( Jeremia 9:22-23 ) - [ Deutsch ] - [ Announcements654.42 KB ]
„Gott weckt mich alle Morgen; er weckt mir selbst das Ohr,“ is what we have just sung. God can help us become attentive listeners.
I can hear many very different things.
And listening is the foundation for any successful relationship.
Sometimes we do not listen, that can happen. Sometimes we forget our counterpart and narcistically talk about ourselves.
During such times it is good to have prophets, during Biblical times and today, who make us think. Such are the words conveyed by Jeremia. Valid. Let me read from Jeremia 9:22-23:
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
God is not saying: I do not like wisdom, might and riches. He does not criticise these values and characteristics as such. He also does not say: please, do not strive for this.
But from Jeremia we can learn that they can become a danger. Then when you boast of these and arrogantly look down upon others in order to feel even better yourself. The spiritual damage of boasting of yourself lies in attributing the success to yourself, rather than gratefully receiving it as a gift of God out of his hand.
Let us have a closer look at the matter of wealth: if wealth takes up the place that belongs to God, then it starts getting dangerous. That upon which you set your heart, that upon which you rely, says Martin Luther, that is your God. If wealth and status symbols are all that determines my thinking, striving, hoping and believing and labouring, then it is not me that owns money, but money actually owns me… then I become the slave of all these earthly goods. And you cannot rely on these. Life can change so quickly. We hear of traffic accidents, sudden severe illnesses, existential fears or, a little less tragic, of people who grow older and go on pension… what will hold me in life and in death? This question poses itself. Money, should I own it, certainly relieves me of some worries but it won’t give my soul rest.
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.“
God has not given us the ten commandments in order to lead us back into slavery but in order for us to live as free persons.
Knowing God is my strength and recognising that He alone is Lord. When I am praying, I am speaking with God. I try to hear what is important and right in life. That is not easy, but it is necessary and it is a daily exercise. I can feel that God is close to me. Even in dark times. When I am weak and my faith gives me the necessary strength.
Sometimes I also feel strong, and that is fine. And there are many of us who need to be strong and who need to exercise the power they have, for example at work. Without exercising power, life in our world is unthinkable. But power and strength also pose a threat to the respective person. Everyone who is entrusted with power, at whatever level, should always know that power is merely a necessary evil and should always be mindful of whether he is secretly enjoying his power and should think about the interest in which he exercises his power.
Let us now also have a look at the wise person who sings his own praises. This includes the devout man who praises his own wisdom, his devout insights and experience. He builds on what he is, on what he has achieved. Everybody considers him to be an exemplary Christian and he likes himself in that role. Here God seems to be involved but, actually, He is excluded. I want to remind us of the Pharisee in Luke 18 in his prayer to God: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, unjust…
The devout person who secretly thinks that he does not need God (which, of course, he would never say), puts himself in God’s place. Instead of praising God, he praises himself. Instead of receiving his salvation from God, he searches it within himself.
It should not happen, but it happens over and again that particularly the devout, the good, the self-righteous deteriorate to become the stress factor no. 1 for God. The gospel for today puts this idea at the core: the diligent workers who had worked the entire day in the vineyard who are then envious of the “last” workers in the vineyard and you grumbled at the generosity of the master of the vineyard.
Why is it so difficult for us Christians to allow all people to experience the very same grace that we experience from God?
Not knowing God, not speaking with God, for Jeremia, is the underlying evil of all things that go wrong between people. He who knows God puts Him at the centre. And not himself. I am not the centre of the world. The others are not meant to circle around me and to make my life enjoyable. And, likewise, God is not circling around me to make my life enjoyable. I am but a part of the whole, a part of the idea of God, a part of His world.
This insight sets me free. Free from narcissism and ego-centredness. Free for a life where God is at the centre and where the goal is to praise him. Free to be filled with God’s good spirit.
Knowing God is a lifelong process, a journey of discovery.
We will never fully know God, most definitely not. But it is easier for us than for those living under the old covenant.
The mercy of God has become flesh for us. In Jesus Christ we can experience that mercifulness, justice and righteousness are one in God. Always for us. Always for others.
Let us take the necessary steps in your name, Lord. Amen.