Seeking Welfare. Lake Washington Christian Church

Transcription

1 1 2017_11_26 Pentecost 25 A Jeremiah 29.1, 4 14 Seeking Welfare Rev. Kara Markell Lake Washington Christian Church These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord. For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon's seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. Let us Pray: Lord, open our hearts and minds, by the power of your Holy Spirit, that as the scriptures are read and your word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you say to us today. Amen. Jeremiah s letter to the exiles is one of comfort and hope. It contains one of the most beloved bible verses in our tradition: For I know the plans I have for you plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. These are words I have turned to in times of loss and struggle; times when I have searched for a glimmer of hope to cling to; perhaps some of you have, too. This personally devotional attachment to this verse is not quite the whole picture, though I know first hand why it is appealing on that level. In a world with so much

2 2 uncertainty, it can be comforting to think that God has some grand plan for your life and your prosperity. Jeremiah, however, is not writing this letter to assure you or me that everything will be OK; he has a much bigger picture in mind. Since many of us might not be too familiar with Jeremiah s context I want to talk about it briefly, because, of course, context helps us to understand the text more fully. Jeremiah is a prophet from the north (Israel), speaking to the Southern kingdom of Judah his is an outsider s perspective, which we so often see in the biblical narrative. Jerusalem has been sacked. Judah s king, Jehoiachin, along with his family, his court, the educated elite, the priests and skilled workers have all been taken from their home and carted off to Babylon (modern day Iraq). The king s uncle has been set up as puppet king by the Babylonians. The people, both those taken into exile and those left behind, have experienced one of the worst trauma s people can experience. Jeremiah tries to prophesy to this new king and the people of Jerusalem honestly, and he keeps butting heads with Hananiah, a politically savvy, but false prophet. Hananiah s message was an attractive one: this is all going to be over soon. God will swoop in and make everything better, get everything back to normal before you know it. This not only denies reality, it also keeps the people from doing the work of healing, which always begins in truth telling and lament. Hannaniah s message keeps the people from accepting what has happened and how long it might last. Jeremiah s message is very different, in some ways, more difficult to swallow. Submit to the Babylonians it s going to be a good, long while and trust that God has a bigger strategy. And by the way, not to be an I told you so, but if we d only been a more just and uncorrupt society, this might not have

3 3 happened in the first place. Not exactly the message these folks want to hear, but true. Jeremiah not only prophesies to the new king and those who were left behind, he also writes this letter (chapter 29) to the people who have been taken to Babylon. There have been false prophets among them also, telling them not to unpack their bags, that this exile won t last. This letter from Jeremiah resembles those letters sent by Paul to his church plants in that it is fairly pastoral in its tone. It is not a diatribe against Babylon. It is not a letter inspiring rebellion or advocating civil disobedience. Rather the letter first reminds the people who the real king is around here Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel. And through Jeremiah God reveals to them that God sent them there. But, that a larger plan is underway, and even in this foreign place, God is there with them. And they should start unpacking their bags and get on with their lives. Now remember, they have lost everything: their loved ones, their homes, their city, their language and cultures and their religious expressions connected to the temple, which has been destroyed. How do you go on after that? The text makes reference to multiple generations, suggesting that they will be in exile for a long time. Long enough that the older generations realize they will not be returning home. So, they are encouraged to make their situation the best that they can. Build a life. AND, to work for peace in their new city; to pray to God for its prosperity. Because if the city prospers, the individual prospers. This process of surviving, of starting to live again, is framed by God s promises to bring them back to their own land, which provides a hope filled future. While they await the fulfillment of God s promise of a homecoming, they

4 4 are to build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat what they grow, engage in the daily activities that make up a life. And they are to resume their religious activities and actively seek God s presence in Exile. It is in the midst of those ordinary activities that God s presence can be found. Jeremiah writes, Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me. Another important aspect of Jeremiah s message includes seeking the welfare of the city. We might say working for the common good. And that implies politics. And we can t back away from this, friends. The message of Jeremiah s letter (and all of the prophets), speaking on behalf of God, is a political one in the sense that political is related to the common good and to public affairs. I m not talking about modern American political affiliation neither is Jeremiah. Prophets do address individual choices, but more often they address public policy. Jeremiah is speaking to a whole people and a political and religious system. His use of you is plural. We might translate it as all y all. Walter Bruggemann writes it is important to recognize that prophetic urging, while deeply rooted theologically concerns real and dangerous policy decisions that have real and dangerous concrete consequences. (Bruggeman 2003) And we do these texts an injustice when we reduce them to the personal or devotional only. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you [all] into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you [all] will find your welfare. Mother Teresa reminds us If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

5 5 We have no shortage of refugee communities around the world and in our own neighborhoods which can serve as examples of the truth of Jeremiah s message in our own time. The process of becoming a refugee or an exile is one that inherently and purposefully breaks down community and family structures. But, there is a drive in those communities, an inner strength that refuses to give up; a faith and hope in a future that is better, and for some, the dream of returning home. I was able to attend a friend s recent defense of her Doctoral project, which focused on members of the Korean diaspora living in Hawaii. She expected to encounter feelings of anger and brokenness, even bitterness. But more than anything else, she heard stories of resilience. A hopeful participation in a range of activities that help refugees feel a sense of normalcy building houses, planting crops, celebrating weddings. These things are a testimony to resilience. Ordinary activities that are expressions of the human desire to be safe, to feel some security, to have comfort like enough food to eat and wine to drink and, most importantly, a community to share it with. What does seeking the welfare of the community look like in our time and place? There are two things I commend to you to consider. First, today as some segments of Christianity are spreading a false message about what it means to follow Christ in the world today, particularly in relation to exiles, refugees and immigrants, we need to stand firmly in the truth. We need to commit ourselves to seeking the true narrative. Sometimes it will require us to speak up in the public square on behalf of the exile and the refugee. To seek policies that makes it possible for them to find safety and security, to contribute their best for the welfare of the community. The displaced have a special place in the heart of God; and so they should have in ours, too.

6 6 Second, from a very different perspective, some churches feel that they are in exile in their own city or neighborhood; an exile in some ways of their own making. The church may have stood for 50 or 100 years and the neighborhood around it has changed so much that the people inside on Sunday barely recognize their surroundings. The church has over the last 20 years attempted to deal with that loss with better marketing, better coffee, better worship options. All of which is window dressing. Rather than standing at odds with the culture out there, or waiting for God to swoop in and bring back the church of the 1950 s, we can turn to Jeremiah s prophecy here, too. Seek the welfare of the city. Get outside, meet your neighbors, eat with them, work with them, find out what they need. To paraphrase Jeremiah, in the neighborhood s well being you (the church) will find your well being. The great Maya Angelou wrote, You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. This is the message of Jeremiah s letter. Whether we are talking on the individual or community level. With faith in God s promise and the resilience to move beyond any particular event, we can move confidently in the direction of God s future. Rather than letting events reduce us to nothing, we lament, of course, we take time to heal, then we get on with living, looking for God in the mundane realities of daily life, working with our neighbors for the benefit of the whole community, and keeping faith and hope in the one who leads us into life, together. Amen.