a futre with hope, even in exile

Good evening friends,
First, I'd like to remind or let you know about an opportunity to say goodbye to a beloved member of our church, Betty Dennis. Betty died in Florida last month and her memorial service will be at Laurelton tomorrow, October 19 at noon. I'm sure her family would love the support of seeing folks from Laurelton; your prayers are welcome as well whether or not you can be there.

Our reading for today is a reminder that even when God's path is tough, we are not alone. The people of Judah were conquered and exiled from their home because they had turned away from God. God has the Prophet Jeremiah write to them that God is still watching out for them and that God is calling them to make a life full of blessing even in Babylon. Even if we're not where we feel like we should be, even if we are facing detours or tough times, God has not left us alone. There are always opportunities to seek the welfare of the city and be a vessel for God's blessing.

God bless,
Sam

Jeremiah 29:1-14

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. ²This was after King Jeconiah, and the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem. ³The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. It said: ⁴Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶Take 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. ⁷But 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.

⁸For 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, ⁹for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord. ¹⁰For 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. ¹¹For 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. ¹²Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. ¹³When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, ¹⁴I 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.

the end of exile

Good morning brothers and sisters (good evening night owls),
We've heard how God was with the people of Judah during the exile. Now we turn to the end of the exile. King Cyrus of Persia (which took over the Babylonian Empire) received a revelation from God that he should let the people of Judah return home. The passage mentions this fulfills Jeremiah's prophecy, which stated that Judah would be in captivity for 70 years. If there was any doubt that God uses people who aren't part of the "right" religion, this passage clears that up. God can work through anyone, at any time. How will God work through you today?

God bless,
Sam

Ezra 1:1-11

In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout all his kingdom, and also in a ² written edict declared: ³Any of those among you who are of his people—may their God be with them! —are now permitted to go up to Jerusalem in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem; ⁴and let all survivors, in whatever place they reside, be assisted by the people of their place with silver and gold, with goods and with animals, besides freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.” 

⁵The heads of the families of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred—got ready to go up and rebuild the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. ⁶All their neighbors aided them with silver vessels, with gold, with goods, with animals, and with valuable gifts, besides all that was freely offered. ⁷King Cyrus himself brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. ⁸King Cyrus of Persia had them released into the charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. ⁹And this was the inventory: gold basins, thirty; silver basins, one thousand; knives, twenty-nine; ¹⁰gold bowls, thirty; other silver bowls, four hundred ten; other vessels, one thousand; ¹¹the total of the gold and silver vessels was five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar brought up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.

letter to the exiles

Good morning brothers and sisters,
We've been following the story of Israel and Judah. Sunday we talked about the defeat of Israel and Judah (722 and 597 BCE, respectively) and the exile of the people to Assyria and Babylon. Today's reading is a letter God inspired Jeremiah to write to the exiles in Babylon. It's a great message about making a life under God's calling, no matter where we are. God is with us everywhere, all the time.

God bless,
Sam

Jeremiah 29:1-14

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. ²This was after King Jeconiah, and the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem. ³The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. It said: ⁴Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶Take 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. ⁷But 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. 

⁸For 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, ⁹for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord. ¹⁰For 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. ¹¹For 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. ¹²Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. ¹³When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, ¹⁴I 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.

slaughter of the innocents

Good morning sisters and brothers,
The wise men didn't know it at the time, but the reason King Herod asked them to give him information about Jesus was not so he could worship him, but so he could eliminate this perceived threat to his power. God warned the wise men about Herod's bad intentions, so they slipped out without being noticed. Herod is disappointed, but doesn't give up easily. Instead he casts a wide net and kills all the babies in Bethlehem. This terrible episode is known as the slaughter of the innocents. The Christian church has honored these unknown babies by considering them the first Christian martyrs. They didn't make choices that led to dying for their faith like most martyrs we think of, but they still died in some way for the sake of Christ. It's a sad story and sadder still that fear and faith still can lead to death. Let's pray and work for a day when innocents will no longer be slaughtered.

God bless,
Sam

Matthew 2:12-18

¹²And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. ¹³Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, ¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

¹⁶When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. ¹⁷Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: ¹⁸“A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

seek the welfare of the city

Good morning friends,
This reading is a classic passage for those of us who love urban ministry. God has sent his people Israel into exile in Babylon, into a big city. It would be tempting for the people to withdraw into their own cocoon, depressed about their defeat and the challenges around them. God calls them to do something different; even though they are far from home, even though they are in the land of a nation that conquered them, God calls them to work to make the city better. We too can be tempted to retreat, but instead God calls us to invest in community, to seek the welfare of our city. In that work God brings about wholeness and blessing for us and for others.

God bless,
Sam

Jeremiah 29: 1-14

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. ²This was after King Jeconiah, and the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem. ³The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

It said: ⁴Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶Take 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. ⁷But 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.

⁸For 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, ⁹for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord. ¹⁰For 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.

¹¹For 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. ¹²Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. ¹³When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, ¹⁴I 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.

persecuted for the truth

Good morning friends,
Today's reading gives us another glimpse of the hardship of Jeremiah's ministry. The priest hits Jeremiah and puts him in the stocks for his prophecy. Jeremiah responds with God's word of judgment for Pashhur, the priest who is persecuting him. It's interesting that Jeremiah renames Pashhur "terror all around" because the same title was used for Jeremiah for his constant prophecy of doom. Imagine how difficult it would be for Jeremiah to continue in his ministry: he seeks to warn the people he cares about of the danger ahead, but they take his words as treasonous and anti-religious. Despite the hardship, Jeremiah keeps on going because he trusts in God. May we have the same courage.

God bless,
Sam

Jeremiah 20:1-6
Now the priest Pashhur son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2Then Pashhur struck the prophet Jeremiah, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord.

3The next morning when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, The Lord has named you not Pashhur but “Terror-all-around.” 4For thus says the Lord: I am making you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon; he shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall kill them with the sword. 5I will give all the wealth of this city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them, and seize them, and carry them to Babylon. 6And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, shall go into captivity, and to Babylon you shall go; there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.

investing in the future

Good morning friends,
First, I'd like to invite us to pray hard for the peace negotiations in the Middle East; let's pray that all parties would be open to truly listen to each other and to work for the stability and peace. Today's passage is a reminder that God's great purposes play out in simple, everyday actions. We've heard Jeremiah prophesying doom for Judah because of idolatry and injustice. Finally fed up with this message, the King of Judah has Jeremiah locked up. Jeremiah's imprisonment comes in the midst of a Babylonian attack on Jerusalem, an attack that will end in Jerusalem's capture.

Jeremiah hears a message from God that his cousin is going to come and ask him to purchase a field from him. In Israel and Judah land is never just land. God told Joshua how to divide the land among the Twelve Tribes of Israel when they first conquered and occupied the land centuries earlier. Inherited land was not only important for a family, it was an inheritance decreed by God. For that reason there were biblical laws about how land could be transferred. If a family got into debt and had to sell their land their close family were supposed to buy the land to keep it in the family. That's what Hanamel means when he tells Jeremiah that the right by purchase and redemption is his. In the middle of a siege, that land would be basically worthless, but Jeremiah buys it. He buys it as a message from God that this defeat is not the end of the road for Judah. God has a future for them, even if it seems unlikely at the moment. God has a future for us too; we can trust and invest in that future with our everyday lives.

God bless,
Sam

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. 2At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah, 3awhere King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him. 6Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came to me: 7Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, "Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours." 8Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, "Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself." Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.


9And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. 11Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy; 12and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13In their presence I charged Baruch, saying, 14Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. 15For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.