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Morning Devotion for the Season after Pentecost
July 24, 2024
The Invitatory
The earth is the Lord’s for he made it: O come, let us adore him.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.
Reading: Jeremiah 1:1,4-10
The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,
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.’
Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones
I wonder how many of you who are reading this have ever entertained the desire to have God speak directly to you? There have been times of deep distress and trouble that I have implored God to say something to me. And in those times, I don’t really give much thought to how I would react. I think I would be somewhat relieved. But in calmer moments I do wonder if I would be totally taken aback.
We have no indication of Jeremiah’s frame of mind when God calls him. He does seem to take it in his stride. And if I could have a call from God, at least in tone similar to Jeremiah’s call, it would be quite a moving experience, one I believe that would completely redefine my life and drastically alter my perception of God and deepen my relationship to him.
The call of Jeremiah is similar to that of Moses. It is an auditory experience that occurred early in Jeremiah’s life. He must have been totally innocent and, perhaps, impressionable. That innocence is rather touching. As the conversation proceeds it almost entirely reveals the effects of this call. The impression is that this call is both intimate and personal, The visions refer to the object of Jeremiah’s mission.
How striking it is that God has had an intimate relationship with Jeremiah even since he was in the womb, for God declares that “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” Clay is pliable and impressionable and therefore serves as an especially apt image for human beings as the work of God’s creative hand. The modeling of clay by God as the potter, is important for the use of the verb meaning “to create” originally. Later, after Jeremiah, it came to be accepted that God himself forms us in our mothers’ womb. Does one not feel a very intimate knowledge of this person, if God himself forms him? God knows us and stands as our unique creator and lord from the earliest moment of existence. God’s declaration, “I knew you,” means more than an intellectual knowledge, as it involves an action of the will and sensibility. Throughout his life God has the unquestionable right to give Jeremiah a specific shape and purpose. At the same time, humans, like dried unfired clay, are fragile. It suggests that words, spirit, kingdoms and earthly existence are subject to weakness.
As a consequence of God’s call, Jeremiah is set aside as someone who is to take on divine service to God, here specifically for his mission as a prophet. Those called to be prophets possessed a keen sense of the ruling power of God over the universe. It seems that there is a sense of union between creator and created. One would expect reverence and obedience in this undertaking to be a prophet. And it calls upon one’s deep sense of faithfulness to God to be a witness to God’s will for his people. God is solely responsible for what is said for it is God who provides the message. It seems understandable that Jeremiah’s reaction is one of fear. In Jeremiah’s prophetic mission. God is responsible for what is to be said and he provides the message and support for the prophet - I place my words in your mouth - “Now I have put my words in your mouth.” The prophet’s mission is twofold: to straighten what is crooked and to deepen the whole religious heritage, including occasionally new revelations.
For Guidance
Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favor, and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works, begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally, by thy mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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