A Young Prophet | Jeffrey O. Smith

The Lord called Jeremiah to be a great prophet when he was still young. Even when a child is still young, the Lord is preparing him or her for their life to eternity. Parents also have a special role to help prepare their children for life, and baptism is a symbol that they want to work with the Lord in that preparation.
NOTE: Includes the baptism of Asher Bradley Cranch.

Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-10; Arcana Coelestia 5202, 10298[2]

Minister: Rev. Jeffrey O. Smith

Delivered April 26th, 2026 at the Bryn Athyn Cathedral in Bryn Athyn, PA.

The Bryn Athyn Church is a congregation of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, located in Bryn Athyn, PA. We are committed to helping each other draw closer to the Lord God Jesus Christ through lives of love and useful service, guided by the Old and New Testaments and the Heavenly Doctrine for the New Church (contained in the theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg). Please join us for worship on Sunday mornings; services and times can be found at brynathynchurch.org.

Transcript

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Our first reading this morning comes from the first chapter of the book of Jeremiah. Then the word of the Lord came to me, Jeremiah, saying, Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. I gave you as a prophet to the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth. But the Lord said to me, Do not say, I am a youth, for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set this day, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant. And reading further from the work Arcana Celestia, sometimes translated by its English English name, Secrets of Heaven. The person with whom good is present is undergoing rebirth every moment. From earliest childhood to the final stage of his life in the world, and after that forever. This is happening to him not only interiorly, but also exteriorly. And this rebirth involves processes that are amazing. From earliest childhood, a person's understanding and will are being formed gradually. In this way, he is made a human being, and the kind of human being he becomes is determined by the character of those two powers of the mind that have been formed in him. The understanding is formed by means of truths, and the will by means of forms of good, so much so that his understanding is nothing other than a mass of ideas such as are related to truths, and his will nothing other than an affection for things such as are called good. Amen. Here and our readings, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. Amen. Today our reading from the Lord's Word was about Jeremiah's call. Jeremiah was a great prophet. He spoke to kings, to leaders of Israel, to great people. And when the Lord called him, he was young. And he knew it. And he said, I'm too young. The Lord said to him, Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid, just do what I say and say what I say. The Lord told him, Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you. So before he was even a thought, before he was being formed in his mother's belly, the Lord was using the people around there to prepare for him. The thing is that goes for us also. Before we were even being formed in our mothers' bellies, the Lord was using the people around us before we were there to prepare for us. You are here because the Lord prepared for you to be here. And the Lord knew you before time even started. A word to the young ones in the room, whoever thinks they are young ones. You're never too young to listen to the Lord. Don't, don't ever say, When I'm older, I'll be good. Don't do that. Don't say, tomorrow, I'll start trying. Don't do that. Ask some of the older ones in the room and they'll say, Don't do that. Start now. The Lord calls you when you are young. The Lord planned for you even before you were born. He was planning you with your parents and the people around you and this community and the entire world. The Lord was planning for you, little ones, young ones, to be here. In our readings, it says that the Lord prepares a person from earliest childhood. So before you were even born, the Lord was getting ready for you to be here. And then after you were born, the Lord is preparing you specifically to be in this world. And hopefully, eternally to be in heaven with him. That is what the Lord is preparing you for. From earliest child, that's right now for you. To all the parents, grandparents, friends of the family in this room, the Lord is still working with you. After all, we are all children in the Lord's eyes. And with your children, the Lord prepares your children in part through you and the people around your children. The Lord is working through you in part to prepare them. In our readings, we heard about those two capabilities that a person has: the will and the understanding. And the will and the understanding, those are two parts of our spirits that the Lord uses and that the Lord that are who we are. The will is fed by good experiences of our lives. The good things that we do, the good feelings that we have, the things that we get from the people around us. Our will is fed by that. And our understanding is fed by all of the truth that comes into us. And a lot of that truth is coming in through our parents, through the schools that we go to, and all of those experiences. Now the thing is, this is really important to remember. The quality of a person isn't based on their paycheck. The quality of a person is based on those two capabilities inside them, the will and the understanding. That part of us that loves and that part of us that understands. So today, we have a baptism. We do baptism, number one, and most importantly, because the Lord says so. And then the Lord can tell us why to do it, but we do it because the Lord says so. During the baptism, I'll be putting a little bit of water on the head and then also on the heart of the baby. And this is a symbol of the Lord being with us in our thoughts and also with our hearts, with our loves. Now, baptism, it doesn't make someone good. It doesn't save you and mean that you're automatically going to heaven. That's not how baptism works. It's a covenant, it's a promise that the parents make on behalf of the child that they're going to work with the Lord to feed that understanding and that will, to help the child have those true experiences, the true things that they learn from the Lord's word, and also the love that they can give them in their life. They're working with the Lord to feed those parts of the child. And they're working with the Lord to help prepare that child that, like Jeremiah, the Lord calls all of us too, to that life of sharing the Lord's love with everybody around us. Amen. And now I invite the family to come forward. Because children are born of their parents into natural life and not into spiritual life, they must be born again that they may enter into the kingdom of God. And because this new birth of or regeneration is represented by the waters of baptism, you have come forward that your child may be baptized, and thus enter according to order into the church of the Lord on earth. Hear now the word of the Lord. These are some readings that Benjamin and Brianne selected. Then they brought little children to Jesus that he might touch them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was greatly displeased and said to them, Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. Then Jesus called a little child to him, set him in the midst of them, and said, Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in my name receives me. And Jesus said to his disciples, If any one desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? And from New Church teachings. The two sacraments, baptism and the Holy Supper, are, as it were, two gates leading to everlasting life. Every Christian is by baptism admitted and introduced to the church's teachings drawn from the word about the Lord about the other life. All of these are the means by which a person is prepared and can be guided to heaven. And the second gate is the Holy Supper. By it everyone who has allowed himself to be prepared and guided by the Lord is admitted and introduced into heaven. There are no other universal gates. Baptism was instituted to be a sign that a person belongs to the church and a reminder that he ought to be regenerated. The washing of baptism is simply a spiritual washing, and this is regeneration. Water, in the spiritual sense, is the truth of faith drawn from the word. Spirit is living in accordance with it, and being born is being regenerated by these. Amen. Benjamin and Brianne, you have brought your son into the presence of the Lord that he may be baptized with water and the Holy Spirit. By this act you do enter into a solemn covenant with the Lord. Now therefore let me ask: Do you, for yourselves and for your son, acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ to be the one God of heaven and earth?

