We heard God’s heart this morning— in an accusation and a plea:
And yet my people did not hear my voice, and Israel would not obey me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their hearts to follow their own devices. Oh, that my people would listen to me! That Israel would walk in my ways.

When we were stationed in Germany back in the mid-70s, one of the German cultural obsessions we enjoyed was walking. The Germans loved to walk in the woods -they had miles and miles of paved trails - and would even have special days of walking where you could earn a medal.

On this one particular Saturday, we were out walking on one of these trails with a family we were very close to. This trail wandered through the woods past the remains of an old Roman fortress that marked what was called The Limes; the barrier between the civilized Roman world and the barbarians.

As we walked along, my friend warned his children to avoid the nettles that overhung part of the trail, and he warned them again, and again. With an impish, but not quite demonic smile, young Chris—about six years old– began to stretch out his arm as he continued to look at his dad.

Dad continued to warn him what would happen, but Chris continued to stretch out his arm toward the nettles—closer and closer with each step—continuing to look at his dad with an evermore impish grin.

And then it happened—contact! Chris dragged his hand and his arm through the nettles for a couple of steps. And then he stopped.

I will never forget the look on that youngsters face as the millions of tiny microscopic needles began to inflict the burning itch—we used to call it seven minute itch—it is intensely uncomfortable for a short time. His eyes got wide—he tried to say something a couple of times—he looked at his dad with pleading eyes—and broke into a torrent of tears and howling—and ran to his father’s arms.

There was certainly no need for punishment for Chris’s disobedience—the consequence of his action was punishment enough.
I don’t remember exactly what dad said to Chris as he held him but I would imagine something like this: Chris, did I warn you this would happen,Chris, why didn’t you listen to me—did you not trust me? Chris, do you think I don’t care about you when I tell you not to do things?

Oh, that you would walk in my ways…..that you would not follow your own devices.

The sin of pride—that self righteous rebellion against authority is a dangerous thing. I think Chris learned a little lesson in humility, trust and obedience that day.

But that tendency to the sin of pride is unfortunately too common in our human species—and runs counter to the life of faith and trust that God has always called his people to.

We hear the words of Jeremiah this morning– Jeremiah –gods prophet–is speaking God’s word of warning to his rebellious children—the nation of Judah—the remnant of the people Israel—as they walk along with their hands in the nettles—worshipping other Gods, following other moral and ethical norms–yet they still don’t get the message.

God, through Jeremiah, accuses them—what wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me – to follow worthless gods becoming worthless themselves?

God appeals to the past evidence of previous generations—did he do something wrong to them that drove them away from him. did he not provide—was it something he said—or neglected to say—what did he do that drove them away from him into the nettles– to create and follow other gods –worthless gods–that led them to practice a morally and ethically debasing self serving life.

God’s people either forgot or more realistically—willfully disregarded the evidence of their history— that God was faithful to them, and provided for them—“they did not ask; where is the Lord? Who brought us up out of Egypt, and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels, and no one lives? I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land, and made my inheritance detestable.”

Pride grows when we forget what God has done for us – and begin to claim what God has provided or accomplished for us as our own– the result of our own abilities, work, or skills.

When we get to that point we can disregard god because he is not really necessary to our existence—he is not essential to our life—what we have is ours, what we have accomplished is due to our acumen and our skills and our efforts.

God becomes superfluous –his word becomes dispensable—we don’t need the word of God– because we think we know better – and we will be dammed if we have to trust or depend on someone else—to acknowledge a greater authority than my own desires.

And that is exactly the point— to separate oneself from God is to be damned–to cut ourselves off from God’s provision, his grace and care, to reject his authority is to damn ourselves to a world of our own creation, worshipping a god of our own making. We actually end up worshipping ourselves—attributing to our desires, God’s will; and that provides nothing but trouble.

It puts us right back in the garden with Adam and Eve in front of the serpent— and we bite the apple with them—believing the lie of the devil: you will be like God. So we shouldn’t be surprised at what happens when we stick our hands in the nettles.

In truth—in the reality that God gives us — the view that Jeremiah is proclaiming–we should acknowledge that we lay claim to nothing —it is God who has given us the skills and abilities—he who arranged the genes and chromosomes—he who put the very breath of life in us. It is he in Christ Jesus who provides salvation from damnation, deliverance from the enemy, forgiveness of sin, and life itself. There is nothing we can claim for ourselves if we are honest.

