Musings on 4th Calling with Jeremiah 1

Jeremiah 1 New International Version (NIV) 1 The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3 and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile. The Call of Jeremiah 4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”- Jeremiah 1:1-5

 You saw me in Mom's womb? You knew all these issues, and yet you still called me to speak? WTF? I'm disabled, young, yeah, I got the schooling you called me to, but I can't use it, can I? Why me? I'm from a small nowhere town, living in another small nowhere town. Yeah, I know I'm a pastor's grandkid and niece, but still....and Yet you're telling me I'm called to fight stigma? STIGMA?

 6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. 9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”- Jeremiah 1:6-10

 See? Jeremiah spoke back to ya, too! I'm not the only one thinking you're a bit crazy for calling me! He thought you were crazy for calling him, too! And yet.....and yet.....you're talking back to both of us....don't be afraid of what others think. Ignore the stigma? You know I'm going to be called "Crazy, Insane, Delusional, etc," right? *re-reads passage and sighs* I cannot deny you....you say "do not be afraid of them for I am with you and will rescue you." So even if I end up in State because I listen to You, You'll be with me and will get me out of there? Well.....Alright.....I'm trusting You! I may not know now what words you have put into my mouth, other than that which I feel compelled to type, to get out into the open, my own feelings and instincts, but I trust you.

 11 The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. 12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching[b] to see that my word is fulfilled.” 13 The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?” “I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.” 14 The Lord said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem; they will come against all her surrounding walls and against all the towns of Judah. 16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made."- Jeremiah 1:11-16

 Here I see the cultural context....yet maybe that is what I WANT to see....let me look closer.... I still see cultural context....a warning to the kingdoms because they had forsaken God and they would be punished by people that God had called to punish them. God was also watching, making sure that what God had in mind would come into fruition, one way or another. There, the God is watching part, I can see meshing with with Calling I was given tonight.....yet the other part is harder to figure out. In some ways, people have forsaken God by forsaking those with mental illness and giving them that stigma. Bringing in an outside source, Jesus says "That which you do unto the least of these, you do unto me." (paraphrase Matthew 25:31-46) and in some beliefs that goes along with doing unto God then as well. I don't know what the "punishment" will be, or if it will just be the shame at the realization of what they have been doing to God via "the least of these." Shame can be punishment enough, let me tell ya. Jokes, Memes, etc....all those are a form of shaming....all of those come from others. Maybe that's the punishment from others that is coming. I'm not sure, but I do hope that people realize and stop the stigma. It hurts other people and so in hurting people, it hurts God as well!

17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Footnotes: Jeremiah 1:5 Or chose Jeremiah 1:12 The Hebrew for watching sounds like the Hebrew for almond tree.- Jeremiah 1:17-18+footnotes mentioned in above passages

 Get myself ready? Really? Alrighty......I don't want to be terrified before the people, so I guess I better get ready to trust You more so that I'm not terrified by them. I'm trusting that what you say will come true, that no matter what happens, you are with me, that I truly am the leopard that you have been making me to be......stronger than I think I am, stronger than I realize that I am and that although the Lions may come against me, I will have You as a tree to climb and get rescued by.