Trinity 10 August 13, 2023
Jeremiah 8:4-12
Senseless Birds
v.6-7 I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no
man relents of his evil, saying,
‘What have I done?’ Everyone turns to his
own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. Even the stork in the
heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the
time of their coming, buy my people know not the rules of the Lord.
Dear friends in Christ, what is the world coming to? It is a crazy,
topsy-turvy world. We have redefined marriage to mean whatever we want it to
mean (which really ends up only emptying it of all meaning). Our world enjoys
and endorses people doing “their own thing” “their own way.” We see people
inside and outside the church taking God's gift of marriage for granted--engaging
in sexual behaviour to those whom they are not wed. We have seen our society
protest loudly at the poaching of endangered animals, all the while remaining silent
at the ongoing slaughter of unborn babies. We scribble and scrabble for attention
and prestige not caring who we step on while on our way to the top of the
corporate ladder. Families and friends disrespect and dishonour one another in
what is said and done, not to mention what is thought privately. However, in God’s
view, many of the things that we enjoy doing are actually harmful to us—and
others—yet we seem not to care.
Hence Jeremiah’s great proclamation to the people of Israel that serves as
our text for this morning. God is angry. God is really upset. The people of Israel
had abandoned His Word—His Laws—His just decrees. It’s not that they didn’t
know them—they knew them perfectly well—they just didn’t care. Sound
familiar? You and I both know God's clear Word of Law in the Scriptures. The 10
commandments are the ways in which God desires us to live. But we ignore,
redefine, and rewrite these laws to suit our own preferences and feelings.
Therefore, in his preaching, Jeremiah lays before them the great contrast that exists
between supposedly intelligent/rational human beings—and simple birds. “You
see,” Jeremiah says, “even the birds like the stork, the crane, the turtledove, the
swallows [we might inject, the Canada Geese, Robins, and the Pelicans] the birds
that migrate—they instinctively know and follow God’s plan for their own
well-being. They go south when the time is right—and come back north again
when food is plentiful. They follow what is right and good for them according to
God’s ordered plan of creation.
People, however—rational/thinking human beings, refuse to repent and turn
away from what is bad for us. Rather, we continue headlong into dangerous
territory—like a horse into battle—transgressing God’s good Law that is intended
for our own benefit—failing to see the danger that lies ahead. We are blinded by
our own sinfulness and pride—revelling in our selfishness and sin—seeking to
gratify every desire of our flesh—whilst turning away from God and His goodness
and peace that He has come to bring us.
"God says marriage is the only and best place for sexual union between man
and woman. But I don't care. I want this person--this relationship–this
experience--right now--at least, for now. How can I marry someone unless I've
lived with them beforehand? Who cares about marriage anyway? This way we are
free. Free to love whom we want and choose, whenever we want and choose.
Who cares that children don't know their parents and don't know from one minute
to the next where they're going to live or with whom. What matters most is what I
want--MY desires--MY needs. And if an unwanted pregnancy occurs...oh
well...we can just get an abortion--problem solved."
Jeremiah is, in essence, saying that “People don’t have the sense that God
gave geese.” We are, simply put, stupid. Stupid, ignorant, faithless, stubborn
people—intent on doing that which is bad for us (and for others)—in complete
disregard for what God has told us is good, right, and salutary.
Our society wildly endorses this kind of behaviour—sexual
immorality—greed—covetousness—etc.—as we are daily encouraged by the
world to give in to our every desire—our every whim—and satisfy the cravings of
our debase and sinful hearts—following our own passions that lead to hell and
damnation.
What is worse—even the church has now been caught up in this sick and
twisted mode of thinking. We have seen churches like the ELCA and others now
fully endorse the ordination of active homosexual and transgender clergy—in
complete violation of everything that God has stated in His Word and commanded
by His prophets/apostles. Sickeningly, there have even been churches that have
applauded the murder of unborn children, calling it "God's work."
