This autumn, we are reflecting in worship on the same stories the youngest among us are discussing in Church School, going through the Bible from the beginning.
For the next few weeks, we’ll move through the Old Testament and hear stories about, “Promises of Hope.” Our Worship Series, Living the Word, reminds us that, “as the Israelites turn away from God and forget their calling to serve as a blessing to all nations, the prophets call them back to relationship with their creator. The prophets offer promises of hope to a people lost and dejected, reminding them that God will never abandon them and promises a future filled with hope. The people may have turned from God, but God will not turn away from them.”
This week we meet the prophet Jeremiah. Here’s the context: King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian Empire has just conquered the Southern Kingdom of Judah and sieged Jerusalem. Solomon’s temple has been destroyed, and the elites have been exiled to Babylon. Jeremiah lives to see it all.
It’s in this context that God speaks through Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon (Jeremiah 29: 1, 4-11). God says, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you.” Jeremiah sends a message of comfort and hope to people who have been crushed, deported from their homes, and must adapt to a new way of life.
But Jeremiah’s message isn’t just about comfort. Jeremiah instructs the exiles to “build homes,” “plant gardens,” and basically to go on living. The good news is that God is with them. The bad news is that exile is going to last a lot longer than they thought…
What does it mean for us to choose life in the “exile” moments of our lives?
What does it look like to have hope while also bravely facing reality?
Where is God in all of it?
It will be a special Sunday as we welcome New Members, gather for the All Parish meeting, and as my family and I say “see you later,” before we move home to Minnesota.
See you Sunday!
In faith,
Anna
Image credit: Psalm 85 by John August Swanson
