Pastoral Letter 249
Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,
Grace and peace to you all as we start the first week of February in the New Year 2025 and we go back to our normal programs and activities, starting with Movie Night this Tuesday and every first Tuesday of the month. The first movie of the year will be “Lion”. Come, join us, enjoy delicious Pizza and a good movie. Time4You will commence on Wednesday 12 February and followed by every second Wednesday of the month.
Another four months and sadly my placement here, at St. Andrew’s Longueville, will end on the 31 May 2025. We have been on this journey together for more than 13 years since I was called to do supply ministry half time back in 2011, then full time supply from October 2011 and later full placement from 1 June 2022. It has been a privilege to be with you, working together, doing the best we could do. I am sure you will agree with me if I say that we have achieved many goals and accomplished a lot during those years. Naturally we will reflect on all we did together later, as we come closer to my Closure of Ministry Service. Sadly, on the way we have lost many of our dedicated members, who, with us offered their services and did what they could. We struggled, but we did so many good things, beside our regular Sunday Services. We can recall and be grateful to God for all we have done. We did and we do the best we can.
The last twelve months, the year 2024, should have been a time to explore the possibilities for beyond May 2025, but unfortunately nothing has been done by the leaders of the Presbytery. It is really disappointing, when promises have been made to follow up with the matter and look into the possibility of an alternative options for us to continue our dedicated work here, at St. Andrew’s. All we can do at this stage is to hope and pray that something will come up in the very near future. Let us continue to pray and believe that God has a certain plan for us. All we have to do is to continue in our ministry and leave the rest in His hands. Let’s keep the flame and God will do the rest.
In the meantime, we have to run the race and fight the good fight, as Paul says, being confident that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. That’s our hope and conviction. And pray for all those who need our prayers, be it for health and mental issues. Remember those who are facing many challenges, such as natural disasters, hunger, homelessness, uncertainties and so many other things
If you are not able to join us tomorrow, please light a candle, have a small roll of bread and small cup of wine and join us following the attached Order of Services.
Please let me know if you or anyone else has prayer points.
Here are some prayer points for this week:
- Pray for the church in general and the Uniting Church in particular to be faithful in ministry.
- Pray for those whose lives have been touched by genocide and war.
- Pray for people of Middle East and Armenia, as well as the region, where the situation is uncertain.
- Pray for the displaced people, the homeless who need shelter.
- Pray for those who work to help those who suffer and need support.
- Pray for the poor, the sick, the hungry, the struggling, the stressed and those who are less fortunate.
- Pray for our church and our future plans as we seek God’s guidance.
In Christ
Krikor
MESSAGE
The Prophetic Calling of Jermiah
Jeremiah 4:4-10
This morning, we will take a look at the call of the prophet Jeremiah who served in one of the most painful times of the history of Jerusalem and Judah. He got to see the backsliding of the nation from the reforms King Josiah had put in place to the siege of Jerusalem to the burning of the city where the survivors were for the most part taken to Babylon in exile. Jeremiah also wrote the Book of Lamentations about this awful experience. Although the book is painful to read, but it has much to warn us of the dangers of deserting the Lord.
The call to serve God is different in many cases, but there is a common element in the call. It gives the individual a sense of destiny and purpose. Not only is God’s call different to everyone, but each called man and woman of God responds differently.
Some who are called give resistance to their call. That is the case with Moses, Gideon, and Jeremiah. It was important that Jeremiah had a sense of call because of the tremendous difficulty he would face living out his call of God. At every stage of his suffering for following what God instructed him to do, he knew he was under a divine mandate.
If we compare the calling of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:1-19), with the call of two other major prophets, Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1-2:9) and Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-13), we see a glorious heavenly vision for Ezekiel and Isaiah.
For Ezekiel the heavens were opened, and he saw visions of God. The Word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest. The call came with a windstorm from the north – an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The centre of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, but each one of them had faces and four wings. The radiance was the glory of the Lord.
For Isaiah the Lord was seated on His throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. There were Seraphim above the Lord each with six wings and they were calling to one another: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty, the whole earth is full of His glory. Then the burning coal was touched to the lips of Isaiah and the Lord asked who shall I send? And who will go for us.
Jeremiah’s call was not as outwardly manifested. It was simply the Word of the Lord came to him. For Jeremiah it was his destiny that was emphasized. Before he was formed in the womb the Lord had this plan for him. That Jeremiah was appointed a prophet to the nations. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
Jeremiah is not to be afraid because the Lord will deliver him. He is to go everywhere the Lord commands and speak everything the Lord will say.
Ezekiel was called to a rebellious people and Isaiah to an insensitive people. In the case of Jeremiah, God proclaimed: “I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations”. Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched his mouth and said to him: “Now, I have put My words in your mouth” (Jeremiah 1:9).
