The lessons for each Sunday in the church year proclaim God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Also derived from a Sunday’s texts are lessons for the Christ-inspired and Christ-like life of God’s people. The comments here will help you find hunger-related threads –sermon starters – among the themes of this day’s texts. (We're presuming you have already done your exegetical work on the texts.) God bless your proclamation (and teaching) of what is most certainly true!

The plea for God’s action in Jeremiah 14 comes in response to a drought in the land. Drought is fitting imagery, considering the prophet finds a drought of faithfulness in Judah. The plea contains a confession of wrongdoing and announcement of trust in God’s saving power. But a note of rejection sounds in verse 10. God hears this plea coming from a people who love to wander, so God refuses to help. We would probably expect to hear a declaration of forgiveness and the reminder that God remembers their sin no more (Jeremiah 31:34). This rejection sounds uncharacteristic. Why won’t God intervene?

Rejection is a reality that many people face (whether the rejection is experienced in physical health, in relationships, or by those who find themselves at the fringes of economic opportunity). And to some, this response from God may not come as a surprise. But our hope bears witness to the new covenant God makes. In the wake of rejection, we affirm our trust in a God whose anger is only for a moment (Jeremiah 3:12; Psalm 30:5). To live as though rejection is the permanent reality or ultimate will of God is to refuse the new covenant that God promises- the covenant that is written on our hearts (Jer. 31:33). In Jeremiah 14 the rejection by God looks like punishment for the people’s fickle ways. Instead of focusing on a God whose standards are not met, our attention should turn toward the God who wants a relationship with us, and is affected by this relationship as well.

Both of these psalms employ the imagery of a dwelling to express hope in God. Psalm 84 waxes poetic on the beauty of God’s temple, and Psalm 46 identifies God as a refuge and strength, and keeper of the city. This conveys a sense of stability and provision—the care of God is trustworthy and complete. In Psalm 46 God actively works to dismantle warfare, which is one of the root causes of displacement, hunger, and poverty. This psalm not only expresses hope for a distant day where God will banish these atrocities, but acknowledges God’s victory in the present. Martin Luther, inspired by this psalm, witnesses to God’s action in A Mighty Fortress, writing, “Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.” The psalmists stake their trust in God’s victory, so sure of it that we are only asked to be still (Ps. 46:10), and where even a sparrow finds a home (Ps.84:3). How can our worshiping communities be a living witness to God’s sure triumph over war, displacement, and other forces that seek to erode safety and stability?

The contrasting images of the proud Pharisee and humble tax-collector were probably enough to flip stereotypes on their heads. The first verse of this passage portends the conflict: the audience includes “some who trusted in themselves…” The characters illustrate that where trust is placed matters. This parable follows Jesus’ parable of the unjust judge, where he ends by wondering if the Son of Man will find faith on earth. Just what kind of faith is answered in the story of the Pharisee and tax collector—there will be some who have faith in themselves, and some who have faith in God. The story is just as much a call to place our trust in God as it serves as a caution about our judgment. It is a story that directs our attention to our own need, lest we put ourselves in the position of healer. This serves as a fitting reminder for all who seek to do charitable work, especially when as we tell the story of the work we do.

There is some irony in the statement by the anonymous Jews who claim that as children of Abraham they have never been slaves to anyone. Whether John does this to illustrate their ignorance of their own history and time in Egypt, or whether he has another purpose is not central to the dialogue. Instead, the contrasting images slave and free stand out in this passage. Jesus makes it clear that freedom is found in him. This may seem to be an existential freedom whereas the freedom we commonly seek (freedom from poverty and hunger, disease, and oppression) is of a different sort. But put into the context of Jesus’ ministry we can hardly separate the two. This passage invites us to reflect on what kind of freedom we tend to emphasize in our congregational work and messaging.