Jesus reads from the scriptures and is the talk of the town. At first, Jesus is seen as the hometown boy made good. Then something changes as if the people begin to think, “But he is only a carpenter’s son!” In the first lesson for today, the prophet Jeremiah recognizes the challenge of speaking a prophetic word and questions whether he is too young to take on God’s commission saying, “But I am only a boy.” When we hear God’s Word do we ever object? When we hear God’s call do we ever say, “But I am only ___” and fill in the blank with our own excuse? We might say, “But I am only one person” or “But we are only one congregation.” Today’s texts remind us that there are no ifs, ands, or buts about our call, God’s grace, or Jesus’ fulfillment of scripture. As we gather for worship on this Annual Meeting Sunday, we will join in a special litany to remind us of all this. When we gather for our hybrid meeting at noon, hopefully we will see that despite any objections or obstacles, despite any bashfulness or buts, God is calling us into mission to live and share God’s grace with all, a grace we see fulfilled in Jesus Christ! So leave your ifs, ands, and buts at home, and help us “build and plant” (Jeremiah 1:10) for the “fulfillment” of God’s kingdom!
The scriptures for this Sunday are Psalm 19, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, and Luke 4:14-21. The songs for this Sunday are #512 “Lord, Let My Heart Be Good Soil”, #583 “Take My Life” vs. 1 & 3, and #576 “We All Are One in Mission”
Image: Fulfilled in Your Hearing by Jan Richardson (torn paper). Copyright © Jan Richardson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of the artist