Jeremiah 1:4-10 and Luke 13:10-17

Another Old Testament prophet enters into our company this week. This young Jeremiah seem to be a shy boy and he may well have found it hard to speak in public. Certainly he felt he had no authority to - as he was only young! But God helps Jeremiah see that power comes from Him, that is God, not from any personal qualities. He speaks these words of intimate knowledge and tenderness. The word ‘formed’ holds a special place in his vocation and in the vocation of all who follow Jesus. It implies an inner depth and strength which is drawn upon in harder times when that vocation is tested and queried.

To be called a Christian takes on the vocation of Baptism - this naturally means we become dissenters. Baptism is a call to dissension towards the ways of the world that are contrary to the ways of God. Jeremiah was a dissenter - to those around him his message would buck the cultural norms and platitudes. Martin Luther King Jr called for people to join his ‘maladjustment’ to some things in our world - mirroring the tension we saw last week of Jesus message bring division. This maladjustment to sin is a timely and prophetic angle that needs to be recovered in our times. To be ‘maladjusted’ in this way however means we need to find a depth to our lives founded on an identity that is shaped by more than just the environment we find ourselves within. We need to have our identity firmly in Christ - whose one image is formed within us. This will allow a ministry that at times needs to be one that plucks up and pulls down, as well as building and planting.

In the face of rising opposition to Jesus he acts in a way that draws upon the inner strength of his own calling. He is not afraid to challenge and deal with the unjust and sick ways of treating people. The message of the kingdom will always divide when there are people who remain obstinate towards it and stuck in the past. Jesus sets this poor woman free and you can imagine the dancing and rejoicing that follows. This woman’s identity is reaffirmed too. She is a daughter of Abraham - set free today. She, as a person, has so much more worth than a mere concern for observing of the law. This woman is set free.

Yet his opponents think that he cannot possibly be from God due to his constant breaking of the law. But conversely this passage show that he is from God because hope has been sown, healing has been given, joy has been experienced. The old rigid and tired system has been pulled down and a kingdom seed has been planted.