2022.08.21 | Kid Prophets
“Kid Prophets”
Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring
Eden United Church of Christ
Hayward, California
August 21, 2022
Jeremiah is one of the best known and most important prophets in the Judeo-Chritsian faith; and yet the facts that he was called to this role, and that he embraced it were never gauranteed.
In today’s reading, Jeremiah explains that he was the son of Hilkiah, a priest from Anathoth, a village in the hill country located a day’s walk north of Jerusalem. He also explained that he was a prophet from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest of the twelve tribes of Israel, and that he was a descendent of a priest whom King Solomon had banished from Jerusalem for supporting his rival.
In sum, Jeremiah was a country bumpkin with weak credentials, who was called to go down to the big city and tell the rich and powerful what his forebears had already said, and that they did not want to hear.
Specifically, young Jeremiah was called to scold King Solomon for worshiping foreign gods, and to insist that the king follow the first commandment: “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other Gods before me.”
Jeremiah was also called to criticize the High Priests for all of their “chancel prancing,” rather than promoting social justice, and to warn King Solomon that unless he and the High Priests repented and changed their ways, the nation was doomed. (Jer. 7 & 8)
II
The way that biblical historians tell the story, the King of Judah and the High Priests poo-pooed Jeremiah’s warnings, and the judgment he warned about came to pass.
Israel was captured by the Assyrians. Judah was conquered by the Babylonians. The City of Jerusalem and Temple were destroyed. And, most of the survivors were marched off to Babylon where they spent the next forty years working as indentured servants.
Jeremiah was an unlikely prophet serving in a difficult time. He was called as a youth from humble origins to speak truth to powerful people, who didn’t want to hear what he had to say.
Who would have wanted Jeremiah’s job?
Perhaps no one. Not even Jeremiah. So it’s understandable that he tried to bow out of the assignment.
Like many reluctant prophets before him, Jeremiah explained to God that he had the wrong credentials--that he was too young for the job--and that as a result no one would listen to him.
God did not back down. Instead, God said, “Go where I send you, and say what I tell you to say. Don’t be afraid. I will deliver you.”
The book of Jeremiah illustrates that the prophet did as God commanded, and that God kept God’s word.
And, the reason that you and I are here reading and reflecting on Jeremiah’s words is because Jeremiah’s prophecies were fulfilled.
So that we can better appreciate the irony in this fact, I’ll provide a bit more background about Jeremiah’s historical and cultural context.
III
Jeremiah’s calling and his success was most unlikely, because he was a child growing up in a culture in which children had very little standing. In ancient Israel, children belonged to their parents, and were expected to do what they said without hesitation.
Children gained value as they matured, developed knowledge and skills, and contributed to the family household, and eventually married, produced children and contributed to the local economy. But until children reached the age of majority, they were to be seen and not heard from.
Despite the nominal value that youth held in ancient Israel, the Biblical record is clear that Jeremiah was a “kid prophet” and that other youth, such as Samuel and David, were also called to do great things for God.
Remember Samuel? He was the child who his parents dedicated to the Temple and who was raised by the High Priest Eli. God called Samuel in the night, “Samuel, Samuel…” The boy rushed to Eli eager to respond to his mentor’s wishes. Eli explained that God was calling him to serve as a Judge over Israel, instead of the High Priest’s sons who were corrupt and unfit for the job.
Also remember the boy named David, and his five little stones? David stepped for King Saul with his slingshot, and defeated the Philistinian’s giant, Goliath, and he eventually became king over Israel and Judah and is remembered today as the greatest king in the history of the nation.
The importance of children and youth was also affirmed by Jesus. The general significance of children was affirmed in the synoptic gospel accounts of Jesus’ blessing of the children.
Remember the phrase that I recite every time we celebrate the baptism of a child. It goes like this: some of Jesus’ followers tried to hold them back, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 19:13, Mk. 10:13, and Lk. 18:15)
In the gospel of John, we learn of a particular child who was called to help Jesus feed the five-thousand. The disciples tried to shun their responsibility to provide hospitality for the crowd, but Jesus insisted that they feed the masses. He turned to a boy who shared all that he had, five loaves and two fishes (John 6:5-15), and everyone was fed, and there were leftovers.
These gospel accounts remind us that in Jesus’ eyes each person, including children, is called to fulfill a divine purpose; so the question isn’t whether children are called to ministry, but whether they embrace their calling and whether any adults around them affirm their respective callings.
IV
Today’s passage has been important to me since I was a youth. I remember reading and discussing the text at a youth retreat back in the day. I remember how important it was for me to discover that God called youth in ancient times to cut through the crap and say and do what needed to be said and done.
When I accepted my call to the Christian ministry at age 14, many people patted my hand and said things like, “That’s sweet, dear, but you’ll change your mind by the time you’re an adult.” Each time I heard those negative comments, I hearkened back to today’s passage, and said something like, “Well, that’s what people told Jeremiah, so at least I’m in good company.”
Fast forward to August 2022. Let’s just say, I no longer think of myself as a youth. Rather than claiming the text as one that affirms my calling, I hear it as a challenge to consider what God is doing in and through the young people in our midst. As a result, I’m trying to pay better attention to how the world is looking to our youth.
For insights into Gen Z’s social and political concerns, I turned to a blog post on the Annie E. Casey Foundation web page that was posted in April 2021. The post is based on research funded by the Pew Charitable Trust. According to the Pew Research Center’s findings, members of GenZ share five major concerns:
Access to quality affordable healthcare
Access to quality mental health care for themselves and others
Completing their college educations, though 40% report that their education has been disrupted by the pandemic
Achieving financial stability by obtaining well-paying jobs, and avoiding the accumulation of significant debt
Advocating for social change by achieving
Racial equity (90% support BLM), and
Successfully addressing climate change
These are some very timely and serious concerns. I don’t think I was expecting to find such “heavy” topics in a blog post, but there they are. These are the types of things that are on the minds of our teens and young adults. These concerns seem like very grown up topics to me.
On the one hand, I wish our young people were able to enjoy the type of extended adolescence that the generation ahead of them did. But on the other hand, these Gen Z concerns give me tremendous hope for their generation and all our generations that are still on this side of the grass.
Rather than discounting these Gen Z kid prophets, I find myself wondering how quickly we can get them through college and hand them the keys to our earthly kingdoms. God knows that the world would be a much healthier place if we were all working together to address these concerns. Amen.