And if we remember what God has done– if we acknowledge that he is God and we are not—we will be drawn closer to him, our pride and self-dependence will be crushed, and we will come to humbly rely and trust more in him. That is the rationale behind the accusation against Judah—to bring his rebellious people back.

After pointing out the criminal negligence of those who should be leading and giving examples of faithfulness—the priests do not seek after the Lord, the lawyers do not know him from whom the law comes, the prophets—who are to speak God’s word—speak in the name of Baal—the very enemy of God.

–God summarizes his accusation—but my people have exchanged their glory, for worthless idols. Be appalled at this O heavens, and shudder with great horror declares the lord. My people have forsaken me, the spring of living water and have dug their own cisterns that cannot hold water.

All creation is called to witness to the utter insanity of a people cutting themselves off from God’s grace, and love and provision.
Why would one go to the trouble and effort to dig a cistern –a hole in the ground that collects runoff from the roads and barn yards –water polluted by God only knows what –and that barely holds water, when one can freely drink fresh cool water from a spring?

It makes no sense—except for pride—if it is my water from my cistern—then I need not depend on any one else. One would rather depend on one’s own limited, imperfect, and insufficient resources than receiving freely God’s provision and having to acknowledge him and his authority.

Jesus, in the gospel, speaks to the same point; he says: for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself, will be exalted.

The wedding banquet is God’s kingdom—ultimately it is all of creation. It is God’s party-he has the authority—he has the right and privilege to place people as he will. To be humble is to acknowledge that reality—that God is God-that Jesus is Lord. To assume that we have the authority is rebellion—the fruit of pride—we stick our arms into the nettles.

Where are we in our own lives today in this struggle between pride and humility, between obedience and rebellion, between worshipping God or worshipping self, the idol of our own will? This is the difference between damnation and salvation.

When we call out to Almighty God to hear our prayers and petitions, to forgive our sins—when we call Jesus Lord—do we really mean to say our lives are in your hands—we are completely and utterly dependent on you for all—or are we just putting the ace up our sleeve –just in case –an insurance policy to back up our own plans?
Do we drink freely from the spring of living water, or are we content to sip from the limited and fetid supply of our own sufficiency?

To deny God’s authority—to deny what he has given to us—to reject his love and grace—to be prideful is to stick our arms into the nettles. And we suffer the consequences—just as Jeremiah warned—just as Jesus warned—just as Chris learned.

The good news is God will still receive us back—whenever we decide we have had enough.

God pleads to his people: O that my people would listen. Oh that we would walk in his ways. May our prayer today be: O that we will.

What a week we have had at Redeemer! Some 140 children and almost 60 youth aids as well as many adult teachers were here every morning last week for Vacation Bible School. It was a week full of excitement and enthusiasm with spirited singing, eager learning of the stories of the Bible, and myriad activities. I think everyone who participated felt God’s presence and activity, and surely God must have been pleased at what took place here all week.

You should have seen it. These children were being surrounded by God’s love and the teachings of the Church, and they were soaking it up, and reflecting back that same love. It was a little taste of the kingdom of God here at Redeemer. The children were receiving the kingdom of God in all of their simplicity and innocence. I am reminded of Jesus’ words, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” All who witnessed what took place here all week know what these words mean, because we have seen it. We have seen children receiving the kingdom of God.

But when we hear those words of Jesus, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it,” we’re a little perplexed, because we adults know we have lost a great deal of the simplicity and innocence that we had when we were children. Why do you think that happens? Partly, we lose it because of the experiences of life. We learn to be cautious, not to put too much of ourselves out there for people to take advantage of, not to make ourselves vulnerable, able to be hurt, because we have been hurt far too much. We learn not to trust what we hear from others, because we have experienced too much duplicity over the years. Over time we become calloused, suspicious, and calculating. The motto of the worldly wise person is, “Do unto others before they do unto you.” The only problem with living in this way is that you miss the kingdom of God.

But sometimes the kingdom of God breaks in even when we’re not prepared for it. Such was the case one day in the synagogue. A woman happened to be in a synagogue at the same time that Jesus was present. She probably wasn’t aware that anyone special was in the synagogue simply because she probably wasn’t aware of exactly who was around her, for she was bent over. She had been like that for 18 years. We’re not told what the problem was. St. Luke just says she had a spirit of infirmity. We don’t know what he meant by that, although in that day all sickness was thought to be the work of evil spirits. Perhaps it was a spiritual problem that manifested itself in this physical ailment. Physical sickness is always accompanied by spiritual elements of one sort or another. Our spiritual condition can cause physical problems. For instance, it isn’t unusual for a person to get stressed and contract a cold. Conversely, physical problems can cause spiritual dis-ease. When I am physically sick I tend also to be a little irritable. Body and spirit are intimately connected. Jesus noticed this woman who had a spirit of infirmity. He called to her, and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” St. Luke says she was immediately “made straight, and she praised God.”