These churches cry out that “all is well” and there is “peace with God” when
in reality there is no peace. For there can be no peace when people refuse to turn
from their sinful ways and repent. They offer a band-aid solution for an open
cancerous wound—infected and deadly—when false prophets announce that
because God is love all people can do what they wish—behave in any
way—believe whatever they want—and still go to heaven. “You want to sleep
around? Go ahead—God bless you!...You want to cheat on your taxes? Well, sure,
that’s clever of you! You want to sell unborn baby's organs for a profit--well,
they're only clumps of flesh, so go ahead...You want to skimp on your tithe to
church? Well, heck no! That’s where we draw the line.”
This is the kind of heresy that Jeremiah was preaching against and reacting
to in his own day. This heresy is still strong and prevalent among us here and now.
We—who have no sense—who are blinded by our own sinful flesh and pride—we
seek after our own vain pleasures and glories—at times even in the face of what we
know to be right and true—disregarding God and His Word.
Woe to us. Woe to those who stumble and fall—yet don’t have the sense to
get back up again—woe to those who strive to attain God’s eternal pleasures in
heaven apart from His grace and mercy in Christ. Woe to us all who would rather
continue on in our sin—running headlong towards the eternal fires of hell—than
repent and run to Jesus for forgiveness and mercy. And woe to any church that
would preach the same.
In the end—that is what God ultimately desires of us—that we turn away
from sin—and in so doing turn toward Him for our every good and His peace that
surpasses all human understanding. He leads and guides us by His Word in the
path that is right for us. And when we stray—when we fall—when we go our own
way—which we will—He seeks to bring us back to a right relationship with Him
through the shed blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ crucified on Calvary’s
cross. His Law smacks us upside the head and makes us finally realize what it is
that we have been doing. And His Gospel—that blessed good news of Jesus dead
for sinners—lifts us up and heals us from our sin and the death that plagues us.
Dear friends, it is Jesus Christ—and Him only—who can and has saved you
from the incredible stubbornness of your own sin. It is He who works through His
own Holy Spirit—who in turn works through the Word of God—to turn you from
your sin and bring you back to God in purity and faith. He plucks you from your
headlong dive into death and degradation—showing you not only the sinfulness of
your every thought, word, and deed, but showing you Christ crucified in your place
to grant you forgiveness, life, and joy.
The great peace the Lord has to give is found only in the crucified flesh of
the Lord Jesus. He who took all your sin into Himself and suffered and died for it
on Calvary’s cross is your Salvation and your every good. In the blessed
Sacraments, the righteousness and purity and forgiveness that He earned with His
suffering, death, and resurrection is bestowed upon you individually. His body and
blood enter into your mouths and cleanse you from all unrighteousness and
sin—transforming your hard hearts of sin and stupidity. For Christ is the wisdom
of God made flesh and He has come to make all things new—including you. As
we pray, "Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
Though we don’t often exhibit the good sense that God gave geese, yet in
His superior wisdom He has sent His only beloved Son Jesus to live the perfect life
that He demands in our stead. The Lord looks at you and sees not all of your
mistakes—your baggage—your bungling idiocy and sin—rather He sees
Jesus—the perfect and wise one who has done all things well—in your place. His
righteousness—His holiness—His purity—is now yours through faith in Him and
His sacrifice on the cross for all your sins.
And it is Jesus’ shed blood that covers all your sins and makes you
clean—turns you from the path of death and destruction—to the path of life
everlasting in His name. Because of Jesus the Lord God no longer remembers
your sin—rather He has thrown them into the Sea of Forgetfulness—separated
them from you as far as the East is from the West. Though your sins were as
scarlet—now you are as snow—pure and clean.
All this is God’s good and gracious will—poured out for you in the blessed
Sacraments—that have washed you clean and made you new through faith in
Jesus. This sweet knowledge comes not instinctively or through experience—but
is rather revealed in His holy Word, which is proclaimed into your ears, which is
poured out upon you in water, placed into your mouth in bread and wine, for the
forgiveness of all your sins. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Jeremiah 8:4-12
Senseless Birds
v.6-7 I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no
man relents of his evil, saying,
‘What have I done?’ Everyone turns to his
own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. Even the stork in the
heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the
time of their coming, buy my people know not the rules of the Lord.
