedient unto his sacrificial death so that His righteousness may be conferred upon us, the undeserving. On account of Jesus, we are forgiven of our sins. If we have gone astray, grace will meet your repentance. The forgiveness of Christ is yours through faith.
The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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