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Who is fit to speak for God? This is not an academic or philosophical question. It is the question which the church must ask again and again as it chooses its pastors and leaders. In our denomination a person who wants to be a pastor has to go through a lengthy process to become recognized and ordained by the church. (Modify this paragraph to fit your denomination’s practices.) That lengthy process includes meeting with several committees for extended periods of time over several years. It also includes taking a specialized course of study at a seminary to learn in depth the Bible, our theology, our heritage, pastoral care, and many other practical aspects of leadership in the church. A person who successfully completes this long process is recognized as a person who can speak for God from our pulpits. Who is fit to speak for God? Our pastors, you say. But how can you be sure? Or for that matter how can the church itself be sure? Does even this long process of learning and maturation in Christian faith qualify a person to speak for God? In our lesson today we have a struggle between two prophets who both claimed they spoke for God. One was a preacher who seemed to be preaching “hell and damnation.” He told the people that they were going to be led into exile because they refused to listen to God’s warnings and repent and meanwhile continued on their own jolly good way of sinful living. The other preacher proclaimed his message emphasizing the positive events he believed would soon take place. He said he knew things had been rough when the Babylonians had marched in and cleaned out the temple “lock, stock and barrel,” but he assured the people that if they had a little patience and began to think positively, within two years their travail would be over. Now, to which of these two preachers would you like to listen? Which one do you think would give you more hope and reason to go on living in a very difficult time? Which one of these preachers, therefore, must be the one who speaks for God? If your answer is the second one, you are wrong, as you probably have already guessed. This one was Hananiah. He was the people’s choice because he seemed to bring them some hope. The one who spoke for God was the first one -- Jeremiah. The words of his prophecy make up one of the books of the Old Testament. Now let me ask you again: Who is fit to speak for God? If the majority of us had picked Hananiah and are wrong, how can we be so sure that we can really judge the qualifications of any person to speak for God? There is an answer for us. It is right here in the text. But it is not an obvious answer, one in fact that many of us as church leaders, pastors, and lay persons in the church today may miss. Perhaps it can best be explained by considering the story of Hank. Hank as a young man was full of much enthusiasm for God. He decided he wanted to be a pastor. He went to seminary and graduated with many commendations for his work and personality for ministry. He went to his first parish and did not disappoint those who had great expectations for him. If there was ever a pastor who could have been said to have begun his ministry with the color and passion of a deep red rose, it was Hank. In a few years after having led the congregation to much growth in size and faith, he moved on to another congregation. This was a large one with greater challenges, but those did not stop Hank. He continued to grow as an outstanding young pastor in his church. Soon there was a third parish, a large one with a staff ministry and Hank came as associate, but moved up to be the senior pastor when the pastor he was working with retired. Something started to happen to Hank. Nobody noticed it much at first, but he just wasn’t quite as prompt at getting things done and keeping appointments as he once had been. He started spending more time on the golf course and at the race track than he did preparing his sermons or visiting the hospitalized. Gradually it got worse. His closest friends spoke to Hank about it out of concern for him. His bishop did likewise. But Hank went on his merry way. Soon there was a committee from the bishop’s office investigating him. Hank was given the opportunity to make changes or resign. He chose to resign. The community determined that the way Hank had conducted himself in the whole affair was so unbecoming of one who was ordained, so he was stripped of his ordination. The next five years of Hank’s life were ones of continuing descent into the depths of life. He lost his marriage, his family, and most of his earthly possessions. He refused all help. He became a very lonely man. One day on a visit to his doctor, his doctor came in to Hank’s room visibly upset. “I have very bad news,” he said. He proceeded to tell Hank that he had a rare, degenerative muscle disease which would probably take his life in five to 10 years, and even the time he had left would be a time of great pain and probable disability. It was as if Hank had been jolted back to reality. He decided to make amends to all of the people he had wronged. He continued this course with the kind of enthusiasm with which he had begun his ministry. And he went and asked for his ordination back, but the church wouldn’t give it to him. Hank started to write about his life and experiences and his developing terminal illness. He decided to see if his experiences could help others who were facing what he was facing. So he started to counsel persons who faced death or great losses. He formed support groups. He started making speeches telling of his experience. Against the wishes of the bishop, some of the churches he had served invited him back to preach. His messages were so stirring that other churches began to hear of him and invited him to speak, too. Soon Hank was reaching more people than he had ever reached in his previous ministries. He spoke with great conviction of how he had discovered God’s peace and power through the pain and degeneration which was happening in his body. People were so moved because they had no doubts in seeing and hearing Hank that he spoke about what he knew was true. Hank still had some of his outward vigor and handsome qualities. He had become a pale rose, but he still spoke with passion for the God he knew and loved. Who is fit to speak for God? We in the church will never have an easy answer for this question if we seek to answer it honestly by faith. Listen carefully to all you hear in the church. Not everyone you hear in this place speaks with the same passion from the heart of God. Not every message which is from the heart of God may be a message you want to hear. Jeremiah and Hank remind us of the truth of both of these statements. The rose paled in Hank’s life, but it was still a rose. Not red, but still a proper symbol of the love and commitment which is ours from the heart of God. Think of Hank when you see a fading rose. Then know that God’s power can come to you even through messengers whose messages have previously been rejected. You are never too pale for God to listen to you one more time. Amen.