In our scripture readings for today, the prophet Jeremiah is sent to the gates of Jerusalem as a weigh scale operator, to make sure that no one bears an over-limit burden on the Sabbath. Then, he is sent to the potter's house, for a lesson in the rights of clay to dictate what the potter makes out of it. And finally, Jeremiah is imprisoned in the stocks for the night, for his crime of trying to turn away God's wrath, from a regime which richly deserves it. In all of the readings today, we hear about a serious problem, a LACK of RESPECT....for God's AUTHORITY....

Where did it come from, that for almost a decade you could purchase flags and hats and bumper stickers with the slogan “naughty word beginning with F” - Trudeau? Justin Trudeau was the duly elected prime minister of Canada! Just because most of his votes came from Ontario and Quebec does not mean he was illegitimate! Was he disrespected because we hated his policies? Obviously his policies were chosen because they worked for many Canadians, just not us. Was he disrespected because of a perceived lack of intelligence? As far as I know, there is no minimum intelligence threshold for entering politics! Was he really disrespected that much because of his fancy socks? That can't be it, because I have already seen an upgrade driving around town – you can now get bumper stickers that say “naughty word beginning with F” - Carney, and his socks are normal. Where does this total, and intense, disrespect come from?....

The people of Judah were also in a state of disrespect as described by our readings today... a disrespect for God. They had received the ten commandments and the other laws from Moses on Mount Sinai about 800 years previously, including commandment number three, “keep the Sabbath day holy.” It seems like such a simple request, compared to the demands of the other gods the people of Judah were chasing, like the demand to burn your child alive at the high place of Topheth from last week. One day in seven...take a break! Enjoy time with your God and your family and your friends, and remember that time in the wilderness when God provided enough manna on the sixth day to feed you without having to work on the seventh. But no, the people insisted on moving their merchandise through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath, as a big middle-finger to the boss upstairs.

Another thing the people of Judah had forgotten about was the role of God in the forming of their nation. Until God's dramatic rescue and planting in the promised land, the “nation” of Judah was an extended family of oppressed slaves in Egypt. It was God's decision to create Judah...and 100 years prior, it was God's decision to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel. The people did not respect God's role, and to God's invitation to repent, the people gave this middle-finger, “It is no use! We will follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of our evil will.”

And then, there was the treatment of God's messengers, like Jeremiah. Time and time again, God sent prophets to warn the people. And instead of listening respectfully, if the regime did not like the message, the prophets were imprisoned, exiled, or killed. Mostly killed. Nothing flips a big middle-finger to God and his message like shooting the messenger.

Disrespect for authority. Toddlers telling their babysitters, “You're not the boss of me!” Students verbally and physically abusing their teachers. Violence against bureaucrats and elected leaders. Our culture, our society has a problem with authority. And I think it stems from the Garden of Eden, at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, where Adam and Eve told God, “you're not the boss of me! We're eating that apple.” We disrespect authority because it IS authority ...any authority, but especially the authority of God. We DO NOT RESPECT being told what to do, where to go, what to hear. If it's OUR idea, fine. But if it's an idea coming from some authority, that's when the stubbornness of our evil will kicks in.

Now we're grateful that Jesus told us later, “the sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath,” releasing the letter of the law, but we still don't want to be told to take a break. We're grateful for OUR nation of Canada and for God's role in its formation, but we still don't want to give God the freedom to do with Canada what he will – break it up, make it great, sell us as slaves to the Americans, or let the regime cook. We're grateful for the message of God's Word to us, and we give thanksgiving for the Word regularly, but we still don't want to listen to some chapters and verses of it. We're not as far from the disrespect displayed by Judah as we would like to think.

The messenger Jeremiah suffered the disrespect of a night in the stocks at the hands of the regime priest Pashhur, and Jeremiah's response was to rename him Magor-Missabib, Terror-all-around, and to pronounce vicious curses against him. But the messenger Jesus suffered a lot more disrespect than that! He suffered the disrespect of his friends, who disowned and deserted him. He suffered the disrespect of the regime priests, who concocted a death sentence for him out of nothing. Jesus suffered the disrespect of the people, who were talked into rioting to secure his death. And Jesus suffered the ultimate disrespect of hanging on a cross, subjected to taunting and ridicule, until he breathed his last. Did Jesus respond with calls for children to be given over to famine, for youth to be slain by the sword in battle, for wives to become childless and widowed, for the marauder to avenge his death? Precisely the reverse! Jesus FORGAVE his friends, the people, and even the regime, and through his death, Jesus turned back the wrath of God that threatened the nation of Judah. And through his resurrection, Jesus brought to his followers the opposite result to destruction by the marauder – disciples will live with the Father, forever. Jesus secures for his disciples what their disrespect could never merit – forgiveness and eternal life.

And that means, we have a new basis for respecting God – not authority, but gratitude. Thankful for the opportunity for forgiveness, we can listen. Thankful for the wisdom his messengers have given to us, we can learn. Thankful for the promise of eternal life, we can serve.

Heavenly Father, we repent of those times when we did not behave towards you respectfully. Help us to treat you, your people, and all your creation with the appropriate respect, in Jesus' name, amen.