Make it Big

Press releases from Christian publishing houses regularly promote Rev. So-and-So by claiming he or she is “widely acclaimed as the most dramatic preacher of our time.” Or someone may be touted as “the most sought-after speaker on today’s lecture circuit.” Several years ago, Newsweek magazine ran an article on contemporary preaching which included a list of the top twenty American preachers. Within weeks you could not read the names of most of those twenty folks without immediately reading also the line “Recently named by Newsweek one of the most influential preachers of the late-twentieth century!”

In fact, I remember receiving information about a theologian whose work I find particularly helpful. It begins… One survey found Barbara Brown Taylor to be the most respected woman theologian in North America. Baylor University listed her as one of the twelve most effective preachers in the English-speaking world. High praise and I don’t dispute any of it, but if she was called by the Holy Spirit to preach and teach in God’s name, why are we impressed and surprised by such accolades?

Then there was Frederick Buechner who died only a few years ago. Buechner was an American writer, novelist, poet, autobiographer, essayist, preacher, and theologian. He was an ordained Presbyterian minister and the author of thirty-nine published books. His work encompasses different genres, including fiction, autobiography, essays and sermons, and his career spanned more than six decades. Buechner's books have been translated into many languages for publication around the world. I have quoted him on many occasions as have many of my colleagues.

He studied under such renowned theologians as Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and James Muilenburg. Buechner said: I wanted to learn about Christ – about the Old Testament, which had been his Bible, and the New Testament, which was the Bible about him; about the history of the church, which had been founded on the faith that through him God had not only revealed his innermost nature and his purpose for the world, but had released into the world a fierce power to draw people into that nature and adapt them to that purpose ... No intellectual pursuit had ever aroused in me such intense curiosity, and much more than my intellect was involved, much more than my curiosity aroused. In the unfamiliar setting of a Presbyterian church, of all places, I had been moved to astonished tears which came from so deep inside me that to this day I have never fathomed them, I wanted to learn more about the source of those tears and the object of that astonishment.

Buechner's decision to enter the seminary had come as a great surprise to those who knew him. I think he even surprised himself, but clearly the Holy Spirit was at work in his life giving him words to share what he learned and came to know about Christ.

My own experience of Buechner comes from reading and reflecting on his books, especially Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC about which one reviewer said, Frederick Buechner puts the language of God, the Universe and the human spirit under his wry linguistic microscope. He was not a traditional pastor but by any measure he was successful in sharing his faith and the message of the gospel. He made it big in the theological world without a doubt.

When I was studying theology, I needed to depend on friends and family for support – not just encouragement but practicalities like food and shelter as well. One day I tried to express my appreciation to my brother, Mike and his wife – my friend – Kim. Kim laughed and joked that I could pay them back when “I made it big in the ministry.” I wonder if any of us will know when and if that happens. I guess, since I am officially retired at the end of August, it is too late now to “make it big in the ministry”.

These days, to make a name for yourself is seen by many as the equivalent of really making a life for yourself. It seems it doesn’t get any better than making it big. In such a time there are few questions more obvious than “Who wants to be a millionaire?” The assumed answer is “Everybody!” Remember the crazy success of the television show by the same name? It seemed nearly everyone wanted to be a millionaire, though I doubt that would be enough to buy a modest home these days! (And let’s not even talk about what the show “Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?" says about our culture!)

The book of Jeremiah is about someone who makes a big theological impact – someone who made it big in the ministry. It begins by establishing the prophet’s authority and credibility in ways appropriate to his context. Sometimes it seems as though this passage means more to preachers than to average churchgoers (whatever an average churchgoer might be). There is something about this pre-natal call to ministry – not to mention the lyric image of God’s filling the prophet’s mouth with the divine Word – that strikes a chord for those of us who preach. But since the church long ago began to recognize what is referred to as the priesthood of all believers – that all important cloud of witnesses – teaching that we are all indwelt by the Holy Spirit and so we are all authorized as witnesses to the gospel, this is actually a passage for everyone in the church – everyone of us.

To a certain extent everyone can identify with the reticence that we see again and again in scripture when it comes to being a herald of God’s Word: for Isaiah it was a claim of unclean lips – for Moses it was a claim of stuttering. For Jeremiah it was a claim of being but an inexperienced youth, too young to be taken seriously or to be given such a large task. The claims I hear most often in communities of faith these days is that people are either too busy or too tired or too old. I wonder if we aren’t just too afraid to speak up or too uncertain of our beliefs.

Jeremiah recognizes that the Lord knows him, has set him apart, and appointed him, but he is hesitant and insecure about his ability to do the task expected. Perhaps you similarly would say, “Not me God. I’m not the person you need. I’m not right for the job – I don’t want it. Really God, I wouldn’t know how to do it anyway.” Again, and again the people God taps for witness in the Bible and in the world today express doubts as to their ability to do it. And again, and again God tells them that such claims are beside the point – God does not typically tell these people that they have been chosen on account of their stellar natural abilities to preach, teach, or prophesize.

