Open-ended,
Life-centred,
Gospel-Focused Explorations of the Hebrew Bible
Eucharistic Readings from the Australian Prayer Book.
Jeremiah 1: 4-10... 4th S. after Epiphany, Year C ....(For LK 4:21-40
scroll on site.)
NOTES: 1]Always read the Hebrew Bible in the light
of our Christian understanding of God revealed in Jesus in the New
Testament.2] Born
about 646BC, JER was
called to be a Prophet (the focus of this passage) in 626-7, &
lived through the siege of
Jerusalem & the captivity of its people by Babylon in the mid
580's. 3] The NJB sums up the message of
the Prophets as: Monotheism, Morality, & future Salvation.
WARMING UP: Have we ever
felt called, by God or anyone else, to fulfil some special role?
TREASURES OLD & NEW:
Identify God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
4-5 Given the scientific knowledge we
now have about children in the womb, is it amazing / puzzling /
to be expected / that God can say to JER, "Before I forned you...."? Is
it the time-line, the knowing us, or our forming by God that impacts us
most? Or, does this apply only to someone like JER & not us
ordinary mortals? What are the implications for us of God forming &
knowing us? Does it give any particular dimension to the life we lead
or should be leading? Assuming what God says applies to us all, what
are the implications of God conscrating us before we're born? Is it
fair that we should be appointed to some role before we're born? How
much does our being a) consecrated, & b) appointed challenge
today's accepted view that we're all pretty much what we or our genes
or our environment make of us? Might what God says to JER here be one
of the most important things we have to come to grips with,
theologically, apart from the nature, teaching, & example of Jesus
himself?
6-8 Have we ever
had the kind of exchange with God that JER has here? What are any such
exchanges we have with God likely to be about? Is our praying ever this
kind of an exchange? Are we always more centred on God's will being
achieved than our own? Do we ever try convincing God of the correctness
of our position with, "But I'm only a......."? Do we get away with
that? Do we see through ourselves as honestly as God sees through us?
Does the fact that we may not be called to be a Capital P prophet
prevent us exercising a role as a small p one? Do we accept &
understand that whatever God calls us to be or do he will give us the necessary
gift(s) to fulfil that responsibility?
If there is a time when we really need to speak, in some sense, for
God, but like JER we feel we lack that gift, can we be confident enough
in God's promise to him that we needn't be afraid, & that we'll be
'delivered'? Of what, or whom are we afraid in life? From what, or whom
do we need to be delivered?
9-10 Does physical
touch play much of a part in our inter-personal relationships, or are
we chary of 'that kind of thing'? Does physical touch play any part, or
enough of a part in our experiences of church as the Body of Christ?
Are we conscious at all of God: a) putting words put in our mouth? b)
appointing us over somebody or something? c) making us responsible for
plucking up / pulling down / destroying / overthrowing / building /
planting anything or anybody? If we answer "Yes" to any of these,
mightn't we in danger of becoming a religious crank, or have already
become one!?