The phrase “spirit of infirmity” is really interesting to me, because it captures so much more about what is going on with this particular woman than if he had described her simply as infirm or as bent over. It is as if the woman’s infirmity defined her life. Not only was she infirm, but also she had about her a whole spirit of infirmity. When a person has a chronic problem, it is very easy to become focused on that problem, perhaps even fixated on the problem. All of life is viewed through the dark lens of the disease. As a result, the person then has two problems, the disease itself and the spirit of the disease that makes life seem so much darker than it is. When Jesus told the woman she was freed from her infirmity, he was saying that both her physical and spiritual enslavement was over.

One way we could describe the whole human condition is to say that we have a spirit of infirmity; at least adult human beings have a spirit of infirmity. I didn’t see any of that spirit this last week in Vacation Bible School! We are not able to be fully human because of our prejudices, our grudges, our lack of trust, our guile. Or perhaps our spirit of infirmity is that we fear failure, so we don’t do what God is calling us to do because of that fear. I am certainly no economist, so I may be way off the mark with this one, but it seems to me that right now our society is in a particularly strong spirit of infirmity. We are afraid of the future, and so we aren’t nearly as willing to spend our money. Yet, if we would all begin spending some money, the economy would pick up. Our spirit of infirmity is causing a self-fulfilling prophecy. We are afraid, so we don’t spend, and our lack of spending causes what we feared would happen. I know it is much more complex than that, but I do believe that does have an effect.

I have known a particular woman for about 18 years. For as long as I have known her, she has had a physical problem that has kept her in pain of one degree or another for the entire 18 years, and probably for several years before that. She can’t walk without being in pain. But does that stop her? No. She is one of the most active people, and one of the most faithful people, I have ever known. And she never talks about her condition. I only know because I have asked her some questions and she has answered them. She may be infirm, but she certainly does not have a spirit of infirmity.

Do you have a spirit of infirmity? Have you become calloused, mistrustful, calculating? Is your philosophy to do unto others before they do unto you? Perhaps you need healing of body, mind, or spirit. Ask God to heal you. Or perhaps you simply need to try to be vulnerable again, to open up to others, to forgive others and let go of the grudges, to trust. Ask God for the grace to do that. It’s a little bit like being childlike, and it’s a lot like being in the kingdom of heaven.

The nation had lost touch with the truth—it had disregarded the very thing which gave it its very identity, the thing which made it unique in all the world.

It had risen to prominence from a motley group of settlers to become a very powerful and prosperous nation.

Its strength, its power, its success as a nation was indissolubly connected with the truths – the covenant- that gave it its identity, shaped its very functioning.

Identified and symbolized by a city at its heart from where its leaders ruled, and its most sacred heritage was anchored, the nation’s leaders lost sight of the national identity in favor of what benefits they might reap for themselves. They were interested in the nation’s place amidst the power struggles in the rest of the world, rather than standing for the uniqueness of its own identity—of witnessing to the truths on which their very existence depended.

Religious leaders became open—more flexible in terms of their understanding of God and his place in the culture and society. As a result, morality began to suffer. Things that had been considered to be morally reprehensible a couple of generations earlier became accepted now. The concepts of justice and mercy suffered, as the law itself was disregarded.

In the recent past, a couple of leaders rediscovered the truths that gave the nation their unique identity and they proclaimed that truth and began what might be called revivals in the nation. But, those revivals were relatively short lived and the nation had returned to its trajectory of decline as many of its leaders, both political and religious, with many of its people, again rejected the truths which gave the nation its unique identity, and history would show, would ultimately lead to its very demise.

This is the situation in Judah, the southern remnant of what was once the mighty kingdom of David into which Jeremiah was speaking in about the year 609.
The northern kingdom of Israel had been swallowed by Assyria in 722 and ceased to exist.

Judah - living as a vassal of Assyria - had experienced a revival under king Hezekiah that was brutally repressed when it devolved into political rebellion though Jerusalem was miraculously spared because of Hezekiah’s and Isaiah’s faith.

Hezekiah’s son Mannassah rejected all his father had stood for and led the nation in apostasy against God and his law.

