IN THE COMPANY OF YOUR PEERS (Jeremiah 26)

At another time there had been a man, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim, who had preached similarly in the name of God. He preached against this same city and country just as Jeremiah did. (Jeremiah 26:20-21, MSG)

Fairly often in the posts I have talked about the theme of "why me? Why do I have to suffer?"

My mother used to ask, "Why not me? Why have I been spared natural disasters and illness and . . .?"

Today's passage reminded me of Mom. Earlier Jeremiah has spoken along the lines of Elijah, "I am the only one left who believes in God." Today, he talks about all the prophets God has sent who shared the same message: Doom is imminent if you don't repent! (Jeremiah 25:4-6)

In the next chapter, he gives us a small insight into one of those prophets, Uriah, son of Shemaiah.

The question of why God called Jeremiah to write His message and not Uriah or the other prophets intrigues me, but I won't chase down that rabbit trail.

Jeremiah and Uriah served the same God. They preached the same message and in the same place.

However, when a lynch mob formed. . .

• Ahikam intervened and spared Jeremiah's life.
• Uriah was killed even though he went into hiding.

The unspoken "Why me?" rings through Jeremiah's description of events:

The king had him killed. They dumped his body unceremoniously outside the city. But in Jeremiah's case, Ahikam son of Shaphan stepped forward and took his sidie, preventing the mob from lynching him. (Jeremiah 26:23-24)

Why Jeremiah, indeed. Why did God spare Jeremiah's life but allow Uriah to be killed? God lost a loyal servant (on earth, at least), but Jeremiah lost a friend and ally.

Why did God spare Jeremiah but not Uriah?

Corrie ten Boom asked the same question when her sister Betsy died in the concentration, while Corrie lived a long and blessed life.

I lived in Colorado at the time of the Columbine killings. Our churches overflowed in the ensuing weeks, as the stories of Cassie and Rachel's brave testimony circulated.

The death of one of our own. We hurt. Incredibly. We may put on brave faces and continue to work while our insides fall apart.

Their deaths might inspire others--to faith. To service. To spending more time with people they love.

We're not told how the people of Jerusalem or the other prophets responded to Uriah's death. But we can infer that was grieved.

Whatever ministry God has called us, Uriah also reminds us that we are not alone. A writer's life is often a lonely one, but we can count on our peers to encourage us, to come alongside with their message, stories, prayers.

ADVICE (Jeremiah 23)

Instead of claiming to know what God says, ask questions of one another, such as "How do we understand God in this?" But don't go around pretending to know it all, saying "God told me this. . .God told me that. . . ." . . . You can the prophets, "How did God answer you? What did he tell you? But don't pretend that you know all the answers yourselves. (Jeremiah 23:35-37, MSG)

To start with today, I will apologize to those of you from the pentecostal/prophecy branch of the Christian faith, in case my comments offend you. But today's passage reminded of an earlier incident which struck me as insensitive:

For years I was part of a face-to-face critique group. We met every other week for almost ten years, until our hostess died. Vicki Baker left an unforgettable influence on my life, only partly because of her courageous life in spite of living as a quadriplegic. She described herself as a "wheelchair-bound trapeze artist" because that explained both her high-octane enthusiasm for living and the way she broke her neck.

Like Joni Erickson Tada, she believed that "in every way that matters, (she) was already healed."

One day a new writer visited our group. On her second visit, she told Vicki, "I have a word from God. He wants to do a work of healing in you, starting with your legs."

Embarrassed silence. At the time, the comment struck me as incredibly insensitive. I now suspect the visitor came from a practice where such words are received and accepted. I still think, however,that she handled it poorly.

She might have benefited from Jeremiah's advice today. Perhaps she could have initiated a dialogue about divine healing. Perhaps even that would have felt like an assault. The time is too far removed for me to gauge it today.

Suggestions included:
Don't pretend you have all the answers.
Ask others what their understanding of the situation is.
Assume that others are seeking God about the same matter. You should find common ground in His answers.

In Jeremiah's time, they faced strong military oppression, the king of Judah already deposed. Rarely did the decision to fight or to surrender carry such a heavy weight. The decision affected many people.

If you feel God is urging a change of direction on you. . .ask the people your decision will impact. What has God told your church? your co-workers? your family? your spouse?

Then listen. . .really listen.




23:35-37





Instead of claiming to know what God says, ask questions of one another, such as ‘How do we understand God in this?’ But don’t go around pretending to know it all, saying ‘God told me this . . . God told me that. . . .’ I don’t want to hear it anymore. Only the person I authorize speaks for me. Otherwise, my Message gets twisted, the Message of the living God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

37-38 “You can ask the prophets, ‘How did God answer you? What did he tell you?’ But don’t pretend that you know all the answers yourselves

FIRST THINGS FIRST (Jeremiah 21)

Start each day by dealing with justice. Rescue victims from their exploiters. (Jeremiah 21:11-12)

I'm not a psychiatrist, but my daughter struggled with mental illness for most of her life.

So I have this to say about Jeremiah: Like someone with bipolar disorder (manic/depressive), he swings from the depth of despair (curse the day I was born!) to attempts at happiness (sing praise to God!) He expresses his faith by obeying God in spite of the fear, paranoia, and isolation he experienced.

