Date: January 27th & 30th
Preacher: Pastor Ashley Rosa-Ruggieri
First Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalmody: Psalm 71:1-6
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Gospel: Luke 4:21-30
I have been wearing bows in my hair everyday for approximately seven and a half years. It has become a part of my identity and a way that some people recognize me. There are even people on this earth who have never seen me without a bow in my hair. This detail about myself brings me a lot of joy, and it is something that I cherish as a small piece of my own identity that just feels right. However, in these seven and a half years I have had those who view my bows not as a part of who I am, but as a limiting factor for what I can do or who I can be. I've been told that I can't work with children if I wear a bow, because they might confuse me for one of their own. Another person has said that in order for me to be taken seriously in the church, I would have to stop wearing bows. Lucky for them, their doubts and hesitations did not deter me from being myself and I still wear bows to this day. Still, assumptions and expectations like those that were spoken to me by these people could have been the type that instill doubt and cause someone to re-route their current path in order to be what others expect them to be, rather than who they are. As we look at our readings for this week, we find that both the story from the Hebrew scriptures and the Gospel reading teach us a similar lesson about those who have been called by God.
In our Jeremiah reading, the Lord has come to Jeremiah and appointed him to be a prophet to the nations. This is a powerful, sacred gift and mission that has been given to Jeremiah. But when he hears this, his response is that he is too young, he is only a boy, and cannot do this work because of these limitations. Jeremiah has been led to believe by his community that there are parts of who he is that disqualify him from doing God's work as he is being called to do. He believes that he has reputations that make it impossible for him to do what the Lord has called him to do. But God says, no, that is not right, do not say that. The Lord is adamant that Jeremiah has been chosen to be a prophet because of all of who he is. The assumptions of others are not a limiting factor when it comes to the call of God. There is even an acknowledgment that these thoughts in Jeremiah's head have been instilled by others as the Lord says, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you.” The second half of that statement also assures Jeremiah that God has not forsaken him as he goes into this calling, a promise of accompaniment. This is only the start of Jeremiah's story, but if he had given into the discouraging words of those around him, the book may have ended there.
Next we look at the passage for today in Luke, which directly follows last week's passage. To re-set the scene: Jesus is in his home temple on the Sabbath, he has read aloud from the prophet Isaiah, and then sat back down and proclaimed that this scripture has been fulfilled among them. Though the people attending the service are shocked at first, they quickly begin to discount the words that have been spoken because it does not fit with their image of Jesus. To those around him, Jesus is still seen as the young child he once was. He is seen as Joseph's son. He cannot possibly be what he is proclaiming to be because a child who we know from growing up in our midst does not meet our expectations and qualifications for what we thought the person proclaiming this message would be. Jesus acknowledges that a prophet is not accepted in their hometown because there is too much bias against who the person used to be, rather than who they are now. The crowd even gets so upset that Jesus would even dare to claim this call from the Lord among them that they try to throw him off a cliff. Sometimes our assumptions about people get in the way of the work that God has called them to do. Jesus is able to fight his way back through the crowd, but then he leaves this place, no less of a prophet, but no more supported by his faith forming community.
Throughout my time in ministry, there have been many assumptions, expectations, and barriers that people had about me that got in the way of doing ministry. Wearing bows is one example, but people doubted I could properly do ministry for other reasons too—because I am too young, because I am too academic, because I am a woman. I tell you these things not to equate myself as Jeremiah or as Jesus, but to remind you that there are people among us who God has called to ministry that have been told they are not the right person. Who have been told that who they are disqualifies them from being called to do what the Lord has instilled in their hearts. I was able to move past these dissenting opinions as they came along because I had others that affirmed my call to ministry. This is not always the case. Sometimes the initial dissension is enough, sometimes the angry calls of humanity are louder than the call of God, and sometimes the barriers are so tall and strong that there is no other choice but to stop trying to do ministry all together.
As with any passage that we read in the Bible, there is always the possibility for law and Gospel. In this week's stories, I think we receive both. We receive law in the sense that when we as people of God allow our own assumptions or expectations to override the call of God in someone's heart, we are not being faithful to our neighbor or to the Lord. In the times where human understanding stands in the way of people doing what God has called them to do, we are encouraged to call these behaviors out for what they are: reliance on our own wisdom and views instead of on the unanticipated ways that God shows up in the world through unexpected people. This word of law is paired with the Gospel that if you have ever been told that you cannot do the work of the Lord because you fall outside the expectation that someone has, you are allowed to dust that sand off your feet, and move on. My greatest hope for us as a congregation is that we might be able to speak together openly and honestly about when we see God's call to ministry in someone else, just as we also point out when someone among us is speaking against the will of God shown through someone who doesn't look or act like society might say they should. Our two stories today show us people who have been filled with God's Spirit and called into the world, but were not met with the welcome and encouragement they deserved because they did not live up to the assumptions and expectations of those around them. May we take wisdom from these stories, and in doing so be closer to the Lord's promise of accompaniment in Jeremiah, than to the angry crowd poised to throw Jesus off the cliff.