The Old Testament lesson for Sunday is from the prophet Jeremiah. Poor Jeremiah lived an excruciating life, because he foresaw the destruction that was coming upon his people, and God put a word of warning to the people on his lips.
Jeremiah didn't want to speak this word of warning. He would rather have just kept silent. But God prevailed upon him to speak; God "enticed" him; God overpowered him, and he had to speak.
"If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot."
It's not easy to say an uncomfortable truth, but sometimes it needs to be said. And we need to have people who will tell us the uncomfortable truth, especially when we don't want to hear it.
I don't know how many meetings I have sat through wondering when someone would ever bring up the "elephant in the living room," the obvious but unacknowledged truth that the meeting talks around but never mentions.
Often there is one person in the room who will be Jeremiah for the group and brashly say, "Why aren't we talking about....?" Then you can see the discomfort and anxiety rise as the group actually starts dealing with the hidden issues.
We need Jeremiahs. We need someone who will tell the truth. Otherwise how will we be honest with each other?
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