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We do.

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Do you, for yourselves and for your son, acknowledge that the Lord reveals himself in the sacred scriptures and in the heavenly doctrine of the New Jerusalem?

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We do.

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Do you for yourselves and for your son acknowledge that evils are to be shunned as sins against him and that a life of good is to be learned and lived?

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We do.

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And now, do you desire that your son be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus Christ?

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We do.

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Please bow your heads for prayer. Lord Jesus Christ, help this child to grow in the knowledge and strength of your word. Send your angels to protect him that he may remember that you are always near, and that he may be kept from the loves of this world and learn to do what is good. Lead Benjamin and Brienne in the way of wisdom and love, so that in caring for their son, they may prepare him for a life of use here on earth and forever in your kingdom. Amen. Now, congregation, I invite you to rise and we're going to recite together the recitation that we had earlier. This is a blessing that will be pronounced on the child. The family wanted to invite you into that blessing. So as I give the blessing to the child, you can also recite along. You can lay your hand on the shoes. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. Please be seated. A few more words for you. Brian and Benjamin, your son Asher, by baptism is now enrolled and numbered in heaven among those who in heart receive the Lord in his word. In the divine providence of the Lord, he was born into this world, and the Lord has entrusted him into your care, so that through life in this world he may be prepared for life in heaven. Seek, therefore, the light of knowledge to guide you in the performance of your part in this work. And as symbolized by the waters of baptism, teach Asher the Lord's truth that brings him into a new life, gives him spiritual life, and cleanses his soul. Lead Asher to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as his God and Father. Teach him the Lord's prayer that he may be introduced into the worship of the Lord. Teach him the Ten Commandments that he may learn to reject selfish and worldly loves that get in the way of loving the Lord and the neighbor. Teach him the stories of the word and the teachings about the Lord and heaven and how to love the neighbor, so that he may be prepared for regeneration. Teach Asher that the goal in life is not to be successful and happy as the world defines those things, but to be humble and kind as the Lord defines them. In this way you will promote his eternal happiness in this life and in the life to come. And now may the Lord be with you and lead you in the way of peace. Amen.