His message didn't make things any better. No one wanted to listen to the doomsday prophet. His countrymen tolerated him as the voice of a minority of one.

Tucked into today's message, God told the leaders how to avert the coming catastrophe. Get your priorities straight.

The first order of business each and every day? Deal with justice. Rescue victims from the perpetrators.

Justice suggests a court with judge and jury. The king acted as the supreme court, or perhaps a presidential pardon. The people brought their most difficult cases to him. Solomon's decision regarding the two mothers and one child is a classic example of discerning the truth of a situation.

Rescuing victims suggests a more active role. The king not only judge impartially. He, and his leaders with him, should seek out victims. The poor, orphans, widows, and foreigners are often mentioned throughout the Bible in need of special consideration.

Good advice. But Jeremiah preached this wisdom when the kingdom felt increased pressure from invaders. I'm sure national leaders focused on defense, alliances, weapons, a strong army. Even then, "the best offense was a good defense."

Taking care of the poor and downtrodden, preventing prejudice against foreigners, ranked low in the national conscience.

Yet God said to take care of it first.

These last couple of days have come out as more political than I like, but that is where the scripture took me. On an individual basis, perhaps I should look to the needs of others instead of always expecting them to accommodate my needs.

For years, I met with fellow writer Vicki Baker twice a month. A fall during a trapeze act left her paralyzed. She said how she learned to make others comfortable with her chair.

I've thought of that lately. When people visit, I need to be prepared to involve them. If I wait for them to initiate a lively discussion, they're at a loss.

That happened the last time I spoke with my son. I mentioned my post on "cheap whining," and we got into an interesting exploration of the idea.

Anyhow: first things first.

MASSACRES (Jeremiah 19)

It's payday, and soon--God's Decree!--this place will no longer be known as Topheth or Valley of Ben-hinnom, but Massacre Meadows. . . I'll turn this city into such a museum of atrocities that anyone coming near will be shocked speechless by the savage brutality. (Jeremiah 19:6-9, MSG)

"Massacre Meadows" instantly brought to mind my daughter Jolene's poem, "Hope in Black and White, in memory of the Sand Creek Massacre."

The website of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site describes the events of November 29, 1864 as "8 hours that would change the Great Plains forever." The date strikes me because it echoes my grandmother's birthday of November 28, 1894. It is possible that my greatgrandparents were alive at the time of the massacre, and I wonder how they reacted as the news spread across the United States.

A 700-man militia attacked and killed the majority of a friendly village of Cheyenne & Arapahoe--mostly women and children. Colonel Chivington insisted he had valid reason for the attack, and that many warriors were killed. Eye witness accounts differed, describing the torture and mutilatioGon of women and children. As news spread, public outcry grew.

Sand Creek, Little Big Horn, Wounded Knee became symbols of the ugly wars between white and native Americans. The same thing happened at Topheth and Ben-hinnom, turning them to Massacre Meadows" (the origin of "Gehenna," one of the words used for "hell.")

The ugly truth here is that God allowed the destruction of this place.

We hold God to a higher standard. We expect Him to step in and prevent genocide and massacres. If God is real, or if He cares, the words Auschwitz, Sand Creek, 9-11, and Gehenna wouldn't evoke feelings of horror.

But God does allow them to happen. At times, such as the occasion in Jeremiah 19, He chooses the atrocity to punish wrongdoing.

When we hear of such events, we are right to be shocked and speechless. We should be horrified by the evil which causes it to happen. Perhaps we should also view the brutality as a wake up call, to examine our own behavior.

I'm not saying that the depth of human depravity always strikes a society which has turned away from God.

But perhaps we should always reflect on our shortcomings.

About Jolene's poem? I can't find it. I would have posted it here. She wrote the truth much better than I just did.

CHEAP WHINING (Jeremiah 15)

Why, why this chronic pain, this ever worsening wound and no healing in sight? . . .Use words truly and well. Don't stoop to cheap whining. Then, but only then, you'll speak for me. (Jeremiah 15:17-189, MSG)

This passage from Jeremiah hits me close, both as a nursing home resident and as a writer.

Lately the pain hasn't been as bad, in spite on the arrival of cooler, damper fall weather. But with Jeremiah, I want relief from the pain. I can imagine a pain so bad that I would rather die than continue to live with it. I pray that I would never such a choice that would dishonor the "me" God made and God Himself. But I can imagine it.

In essence, God tells Jeremiah to shut up. Don't whine. He even calls it "cheap" whining. While someone with chronic pain may not whine, I would never call those people who do whine "cheap."

The point God is making is that Jeremiah's not investing his words wisely. He is spending them on complaints, which give nothing in return.

Instead, God encourages Jeremiah to use his words "truly and well."

Good words to hear at a point when I am in the editing phase of a book project--even if they are the dreaded adverbs, forbidden in good writing. Finding just the right word. To speak truth in character, location, occupation, relationships--writing demands my best use of language.

To speak for God, as all Christian writers claim to do, let's concentrate on true, good writing instead of whining.