WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED

A Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
February 11, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry

Jeremiah 17:5-10
Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse-- who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.(New Revised Standard Version)

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah began his ministry in Jerusalem around 627 BCE and he witnessed the final years of Jerusalem before it fell to Nebuchadrezzar in 597 BCE. He had a very difficult job because he had to declare a lot of warnings to the people of God. For this reason, he is known as the weeping prophet. In this prophetic statement, he declares a timeless curse and a blessing to the people of God of every time and place. I am going to paint the illustration that he gives us as I talk about it in hopes that this visual can bring the message home, so it can make a difference in our lives today.

First, he says “Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord.” In some way or another, this applies to all of us. We so often place our trust in things other than God. These are all unreliable things to trust. They are like branches of a tree without root, without stability. When trouble comes, they cannot help us. Let’s explore some of these branches as I paint them.

STRENGTH
We try to rely upon our own strength. Jeremiah calls it “flesh”. It might make sense to trust in our strength to protect ourselves, but even the most strong body builder in the world cannot save himself with his strength alone.

INTELLECT
In our technological world, intellect seems a more important commodity than just strength. We try to think our way through life. And while thinking can do a lot for us, it cannot save us.

SENSE OF HUMOR
Many rely upon a sense of humor to get through life. Laugh it off. Joke with people and make them feel comfortable around you, that’s all it takes. Jeremiah reminds us, though, that nothing but God can be truly trusted.

POSITIVE THINKING
Sometimes, we turn to positive thinking to get us through this difficult life, to make it through the desert. I love positive thinking and I’ve read many books on the topic but it is a trap to think that it can save us. The idea that if you just think about things the right way, if you just put a positive spin on it you’ll be fine, is a myth. No matter how “right” our thoughts may be, we are saved by the grace of God alone.

FINANCES
I think this is one of the biggest traps of all. Every bit of advertising tells you that you need money to be secure. Our culture values it so much that we tend to think that finances can save us. But not even the best 401K plan or ROTH IRA can get us through the deserts we will surely face.

OTHER PEOPLE
What would we do without our family and friends? We love them and appreciate them and there is no doubt that they help us. But this is another trap, another empty branch to think that people alone can save us. If we can just find the right friends, marry the right person, have the perfect children, then we’ll be fine. This line of thinking doesn’t hold up. The perfect friends, spouse, and children simply don’t exist.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
As a culture, we put a lot of eggs into this basket. Science keeps finding more cures for the diseases of the planet. They say that if this keeps up, life expectancy in the future can extend well beyond 100 years, maybe even 200 at some point. And with our technological advances, we have more and more gadgets to do our work. But sometimes these good innovations tend to produce more problems than they solve. Now that we can genetically alter a human being, for example, is it a good or ethical thing to do? We simply cannot trust these things alone to save us.

HUMAN INSTITUTIONS
We love to trust our human institutions. But even the best schools or systems of government cannot save us. Not even the church can save us. Though we do God’s work together in the church, we are human beings and we don’t always get it right. If we trust in the church, it can become an idolatry. God alone deserves our worship.

Not one of these things can help us when we encounter the deserts of our lives. They are like this tree without roots, without future. Why do we think we can put our trust in anything but God? It simply does not work.

But the prophet goes on to offer a blessing:

“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, says Isaiah, whose trust is the Lord. Notice the repetition for emphasis. It is about trusting in the Lord. Those who do so shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.”

When we trust in the Lord, our trees send out spiritual roots to give us support, to give us real stability and nourishment. As Jeremiah says, our roots are like those of trees planted by streams of water. Then when the storms and droughts come, we do not not wither or perish.

In my painting, you see there are streams flowing underground and the roots spread out deep into these waters. This is a powerful image of those who trust in the Lord.

It is like the song we are about to sing, “We’re like a tree that’s planted by the water, we shall not be moved.” When we trust in God above all else then no storm can move our faith. We are firmly planted.

May Jeremiah’s image give us inspiration to be like this tree, rooted and nourished by God alone. We shall not be moved!

Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

© Laura E. Gentry 2007


(Above) Pastor Laura Gentry in the midst of preaching and painting