Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Original Manuscript:
In all my time working with kids, particularly at camps or at school, they will occasionally get into fights with each other. And I've found it's usually the same thing that happens. One kid hits another and the other hits back.
God will take care of the rest. God will be with Jeremiah in his trouble. And when the trouble gets really bad, God will be there to deliver Jeremiah out of its grasp.
Sometimes the kid who hits first does it lightly, at least more so than the kid who hits back. Sometimes it's meant just as teasing. And sometimes it's something more malicious like bullying or terrorizing.
So it makes sense how the kid who is hit will react, right? In this world, if someone hits you, you've got to hit them back harder. You've got to make sure that person never does this to you again. And you've got to make sure no one else ever gets any sort of ideas.
So it's easy to sympathize with the responders. But over the years of working with kids I've noticed a pattern. And it's this pattern that I share with them.
When you hit someone back, then that person hits you back. And then you hit that person back. And on and on in a never ending cycle.
So what's the way to end the cycle? Usually it's by having a stern lecture with the original perpetrator. And then making the kids get together and shake hands. And sometimes keeping an eye out for known trouble.
Nothing good ever comes from the kids taking matters into their own hands. In fact, it often makes things worse. Instead, it's better to let the proper people handle it.
This is the case for all of us when it comes to vengeance. Often times there are things that happen which make us angry. This is the situation Jeremiah found himself in. Time and time again he tried to tell his fellow Israelites what it was that God wanted. And time and time again the Israelites failed to hear. And they even persecuted him for delivering God's word.
Jeremiah is filled with a righteous anger. And he wants retribution on these people.
God reminds him that retribution does not belong to Jeremiah. It belongs to God, and God alone. What God requires of Jeremiah is that he deliver God's word.
So it makes sense how the kid who is hit will react, right? In this world, if someone hits you, you've got to hit them back harder. You've got to make sure that person never does this to you again. And you've got to make sure no one else ever gets any sort of ideas.
So it's easy to sympathize with the responders. But over the years of working with kids I've noticed a pattern. And it's this pattern that I share with them.
When you hit someone back, then that person hits you back. And then you hit that person back. And on and on in a never ending cycle.
So what's the way to end the cycle? Usually it's by having a stern lecture with the original perpetrator. And then making the kids get together and shake hands. And sometimes keeping an eye out for known trouble.
Nothing good ever comes from the kids taking matters into their own hands. In fact, it often makes things worse. Instead, it's better to let the proper people handle it.
This is the case for all of us when it comes to vengeance. Often times there are things that happen which make us angry. This is the situation Jeremiah found himself in. Time and time again he tried to tell his fellow Israelites what it was that God wanted. And time and time again the Israelites failed to hear. And they even persecuted him for delivering God's word.
Jeremiah is filled with a righteous anger. And he wants retribution on these people.
God reminds him that retribution does not belong to Jeremiah. It belongs to God, and God alone. What God requires of Jeremiah is that he deliver God's word.
God will take care of the rest. God will be with Jeremiah in his trouble. And when the trouble gets really bad, God will be there to deliver Jeremiah out of its grasp.
Paul also reminds us that it's not our job to avenge ourselves. That is the job of the Lord. He quotes Deuteronomy, "Vengence is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."
In fact Paul tells us to go further. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Ultimately, as always, Jesus is our chief example of overcoming evil with good. In the Gospel this morning, Jesus tells His disciples about what is to come. That there are those who wish to do Him harm.
Ultimately, as always, Jesus is our chief example of overcoming evil with good. In the Gospel this morning, Jesus tells His disciples about what is to come. That there are those who wish to do Him harm.
That there are those who will kill Him.
And when Peter wants to rise up. When he says he won't let this happen, Jesus rebukes him.
Jesus is the ultimate example of not taking violence into our own hands, but allowing God's will to be done. Because God is the kind of God who can take violence against even Himself and use it for good. In the case of the crucifixion, he used it for the salvation of all.
It's easy for us to want to take matters into our own hands, especially when evil has been done to us. But that is not our role, our purpose. We are meant to do God's will, to spread His word and message to those who would hear it.
One of the greatest sins is taking matters into our own hands and not trusting God. That is in essence what Adam and Eve did in the Garden when they decided to take the matter of good and evil, of life and death into their own hands. When they chose not to trust God's word but to act how they, not God, thought was best.
We're not meant to stand idly by, but neither are we meant to avenge the wrongs done to us ourselves. That is best left to God. Otherwise we'll find ourselves in the never ending cycle of violence and hatred. Otherwise we will find ourselves making things worse.
Instead, we are called to be like the prophets who have come before us, whether ancient or modern. We are called simply to present God's word and to do His will for others. We are messengers for the Good News of Love and Hope that we have in our Lord and Savior. We can leave the vengeance to God to deal with. Because only He can take it and transform it. Only He can take something as ugly as sin and hate and transform it into a means to save us all.
And when Peter wants to rise up. When he says he won't let this happen, Jesus rebukes him.
Jesus is the ultimate example of not taking violence into our own hands, but allowing God's will to be done. Because God is the kind of God who can take violence against even Himself and use it for good. In the case of the crucifixion, he used it for the salvation of all.
It's easy for us to want to take matters into our own hands, especially when evil has been done to us. But that is not our role, our purpose. We are meant to do God's will, to spread His word and message to those who would hear it.
One of the greatest sins is taking matters into our own hands and not trusting God. That is in essence what Adam and Eve did in the Garden when they decided to take the matter of good and evil, of life and death into their own hands. When they chose not to trust God's word but to act how they, not God, thought was best.
We're not meant to stand idly by, but neither are we meant to avenge the wrongs done to us ourselves. That is best left to God. Otherwise we'll find ourselves in the never ending cycle of violence and hatred. Otherwise we will find ourselves making things worse.
Instead, we are called to be like the prophets who have come before us, whether ancient or modern. We are called simply to present God's word and to do His will for others. We are messengers for the Good News of Love and Hope that we have in our Lord and Savior. We can leave the vengeance to God to deal with. Because only He can take it and transform it. Only He can take something as ugly as sin and hate and transform it into a means to save us all.