From the Book of Jeremiah
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. (Jeremiah 1:9-10)
The Lord God gives the gift of speech to Jeremiah. Not just speech as speech, but speech as putting out before a called people the vision of God's reign in the midst of a people who may be living quite contrary to such a calling. It is always in conversation that we define ourselves. The task of a prophet is to bring a word that must be heard to a people who have been listening only to their own ideas and words. That is not an easy task. Most often, we would prefer to listen to our own voices and expect that our own voices will shape us and guide us into new life. Not. When all we listen to is our own voice, we are most likely to become a self-centered people who find it impossible to be transformed or to be transforming. The words of the prophet Jeremiah would be harsh and demanding. They would be revealing and carry with them the potential for renewal and reformation. Unfortunately, it doesn't take much to avoid the word of the Lord brought by prophets. We can simply turn our backs and walk away. Or...if the voice is too loud and too persistent, we can find ways to justify silencing it. Then, the word can be put onto paper and read or not read as we choose. We hate to let anyone or any other voice have a say in our lives.
Connection: Sometime, we must halt what we are doing and where we are going and how we are trying to have control of everything in our lives and listen to the voices that keep calling us to look beyond ourselves to the renewing of our lives in the midst of a community of conversation.
Lord send your word among us with power so that we may hear it even as we do not want to hear it. May our hearts be receptive to your word and our lives transformed in its hearing. Amen
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