Do Not Be Afraid

A sermon for Proper 16
August 21, 2022

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you,” so says the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah. God is calling Jeremiah to his vocation, to the life of a prophet, to speak difficult truths and warnings to the people of Judah. Jeremiah speaks at a difficult moment–at a time when everyone wants to close their ears to anything that makes them uncomfortable. It will become a time of great suffering and hardship, as the empire of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem and ultimately destroys it. Solomon’s temple will be gone. Countless lives lost. Much of the people carried off into exile. Jeremiah was chosen for this moment, to be a prophet at this time.

I cannot help but think of that line in the Lord of the Rings. ‘“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”’

It is not surprising that Jeremiah objects. He says, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” Like Moses before the burning bush and all the other prophets, Jeremiah wants to hold back. He wants to take the easier path. It’s a difficult time, Lord. Not only that, but Jeremiah comes from a complicated family history, from a line of priests that was sent away in exile to the boonies a long time ago by King Solomon for a political faux pas. Jeremiah is not only young, but his family is a problem. People know his family name; they remember the shame; they know his secret. How can he possibly speak with any authority, with any power, with any persuasion, at this difficult time? 

God dispenses with Jeremiah’s excuses. Go, God says, and do not be afraid. Because I am with you. When you’re speaking difficult truths to a stubborn king, I am with you. When you’re ridiculed in the streets, I am with you. When you’re thrown to the bottom of a pit and left to die, I am with you. When you’re in a besieged city, I am with you. When everything around you is destroyed, I am with you. When you’re left alone by everyone else, I am with you. I am with you always, for I have appointed you and consecrated you–set you apart for a special purpose. I am with you always, so do not be afraid, Jeremiah. Do not be afraid; look to God for all that you need. 

Today we are baptizing Hannah, and I wonder if we can hear God speaking to her, and to each of us, in these words to the prophet. Hannah, before I formed you in the womb I knew you; and before you were born I consecrated you. Hannah may not be appointed as a prophet to the nations (maybe she will be), but God has already spoken purpose to her soul. This purpose is made evident today as she is brought to the waters of baptism, where she is made a child of God, marked as Christ’s own forever, sealed by the Holy Spirit, set on a path of grace. Her calling–and the calling of each one of us who is baptized into the Body of Christ–is to proclaim Christ in word and deed; to show the goodness and love of God by her life; to live in the Spirit; to walk this path of grace with the help of Jesus and all of us. 

Like Jeremiah, she is called to live this life of God’s love and goodness and peace in a world that so often is filled with violence and hatred and fear. It can be difficult, scary even, to be a beacon in such a place. Jeremiah says, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy. Hannah is only an infant; who is she to turn the tide away from violence to love, away from hatred to goodness, away from fear to peace? Who is any of us to turn the tide? 

Who are we? We are children of the living God, redeemed by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ himself. And this God who has called Hannah, this God who has called each of us, is present here and now to work through us–no matter the odds, no matter the difficulties, come what may. 

So do not be afraid. Do not be afraid, Hannah. Do not be afraid, children of the Most High God. Follow where God leads. Live the life you have been called to live–lives that reflect the character and nature of God. As we will sing in a moment, so I say now: Look to God; do not be afraid. Lift up your voices, the Lord is near! 

We cannot know what God has in store for Hannah–that is true for all of us. But we can teach her, by our words and actions, what it means to trust God and not be afraid. We can show her, by our words and actions, what it means to follow where God leads, come what may, and to know that we are never forsaken, never abandoned, always loved. We can encourage her to live her life in a way that proclaims the love and goodness and peace of our great God who has given everything for us, and to walk that path of grace, however imperfectly, knowing that Jesus is walking right beside her. It’s our job to do those things for her as the Body of Christ. 

This past week the renowned theologian, author, and Presbyterian minister, Frederick Buechner, died. I want to leave us with his words, words that speak to Hannah today and, I hope, to all of us in our Christian journeys: 

Hannah, “Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It’s for you I created the universe. I love you. There’s only one catch. Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you’ll reach out and take it. Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.”