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“Thus Saith the Lord: You Are Called”
A Service of the Word for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 24, 2025: IN-PERSON and ONLINE at 10:30 a.m.
The Rev. Matthew Emery, lead minister, preaching
Jeremiah 1:4-10
This Sunday, we are entering into the first installment of a few weeks' dip into the Old Testament's book of Jeremiah, a series Rev. Matt is titling "Thus Saith the Lord". Jeremiah was a "prophet" — one whose vocation is to "speak the Word of the Lord" into a particular time and situation — during the time around the beginning of the "Babylonian exile", when Babylon conquered the areas of Israel and Judah and hauled many of the people off into exile for 50 years, between 500 and 600 years before Jesus. Hearing Jeremiah's witness helps us consider important questions about what it means to consider God's judgment and what it means for us to "speak a Word of the Lord" into our own times and situations. Jeremiah's words convey lament, suffering, blame, calls to account and calls to return, and, ultimately, hope.
In this week's passage, the journey begins as we hear of Jeremiah's "call", that moment when he perceived God telling him to take up the vocation of being a prophet. Jeremiah doesn't think he's up to the task, but ultimately Jeremiah's ability is not what matters; what matters is the message God provides and the faithfulness God promises.
How appropriate, then, that as we hear this story of calling this Sunday, we have the privilege of welcoming someone new into the body of Christ through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. Responding to the movement of the Spirit in his life and journey, Ernest Berger will make a profession of faith, receive the sacrament, and join our congregation's official membership. Welcome, Ernest!