Some years later a new king, Josiah, came to the throne and began a revival, purging the nation of its pagan idols and practices. Discovering a copy of the Mosaic Law—the foundational document of Judah’s existence and identity, he began a movement to renew Judah’s obedience to God and submission to the law of Moses.

Jeremiah was God’s prophet—God’s voice in this call to repentance, this call to return to God and him alone, this call to acknowledge the law—the books of Moses– as their life and identity.
When King Josiah died, the national movement for the return to the covenant died too, but Jeremiah continued to preach god’s word as the Lord led him. Suffering persecution, imprisonment and rejection, he continued to call Judah–its kings, its priests and prophets, the whole of the nation– to turn back to God, to recommit to the covenant that gave them their identity.

In this passage this morning we hear a portion of Jeremiah’s condemnation of false prophets, those who claimed to speak for God, to speak truth to God’s will known—but did not.

Though Jeremiah’s words were for that specific situation, yet we can see how they apply today—because the human condition remains fairly consistent throughout history.

Through Jeremiah God reminds his rebellious people first who he is: 23 “am I only a god nearby,”
declares the Lord,
“and not a god far away?
24 can anyone hide in secret places
so that I cannot see him?”
declares the Lord.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”
declares the Lord.
God is both near and far. He is immanent—close–with them, personally speaking , listening , touching, guiding, as well as transcendent—beyond us, greater than us—wholly other—almighty—powerful.

Jeremiah raises the question: do we think he is so near that he doesn’t really care about how we are? - That his intimacy leads him to indulge his people? That he will overlook rebellion?

– or do we think that he is so far away—so much greater—so different in kind that he is blind or indifferent to how we live or believe; that there will be no consequences?

God is both; intimate yet almighty. And we acknowledge this truth when we pray: “Almighty God unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known and from whom no secrets are hid”.

Jeremiah reminds us that God is both close enough to be intimate with us, –to know us, but he is far away enough—greater than us that requires submission and obedience- trusting in his power and awfully fearful to remain in his graces. To err on either side is to become apostate or idolatrous—which has consequences.

Because he does see into the hearts of all men, God looks at those leaders who are claiming to speak his truth:

25 “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ 26 how long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds?

God knows that these prophesies are not his words—not truth—–but words from the prophet’s own heart—his own dream—things they want to be true—and presented as God’s truth. The prophets speak lies–not what God says—not the truth—but what they want to be the truth—delusions of their own minds. They lie in the name of god, and so deceive their listeners.

Do you believe that it is possible for spiritual leaders to do such a thing? To take ones own ideas and give them a self appointed divine authority?

How many times have we heard religious authorities proclaim something as a new revelation from God — we hear that what we once thought was a sin is now, because of a fresh revelation of God - is not sin, it might be declared a virtue? God has changed his mind–that is what these prophets were doing.

27 They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their fathers forgot my name through Baal worship. The goal of this deceit was to change the people’s understanding of God—distort the truth—revise the truth that God himself revealed.

To re-make God into something he is not—to believe that worshipping any god is the same as worshipping the one true God–that all gods-and all truths– are ultimately the same.

It made for easier politics then, as it does for us today. If all gods are the same no-one can have a unique claim to the truth, or a unique claim to morality—to know right from wrong.

Those responsibilities then devolve onto the individual or group who has the power to legislate and enforce their own perspective. If there is no one true god-and if that god has not spoken.

28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. 29 “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

The defining line has to do with how these dreams line up with what god has said—his word. his word is true—it has power—power to purify like fire—to burn up that which is not good. It has the power to nourish-to feed like grain, to make one healthy and full. And it has the power to break down obstacles, destroy lies.

It was God’s word—God and his will written down that was the touchstone of truth—the foundation of Judah’s identity. Only there might they know the true God and his will for them.

The word that is truly from God would seem to be bad news as much as good. For it will bring fire, it will bring crushing; it will seem to be not exactly what we want but exactly what we need.
Maybe that is why Jesus says in the gospel “I came to cast fire upon the earth”. As the fulfillment of God’s covenant with his people, as the living word, Jesus is to the world what the discovered law was to Judah—the only way to salvation—the only way to know the truth.

Jesus himself said “I am the way the truth and the life. The only way to the Father is through me”. It is a hard word, bringing disruption to even the most intimate of earthly relationships because truth is hard and suffers no compromise.

As then, so now—false prophets still abound, trying to confute the truth, trying to deceive, to lead people astray from God and from his word.

Jeremiah leaves the question with us: will we listen to the false prophets who tell us things that tickle our ears, that go against his revealed truth, or will we turn to the word of God, truth which like fire will burn our hearts and souls into purity, like a hammer will break our doubts, our fears, and the lies that bind us, and like grain, feed and nourish us now and into eternity?