Dear friends in Christ, what is the world coming to? It is a crazy,
topsy-turvy world. We have redefined marriage to mean whatever we want it to
mean (which really ends up only emptying it of all meaning). Our world enjoys
and endorses people doing “their own thing” “their own way.” We see people
inside and outside the church taking God's gift of marriage for granted--engaging
in sexual behaviour to those whom they are not wed. We have seen our society
protest loudly at the poaching of endangered animals, all the while remaining silent
at the ongoing slaughter of unborn babies. We scribble and scrabble for attention
and prestige not caring who we step on while on our way to the top of the
corporate ladder. Families and friends disrespect and dishonour one another in
what is said and done, not to mention what is thought privately. However, in God’s
view, many of the things that we enjoy doing are actually harmful to us—and
others—yet we seem not to care.
Hence Jeremiah’s great proclamation to the people of Israel that serves as
our text for this morning. God is angry. God is really upset. The people of Israel
had abandoned His Word—His Laws—His just decrees. It’s not that they didn’t
know them—they knew them perfectly well—they just didn’t care. Sound
familiar? You and I both know God's clear Word of Law in the Scriptures. The 10
commandments are the ways in which God desires us to live. But we ignore,
redefine, and rewrite these laws to suit our own preferences and feelings.
Therefore, in his preaching, Jeremiah lays before them the great contrast that exists
between supposedly intelligent/rational human beings—and simple birds. “You
see,” Jeremiah says, “even the birds like the stork, the crane, the turtledove, the
swallows [we might inject, the Canada Geese, Robins, and the Pelicans] the birds
that migrate—they instinctively know and follow God’s plan for their own
well-being. They go south when the time is right—and come back north again
when food is plentiful. They follow what is right and good for them according to
God’s ordered plan of creation.
People, however—rational/thinking human beings, refuse to repent and turn
away from what is bad for us. Rather, we continue headlong into dangerous
territory—like a horse into battle—transgressing God’s good Law that is intended
for our own benefit—failing to see the danger that lies ahead. We are blinded by
our own sinfulness and pride—revelling in our selfishness and sin—seeking to
gratify every desire of our flesh—whilst turning away from God and His goodness
and peace that He has come to bring us.
"God says marriage is the only and best place for sexual union between man
and woman. But I don't care. I want this person--this relationship–this
experience--right now--at least, for now. How can I marry someone unless I've
lived with them beforehand? Who cares about marriage anyway? This way we are
free. Free to love whom we want and choose, whenever we want and choose.
Who cares that children don't know their parents and don't know from one minute
to the next where they're going to live or with whom. What matters most is what I
want--MY desires--MY needs. And if an unwanted pregnancy occurs...oh
well...we can just get an abortion--problem solved."
Jeremiah is, in essence, saying that “People don’t have the sense that God
gave geese.” We are, simply put, stupid. Stupid, ignorant, faithless, stubborn
people—intent on doing that which is bad for us (and for others)—in complete
disregard for what God has told us is good, right, and salutary.
Our society wildly endorses this kind of behaviour—sexual
immorality—greed—covetousness—etc.—as we are daily encouraged by the
world to give in to our every desire—our every whim—and satisfy the cravings of
our debase and sinful hearts—following our own passions that lead to hell and
damnation.
What is worse—even the church has now been caught up in this sick and
twisted mode of thinking. We have seen churches like the ELCA and others now
fully endorse the ordination of active homosexual and transgender clergy—in
complete violation of everything that God has stated in His Word and commanded
by His prophets/apostles. Sickeningly, there have even been churches that have
applauded the murder of unborn children, calling it "God's work."