It is as though one biblical figure after the next says, “I’m not qualified,” to which God then replies, “Who ever said you were!? I am well aware of your inability to do this work. It all depends on me in the first place and if I give you what you need, then you are going to be clean out of excuses for not doing what I myself am empowering you to do. The power is mine, the message is mine, and the instructions you receive all along the way will be mine. So, let’s stop talking about you and start focusing on me and then we’ll go from there!”

Jeremiah experiences concerns and fears that plague all those who speak out in God’s name. He is afraid that his message will not be heard – will be irrelevant, lacking inspiration, that it will fail to reach the people because of his youth. He is equally afraid that his message will be heard – will be too radical, lacking in wisdom and caution, that it will unsettle people because of his passionate inexperience. God says, “Do not be afraid… I am with you.” (But perhaps we should hear a whisper in the background reminding Jeremiah that it is not his message – not his words – not his gifts, but God’s!)

Jeremiah lives in turbulent times. It is not surprising that Jeremiah is reluctant to be God’s prophet amidst the political, social and religious upheaval all around. His task is to proclaim divine truth – truth in the present circumstance – showing forth reality in the truth of God’s light – truth that political and religious leaders are not always happy to hear – truth that may be ignored and dismissed – truth that may unsettle and disturb. God’s truth.

We live in turbulent times just as Jeremiah did. We are caught in the struggles of political, social and religious upheaval. We are surrounded by conflict throughout our world and constant bickering with our closest neighbour. We experience the turmoil of economic affairs made even more challenging by natural disasters, pandemics, tariffs, and ongoing climate concerns. We live with the same fears of being ignored and discounted or being heard and responded to.

Just as we are all called to be disciples of Christ, we are all called to serve as prophets. We are all called to proclaim the gospel in a broken world. We are all usually as anxious about that call as Jeremiah was, but God says to us, “Do not be afraid.” God promises that divine truth is ultimately good and hope-filled and life-giving. When God calls us to speak, God fills each of our mouths with this divine Word – with divine truth.

Like Jeremiah we often protest our limited capacity to speak out – we express our fear of what we have been called to do, but God’s is not limited by our limitations and God’s comfort is that we don’t need to fear. We may well hesitate and resist, as Jeremiah did, yet hopefully we will stumble on in the confidence that God is with us. God gives encouragement to Jeremiah and promises to be with him for the tasks ahead. God lived our limitations and experienced our fears in Jesus, offering us the grace to know that God is with us always to deliver us and to help us fulfill the potential we may not even know is in us.

One day a fellow ministry candidate shared a personal experience of God within a small group I was part of… Dan talked about his student ministry in a small Ontario town. He had been there for a while and was having a particularly busy week. He seemed to have several activities on his plate, many people to visit, phone calls to respond to, administrative details to tie up. Suddenly it was late on Saturday afternoon and he had yet to begin his sermon for Sunday. He plugged away and got something written before worship the following morning, but he wasn’t happy with it. And he wasn’t happy with himself for leaving things so late. He was tired and stressed and not at all confident that he had anything meaningful to say in his sermon that Sunday morning. He was afraid that there was nothing for anyone to listen to and afraid that if someone did listen, the message wouldn’t be what they wanted to hear.

He focused as best he could and led worship for the regular summer faithful as well as those visitors in attendance. As people left after worship, he stood at the door to greet them – less afraid, but still anxious. Everyone seemed polite and cheerful until one young woman that he hadn’t seen before stopped to shake his hand.

“I got a lot out of your message this morning,” she said. And he nodded politely, saying thanks, hoping that the crowd would soon thin out so he could go home and get some much-needed sleep. But she didn’t let go of his hand. He looked up and she met his eyes.

“Your message really spoke to me,” she said. Dan muttered some reply. The woman still hung on to Dan’s hand, oblivious to the impatient noises of those behind her.

“You don’t understand,” she insisted. “I felt like you were speaking directly to me. Your sermon was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you so much.”

Dan shared his experience, not to encourage us to leave sermon writing to the last minute, not to be irresponsible or to trivialize what is means to proclaim divine truth – but to remind us that we are not alone in that work – that we are not alone in our fears and our business and our struggles. We are not alone in our lives. God puts words into our mouths. God will tell us what we need to do and say – God will send us where we need to go – God is with us wherever we are.

You, like Dan, may not always feel up to whatever God has called you to do. You may not be as prepared for worship or prayer or responding to questions or sharing your faith or looking after one another as you would like to be. You may be tempted to say, “I cannot do this” – whatever this is. The odds are too long. The task is too big. I’ll leave it to others. I am too small to make a difference for Christ.” When you are tempted in this way remember Frederick Buechner and how the Holy Spirit worked in him to create works of fiction and non-fiction that influenced so many over such a long career. Remember Barbara Brown Taylor for her effective preaching and writing so admired by your own Sabine Teetzel. Remember Jeremiah and God’s words of challenge and comfort.

These first verses in Jeremiah remind us that for true heralds of God’s Word, for anyone who truly wishes to speak God’s truth to a world in desperate need of that truth, it’s not about making it big or making a name for yourself. It’s about remembering that God is making it happen – no matter the gifts or impediments we perceive – no matter our strength or weakness – no matter our youth or age. It’s about moving out of the way so that God may be all in all. Remember that God comes to each of us saying, “Who ever said it was about you?” Be still and know that God is God. Amen