ENTICED BY GOD
Jeremiah 20:7-13

A sermon given by the Rev. Richard H. Taylor
June 19, 2005 / Pentecost

The prophet Jeremiah tells us he has been enticed by God. He's been called on to speak for God, and it has been difficult. He is often laughed at. He gets into trouble. In the section just before our reading, Jeremiah has so upset the chief priest in Jerusalem , that the chief priest had Jeremiah put in the stocks for a day. As he stood in the stockade people could pass by and smirk, make jokes, spit on him. They denounce him, whisper about him, plan to take revenge on him. his business of being a servant of the Lord is not always fun.

Yet Jeremiah says he has been “enticed” by God. His language is almost sexual, as if he has been seduced, tempted, pulled into something over which he has no control. Like a lover, Jeremiah talks about something within him "like a burning fire."

Have you ever felt a burning fire within?

Have you ever felt pulled into something that you can not control?

Have you ever felt enticed?

Is there something in God that is enticing, seductive, attractive like a fire within?

I actually suspect that some of us have been foolish for God. I even suspect that some of us have felt that fire within.

I remember discussing my finances with a person very close to me. When they found out how big my tax and social security payments were, they suggested that I cheat on my taxes. I could, for instance, not report what I was given for weddings or funerals. How would the IRS know? But I felt I had to obey the law. I was enticed by the rules.

I remember also when I was President of a housing complex that was under HUD rules. I had a board member who was a leading local politician tell me we didn't have to follow the HUD rules. “No one obeys the rules,” he said. I was enticed by the rules. What makes the law a seductress?

I have had parishioners tell me similar stories.

Some people have relatives who tell them they spend too much time in Church, give too much time to God's work.

I have known many people ridiculed because they tithe, give ten per cent of their income to the work of the Church. "What a stupid jerk," I have heard people say, often at more than a whisper, as they passed the tither.

And why would people be whistle blowers over corrupt corporate officials, or expose conspiracies or unsafe products? What entices them? What gives them such a burning fire to tell the truth? What about truth causes us to take ridicule and persecution? What about truth makes herself such an attractive enticer?

What are you on fire about? What burns inside of you? What causes you to do what you do each day?

We today, remember, honor some wonderful saints. We memorialize them. But I tell you, they were enticed. They were on fire about something.

Barbara Hird, I remember her Scottish tam-o-chanter, I remember the way she would regale me with stories, I remember that no matter what happened she seemed able to smile. I think she had a fire.

And Jack Hird, what a lover of family he was. And he was a person who knew the meaning of honor.

Dot Folsom, do you remember the way she loved snow? And gardens? And how many meals did she serve in this building?

Marshall Munson loved to sing, like so many in his family.

Elsie Simmons loved dancing, and animals.

Betty Haslehurst would write many a friendly note, and would enjoy serving a visitor a cup of tea. Like Jeremiah she had strong opinions.

And Millie Smith. Wasn't she on fire about Mary Magdalene? Like Jeremiah, didn't she have a fire that kept her talking. And what other than the enticement of a God, have kept her cataloguing books and documents in this building?

They were all on fire. They were all enticed. They all had soul.

So what is your fire? Where is God enticing you?

Why do you go to worship each week?

Why are your relatives so upset because you give so much away?

Why do we tithe?

Why are we so tied to our theology; led by our beliefs; pulled by fires within?

Why are some of us so set on goodness?

Allow it. God is an enticer. God is a seductress. There are things pulling you that you are not supposed to resist. While someone might say “find your bliss,” I suspect you already know it.

"O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed."

Amen.

Amen.