These churches cry out that “all is well” and there is “peace with God” when
in reality there is no peace. For there can be no peace when people refuse to turn
from their sinful ways and repent. They offer a band-aid solution for an open
cancerous wound—infected and deadly—when false prophets announce that
because God is love all people can do what they wish—behave in any
way—believe whatever they want—and still go to heaven. “You want to sleep
around? Go ahead—God bless you!...You want to cheat on your taxes? Well, sure,
that’s clever of you! You want to sell unborn baby's organs for a profit--well,
they're only clumps of flesh, so go ahead...You want to skimp on your tithe to
church? Well, heck no! That’s where we draw the line.”
This is the kind of heresy that Jeremiah was preaching against and reacting
to in his own day. This heresy is still strong and prevalent among us here and now.
We—who have no sense—who are blinded by our own sinful flesh and pride—we
seek after our own vain pleasures and glories—at times even in the face of what we
know to be right and true—disregarding God and His Word.
Woe to us. Woe to those who stumble and fall—yet don’t have the sense to
get back up again—woe to those who strive to attain God’s eternal pleasures in
heaven apart from His grace and mercy in Christ. Woe to us all who would rather
continue on in our sin—running headlong towards the eternal fires of hell—than
repent and run to Jesus for forgiveness and mercy. And woe to any church that
would preach the same.
In the end—that is what God ultimately desires of us—that we turn away
from sin—and in so doing turn toward Him for our every good and His peace that
surpasses all human understanding. He leads and guides us by His Word in the
path that is right for us. And when we stray—when we fall—when we go our own
way—which we will—He seeks to bring us back to a right relationship with Him
through the shed blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ crucified on Calvary’s
cross. His Law smacks us upside the head and makes us finally realize what it is
that we have been doing. And His Gospel—that blessed good news of Jesus dead
for sinners—lifts us up and heals us from our sin and the death that plagues us.
Dear friends, it is Jesus Christ—and Him only—who can and has saved you
from the incredible stubbornness of your own sin. It is He who works through His
own Holy Spirit—who in turn works through the Word of God—to turn you from
your sin and bring you back to God in purity and faith. He plucks you from your
headlong dive into death and degradation—showing you not only the sinfulness of
your every thought, word, and deed, but showing you Christ crucified in your place
to grant you forgiveness, life, and joy.
The great peace the Lord has to give is found only in the crucified flesh of
the Lord Jesus. He who took all your sin into Himself and suffered and died for it
on Calvary’s cross is your Salvation and your every good. In the blessed
Sacraments, the righteousness and purity and forgiveness that He earned with His
suffering, death, and resurrection is bestowed upon you individually. His body and
blood enter into your mouths and cleanse you from all unrighteousness and
sin—transforming your hard hearts of sin and stupidity. For Christ is the wisdom
of God made flesh and He has come to make all things new—including you. As
we pray, "Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
Though we don’t often exhibit the good sense that God gave geese, yet in
His superior wisdom He has sent His only beloved Son Jesus to live the perfect life
that He demands in our stead. The Lord looks at you and sees not all of your
mistakes—your baggage—your bungling idiocy and sin—rather He sees
Jesus—the perfect and wise one who has done all things well—in your place. His
righteousness—His holiness—His purity—is now yours through faith in Him and
His sacrifice on the cross for all your sins.
And it is Jesus’ shed blood that covers all your sins and makes you
clean—turns you from the path of death and destruction—to the path of life
everlasting in His name. Because of Jesus the Lord God no longer remembers
your sin—rather He has thrown them into the Sea of Forgetfulness—separated
them from you as far as the East is from the West. Though your sins were as
scarlet—now you are as snow—pure and clean.
All this is God’s good and gracious will—poured out for you in the blessed
Sacraments—that have washed you clean and made you new through faith in
Jesus. This sweet knowledge comes not instinctively or through experience—but
is rather revealed in His holy Word, which is proclaimed into your ears, which is
poured out upon you in water, placed into your mouth in bread and wine, for the
forgiveness of all your sins. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.