This last Sunday we heard about the prophet Isaiah’s life-changing encounter with God. Here’s the scoop: Isaiah had a vision of Israel’s God, enthroned in the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple. This radical experience causes Isaiah to immediately cry out, “Woe is me! I am lost, for I have unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. And my eyes have seen YHWH the Almighty” (Isa. 6:5). I imagine that moment must have been terrifying. To come into direct contact with the Holy God and consequently have your self-perception and the perception of your world so drastically altered... Probably not so fun.

Friends, we lifted up a few names of people who risked their lives while speaking up against the injustices they witnessed or experienced themselves. During this month I will share with you stories of persons whose stories are less known but their contributions were equally meaningful. One such name is Claudette Colvin -- a civil rights activist in Alabama during the 1950's.

So, this week during worship we heard about Jeremiah’s calling to be a prophet. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5). Jeremiah lived in difficult times, politically speaking. He ministered from around 627 BCE, during the reign of King Josiah over Judah (considered one of Judah’s last good kings), until after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian Empire and the exile of so many Judeans in 587-86 BCE (This was the same Babylonian exile I wrote about last week.) Jeremiah’s prophetic career would involve crying out against Judah’s infidelity to its covenant with God and warn of God’s judgment. (Long story short, the people wouldn’t listen very well, and the exile would happen anyway.)