Shooting at the Hero in the Story- Bonhoeffer on Jeremiah

The following is taken from Eric Metaxas's book on Bonhoeffer and tells about Bonnie's famous Jeremiah sermon.  It is a good reminder that once we are purchased by God we are His to do with whatever He wants, regardless of human comforts, prejudices, what others think, what we think, etc. . . so no matter what you are going through just now take courage from the below.

"The picture that Bonhoeffer painted of Jeremiah was one of unrelieved gloom and drama.  God was after him, and he could not escape.  Bonhoeffer referred to the 'arrow of the Almighty' striking down its 'hunted game.' But who was the 'hunted game?'  It was Jeremiah!  But why was God shooting the hero of the story? . . . Jeremiah is 'a prisoner and he has to follow.  His path is prescribed.  It is the path of the man whom God will not let go, who will never be rid of God.' The sermon began to get seriously depressing.  What was the young preacher getting at? Perhaps he was reading too many books.  A little fresh air and fun now and again, that's what a man wants!  As for Jeremiah, he could certainly use a little cheering up.  But surely things would begin to look up for him soon!  They continued listening, hoping for an upturn in Jeremiah's fortunes.

But alas, Pastor Bonhoeffer delivered an unrelenting homiletic bummer.  He marched further downhill.

    'This path will lead right down into the deepest situation of human powerlessness.  The follower becomes a laughingstock, scorned and taken for a fool, but a fool who is extremely dangerous to people's peace and comfort, so that he or she must be beaten, locked up, tortured, if not put to death right away.  That is exactly what became of this man Jeremiah, because he could not get away from God.'

If Bonhoeffer wanted to ensure that his congregation would never dream of following God too closely, this sermon was just the ticket.  He then spoke of God driving Jeremiah 'from agony to agony.'  Could it get worse?

And Jeremiah was just as much flesh and blood as we are, a human being like ourselves.  He felt the pain of being continually humiliated and mocked, of the violence and brutality others used against him.  After one episode of agonizing torture that had lasted a whole night, he burst out in prayer: 'O Lord, you have enticed me and I was enticed, you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed.'

Bonhoeffer's congregation was lost.  God maneuvered his beloved servant into imprisonment and agony? Somewhere along the line they must have missed a crucial sentence!  But they hadn't.

Bonhoeffer was beginning to understand that he was God's prisoner, that like the prophets of old, he was called to suffer and be oppressed--and in that defeat and the acceptance of that defeat, there was victory.  It was a sermon that applied to anyone with ears to hear, but few could actually hear it.