Jeremiah 11:18-20

18th Sunday after Pentecost

October 4, 2009

Jeremiah 11:18-20 (New International Version) Plot Against Jeremiah 18 Because the LORD revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19 I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying, "Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more." 20 But, O LORD Almighty, you who judge righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.

TO YOU, O LORD, I COMMIT MY CAUSE

What are the causes to which you are committed? Relay for Life and cancer research? Police or Fireman benevolence? Maybe you are a staunch supporter of music or sports boosters at one of the high schools. There are many causes to which we are committed, some more important than others. But no other cause is as important then the cause of the LORD. That was the cause to which the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah was called. It is the same cause to which you and I have been called. The LORD’s cause is one of faithfulness to him and to publically live our faith before the world. This cause is one to which we are often not as faithful as we should. Today we say with the prophet Jeremiah, TO YOU, O LORD, I COMMIT MY CAUSE: because you know my cause and because you uphold my cause.

I

The LORD knew the cause of Jeremiah. It was the LORD who called Jeremiah to that cause. Jeremiah’s call to preach the Word of God came during the dark and waning years of the Kingdom of Judah. Through the past years, the people of Judah had wavered between faithfulness to the LORD and idolatry to the gods of the nations around them. Jeremiah’s message – HIS CAUSE – was a call to God’s people to repent. The LORD’s stern warning was clear: repent or suffer the consequences. The consequences were not far off the horizon. The armies of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon would march on Jerusalem, sack and destroy the Temple of the LORD, and carry many off into captivity into Babylon. By and large, repentance was NOT a cause the people of Judah wanted to commit to. Destruction was not news they wanted to hear.

Jeremiah’s message of repentance and destruction hit close to home…quite literally in fact. A plot to kill Jeremiah originated from his hometown Anathoth. God, in his mercy revealed the plot to Jeremiah. Jeremiah writes, 18 Because the LORD revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19 I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.” Like a lamb at the slaughterhouse ignorantly and innocently being led to its death, so was Jeremiah ignorant of the plot against him. You have heard the old saying. If you don’t like the message…kill the messenger. In his heart-of-hearts, he clung to the hope that his own people would hear the message and react in a God-pleasing way. Jeremiah didn’t know about the plot. But the LORD did! The all-knowing God took his faithful servant aside to warn him of the dire situation. He did NOT abandon his servant.

Jeremiah isn’t the only one who has experienced persecution from those close to them. Haven’t you, also? Do you remember the words of Jesus from the Gospel last week? Jesus said that those who follow him would experience hardship because of their relationship to Jesus. You have been called to the same cause as Jeremiah. We are called to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Jesus. Jesus knows the persecution you experience firsthand. The people of his hometown, Nazareth, attempted to kill him. He experienced the rejection of his own people. Just like the LORD knew the cause of Jeremiah, so the LORD sees your cause, too. The LORD understands! The LORD sees and knows what hardships you face in his name.

You and I have experienced persecution in one form or another because we have openly lived our faith. Have you been the brunt of jokes at work when your colleagues make fun of you at the water cooler. Does your boyfriend or girlfriend not understand and maybe become angry when you choose to live the pure life God expects of you? Maybe it is closer to home than that. Many of us have family members who do not share our faith. They don’t understand our commitment to God in our faithful worship life. “Why would you give up your Sunday or give so much of your hard-earned money to some church?” they might sneer. These are the crosses that Jesus said we would bear when we deny ourselves and take up our crosses to follow Jesus. And keep this truth in mind. When you are persecuted for your faith, Jesus tells us that it isn’t even us who is really being persecuted. Jesus said this to his disciples, “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” When facing persecution, you and I are in excellent company. Jesus is right by our side taking that persecution on himself. Jesus himself reveals this to us. He knows OUR cause.

So what do we do when faced with this kind of persecution? We face persecution with the same confidence Jeremiah did. We do exactly what Jeremiah did. We say with Jeremiah, “To you, O LORD, I commit my cause, because you know my cause.”

II

Jeremiah was convinced that the same LORD who knew Jeremiah’s cause would also uphold his cause. The LORD would be faithful to his promises. Jeremiah writes, 20But, O LORD Almighty, you who judge righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause. Jeremiah knew beyond all doubt that those who persecuted him would soon face the vengeance of the LORD who knew their hearts and minds. Jeremiah wasn’t seeking revenge on those who sought to hurt him. He wasn’t calling for fire and brimstone to rain down so he could witness their punishment for his own personal satisfaction. No. Rather, Jeremiah was announcing as a loving warning for all to hear that the LORD would keep his word to punish the unfaithful. The really frightening and sad truth is this: ALL who persecute the LORD and his people will face their own eternal consequences for their faithlessness. Those in our day who persecute Christians…who ridicule, mock, and reject you will one day face their maker in judgment.

There is another sad truth that we must face. Jeremiah, you, and I have NOT been faithful in committing our way to the LORD. The fact is we haven’t always faithfully borne our crosses for Jesus. We have given in to persecution. Rather than face ridicule, we chose to hide. Instead of keeping our lives pure before God, we have given in to impure thoughts and deeds. We have joined in the persecution of those who are faithful to God. Maybe our voices have joined with the psalmist’s in Psalm 73, I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. To deny Christ instead of our own sinful desires is certainly the easier road to take. But in the end, it really doesn’t lead to prosperity at all. Vengeance from the LORD Jeremiah’s people deserved for their unfaithfulness is that which WE deserve along with them.

Suffering and cross-bearing for Jesus were not high on the list of priorities for Jesus’ disciples. We heard in the Gospel today Jesus predict his own suffering and death. Rather than react with concern for Jesus, the disciples became really selfish. They were too concerned about their own glory and prestige to be bothered by Jesus’ trials. We also are often too self-absorbed with our own lives to be troubled by things like faithfulness to God and our own cross-bearing. Like Jeremiah’s people…like Jesus’ disciples, we are selfish people.

No need to despair! We commit our way to the LORD because he upholds OUR cause. The LORD is committed to you! God is faithful to you in spite of your unfaithfulness to him. God swore faithfulness to you in the waters of your baptism. You learned of God’s faithfulness to you in your Sunday School lessons or at your teachers’ feet in the Christian classroom. Jesus himself comes to you to reaffirm his faithfulness to you with his body and blood in the sacrament! God speaks to you in the words of absolution, “Your sins are forgiven!” Your eternity is not one destined for wrath and punishment. Your eternity is one of glory in heaven!

Even the psalmist in Psalm 73 confessed the sin of his envy of the wicked. His faith led him to confess of the LORD, Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. 24You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Let us confess our unfaithfulness. Let’s repent of our cowardice in the face of persecution. Let us find our confidence in the LORD who knows the hardship we face and faces it with us. It is to our faithful LORD that we say with Jeremiah, TO YOU, O LORD I COMMIT MY CAUSE, because you know my cause and because you uphold my cause.

Amen