July 23 is day #204. We read Jeremiah chapters 30-33.
As I write the world is in crisis. An airliner was shot down over Ukraine by madmen with missiles. Israel and Hamas are exchanging death-dealing blows in the Gaza strip. Syria continues to smolder in civil war, and many other troubles offer their political plagues. Is this a good time to buy a house in the Gaza strip? Jeremiah might say yes.
How do we maintain hope? When will peace be real? How long, O Lord?
Jeremiah was speaking to a discouraged people, and his message was a mixed bag- criticism, scolding, but also promises of hope.
There is a lot of meat to digest here. God has commissioned Jeremiah to deliver a scary and negative message to Israel and Judah. A foreign king, Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon was laying siege to Jerusalem, and it was becoming obvious the Babylonians would win the city, and destroy it. What made this worse was the message from Jeremiah that this disaster was God's will. God was wreaking revenge and delivering punishment because so many in Israel and Judah had worshiped false gods. In spite of this vengeful message, God also declares a message of hope.
Portions of this passage are very familiar because they are read at some important times in our worship calendar.
In 31:15 we read words that are quoted in Matthew 2:18; "...A voice is heard in Ramah... Rachel is weeping for her children... because they are no more." In Matthew this refers to the death of the innocents- children butchered by Harod's troops in an effort to eliminate the one born to be king- as told to Herod by the Magi. In Jeremiah's time, people, even children, were dying as a result of the siege. Helpless parents wept for the loss of their children. Against all evidence, Jeremiah continues:
"Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, says the LORD... there is hope for your future..." (31 vss. 16-17) And further on, another familiar passage- Lutherans know this one because it is read as a text for Reformation Sunday.
"The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel..."
In chapter 32 we have a long description of Jeremiah purchasing land in the soon-to-be-obliterated city. God commanded Jeremiah to make the purchase, and Jeremiah goes through with the deal, paying good money for land at a time when the city was about to fall.
Jeremiah's action spoke louder than words. Who knows how much impact a defiant act of hope can have? God was making a promise that even amidst destruction and despair, there would later come a time of healing and restoration.
Bonhoeffer's comments on this passage direct us to a faith that does not flee the world, but embraces a broken world in radical hope. He said "I fear that Christians who stand with only one leg upon earth also stand with only one leg in heaven."
What acts of defiant hope are we called to do?
As I write the world is in crisis. An airliner was shot down over Ukraine by madmen with missiles. Israel and Hamas are exchanging death-dealing blows in the Gaza strip. Syria continues to smolder in civil war, and many other troubles offer their political plagues. Is this a good time to buy a house in the Gaza strip? Jeremiah might say yes.
How do we maintain hope? When will peace be real? How long, O Lord?
Jeremiah was speaking to a discouraged people, and his message was a mixed bag- criticism, scolding, but also promises of hope.
There is a lot of meat to digest here. God has commissioned Jeremiah to deliver a scary and negative message to Israel and Judah. A foreign king, Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon was laying siege to Jerusalem, and it was becoming obvious the Babylonians would win the city, and destroy it. What made this worse was the message from Jeremiah that this disaster was God's will. God was wreaking revenge and delivering punishment because so many in Israel and Judah had worshiped false gods. In spite of this vengeful message, God also declares a message of hope.
Portions of this passage are very familiar because they are read at some important times in our worship calendar.
In 31:15 we read words that are quoted in Matthew 2:18; "...A voice is heard in Ramah... Rachel is weeping for her children... because they are no more." In Matthew this refers to the death of the innocents- children butchered by Harod's troops in an effort to eliminate the one born to be king- as told to Herod by the Magi. In Jeremiah's time, people, even children, were dying as a result of the siege. Helpless parents wept for the loss of their children. Against all evidence, Jeremiah continues:
"Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, says the LORD... there is hope for your future..." (31 vss. 16-17) And further on, another familiar passage- Lutherans know this one because it is read as a text for Reformation Sunday.
"The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel..."
In chapter 32 we have a long description of Jeremiah purchasing land in the soon-to-be-obliterated city. God commanded Jeremiah to make the purchase, and Jeremiah goes through with the deal, paying good money for land at a time when the city was about to fall.
Jeremiah's action spoke louder than words. Who knows how much impact a defiant act of hope can have? God was making a promise that even amidst destruction and despair, there would later come a time of healing and restoration.
Bonhoeffer's comments on this passage direct us to a faith that does not flee the world, but embraces a broken world in radical hope. He said "I fear that Christians who stand with only one leg upon earth also stand with only one leg in heaven."
What acts of defiant hope are we called to do?
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