Today’s Gospel reading is one which has the ability to relieve and cause anxiety at the same time, rather like when the doctor would tell someone, “Yes, I can take care of the life-threatening problem…. of course, the arm and leg will definitely have to come off.” Jesus says, “Fear not little flock.” For it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. That’s the good news. In fact that is wonderful news! Think about it. It makes God happy to give us the kingdom! Then Jesus says, “Sell your possessions and give the money away.” What?

This section is in the context of the readings from last week. You may recall a fellow from the crowd Jesus was teaching asked Jesus to tell his brother to divide the inheritance. Jesus tells him and the crowd around him to be on guard against all kinds of greed. And the reason we should be on guard is that one’s life does not consist in the abundance of one’s possessions. Then Jesus tells a parable. “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ In the Scriptures God very rarely calls anyone a fool. So this should grab our attention. Why is he called a fool? He certainly wasn’t a foolish farmer. He had done quite well for himself. Was he foolish for planning ahead? Anyone who is successful financially has to do that. Is God opposed to someone being successful? Certainly not, one only has to read through the book of Proverbs to see that God calls a person wise who plans ahead. So why does God call this particular man a fool?

This man is foolish for several reasons. But the primary one is that he has valued perishable goods (his possessions) as being worth more than non-perishable goods (his soul). He did not plan far enough ahead! What is really important to this guy? His stuff, his possessions are what is really important. God doesn’t say to him at the end of the story, “Weigh the value of your soul over against your possessions.” Clearly the man doesn’t care about his soul. Instead God says tonight your soul is required of you—Now who is going to get your possessions?” That is what this guy is concerned about. He is only concerned about his stuff. God calls this man a fool because his life was all about his possessions. He lived to accumulate. Jesus said the rich man was not rich toward God. The question then is how does one become rich towards God? Today’s reading includes the answer to that question.

Jesus says, sell what you have and give to the needy. So, is God against money or possessions? Jesus did tell the rich young ruler to sell all he had and follow him. This sounds kind of similar doesn’t it? And we know there have been people throughout church history who felt like they needed to sell all their possessions and give the proceeds away like Francis of Assisi and some others. But not everybody did. Jesus did not tell Mary, Martha and Lazarus to sell their stuff. They were pretty wealthy. He did not tell Zacchaeus the rich tax collector to sell his stuff. In the first several hundred years of the church, many times people met in the homes of the wealthy because they were the only ones who had room for everyone. God is not against wealth. He is against the misuse of wealth; He is against the sins that the love of money brings. James Montgomery Boice said in reference to this parable, “The Bible does not teach that money is evil in itself or that things in themselves produce evil. The fault is in those who use it. Before God created Adam and Eve He created a vast world of pleasant and useful things for them. They were meant for our use in every joyful and constructive way. But when man sinned the things that were meant to be helpful to him usurped God’s place in his heart. So he began to fight, steal, cheat, and do countless other things to possess these things. Today, when a person surrenders to Jesus and allows Him to redirect his Life, a process begins in which things are removed from the center and God is again reinstated on the throne.”

Again then, money and possessions are not evil in and of themselves. So why did Jesus tell the rich young ruler to sell his possessions? Why did He say it here? For the rich young ruler, possessions prevented him from following Jesus. For the young man who wanted the inheritance—possessions were too important to him as well.

Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.” Thus the question remains for us as followers of Jesus, where is our treasure? Where is your heart? Where is my heart? What is most important to you? Is your heart all about your possessions? What is the most important thing in your life? Could you give your stuff away? Test yourself. Imagine for a moment selling all you have and giving the money away. Set aside worrying about food, clothing and housing for a moment. Think about your stuff. Could you give it away? Think about it, where is your treasure? In terms of the parable Jesus told, would God call you, would God call me a fool like He did the rich man?

What is being rich towards God? The obvious meaning here is to be rich in spiritual things, that is, things that last. What does that mean? Paul says in First Timothy: “As for the rich in this present age, tell them not to be proud, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

Jesus says, “Fear not little flock. For it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give the money away.” Jesus wants us to truly plan ahead; He does not want us to be foolishly attached to our possessions. Therefore we need to check our hearts—where is our treasure? We need to set our hopes not on our wealth or possessions, but on God through Jesus. We are to do good to others, and to grow rich through good works, to be generous with what we have and be ready to share. Then we will indeed be rich toward God.