We also note that they had differing responses:
Ezekiel was filled with a sense of awe and fell on his face. Isaiah said: “Here am I. Send me”. Then he asked: “How long?” And Jeremiah said: “I do not know how to speak. I am only a child”.
Jeremiah was from a priestly family. His father was a priest. This call for Jeremiah is very different. Instead of a priest Jeremiah is called to be a prophet. The calling of priest was passed along on the family. Jeremiah should have been a priest, but God appointed him as a prophet. The call of God was revealed to Jeremiah while he was probably between 19-25 years old. If he would be a priest as he had planned those duties would not start for him until the age of thirty.
The Lord went on and encouraged the young prophet. He told Jeremiah that his being a youth is unimportant. He was to go to all that the Lord sent him. This included the leadership of Judah including the kings who would not at all be happy to see Jeremiah or hear the words he brought. This is because Jeremiah was delivering advice on how to deal with the dangers which the nation faced. He wasn’t called to tell them everything was fine, and that the Lord was on their side, no matter how wickedly they acted. Instead, he would speak the words that the Lord Himself would put in his mouth, symbolized by touching his mouth. This seems to indicate that the Lord appeared to Jeremiah visibly in human form or what is called by the theologians, a “Theophany”.
Jeremiah was appointed over the nations, first to root out, to pull down, to destroy, and to throw down. So, much of Jeremiah’s ministry was to be negative in nature. As he prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem because of the faithlessness of the nation, this message would not be popular. He also prophesied about the judgment of the nations around Judah as well. He was prophesying catastrophe. But we should also not that he would later build and plant. There would be restoration for Judah after seventy years of captivity. The disaster would indeed be great, but in the end, a better Israel would emerge. So, for all the very negative prophecies in the book, one must keep the idea of restoration in mind which would come after the punishment of the nations.
Jeremiah was to proclaim a message of judgement, but also Jeremiah would declare a message of salvation. His message would prepare the people for God’s new work. God commanded him to speak, assuring that He was with him and will rescue him.
Jeremiah had to decide to believe and trust God. We may see our life as one that has a purpose or a plan of God. God does have a purpose and plan for us if we will listen to Him. He still calls and uses ordinary people who feel inadequate. God still expects obedience.
Jeremiah’s call came in a day of crises. When Jeremiah was called, God gave him two visions to impress on him the urgency of the hour and the importance of his call.
The first vision was the branch of the almond tree. “The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And he replied: “I see the branch of an almond tree”. Then the Lord said: “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled” (Jeremiah 1:11-12).
The almond tree was first to bloom in the spring and put forth red flowers. This expresses the waking and watching the Lord was doing and calling Jeremiah to proclaim. God is aware of what is going on and is about to act. It will take a man of God to discern what God is about to do.
The second vision that is part of Jeremiah’s call is the boiling pot tilting away from the north. “The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?” “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north” I answered. Then the Lord said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. I am about to summon all the peoples of the Northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord. And they will come and place, each one of them, his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls around, and against all the cities of Judah” (Jeremiah 1:13-15).
This is the vision of judgement. The war and destruction will come from the north. Jerusalem is most vulnerable to attack from the north and the vision is telling of the vulnerabilities exploited by the enemy. This is the judgement of the nations because they abandoned God.
All of this amounted to a call of Jeremiah to warn the people.
But Jeremiah will need strength. God told him it would be difficult. God gave him the assurance: “Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land” (Jeremiah 1:18a). He can go forth knowing the Lord is with him in all accounts.
We have great assurance in the presence of God in our life. That will always be needed to fulfill the call of God to a task.
Where are the prophets of the Lord today. We have the so-called prophets who proclaim your “best life now.” If this life is the best life here and now, God will give a better one in the future!
This is a time for reflection and repentance in today’s church. There is much to be reformed both in doctrine and practice. There is also the need to set priorities in these urgent times. We should grow in the faith. The teaching of sound doctrine is vital to the health of the church. In fact, the lack of attention to sound doctrine and holy living had led to the decline of the church. The church needs to wake up from its slumber.
Correction is painful. It is easier to preach calming and easing words to a church living in difficult times, we should encourage one another. But sometimes encouragement requires seeing the situation as it really is so that this hope might remain sound.
But the man of God should also realize that ministry is not easy if one is true to his calling. Some people enter the ministry for the wrong reasons. They think it gives them prestige and power. Some think it is easy. All you have to do is to get along and make people feel good. Scratch their ears. Tell them what they want to hear, and you will be popular. Others see it as a means of making money. Others are lazy. But thanks be to God that the many serve the office of pastor out of love for God. Jeremiah’s ministry would bring him fame, meaning being cast into fire and mocked.
Jeremiah was treated like that and yet he was faithful to the ministry to which the Lord had called him to.
After all his calling was a prophetic calling to proclaim the Word of God with no fear and invite the people to repentance and receive salvation.
Amen!