“A Future With Hope”          2010

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, 11  Romans 8:18, 24-28, 31-32

 

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7, 11

29These 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. 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. 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.

 

Romans 8:18, 24-28, 31-3218I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 24For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.  26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.  31What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?

 

Along the shoreline of Israel near Tel Aviv,    the  “Dolphinarium”

            was a popular gathering place for young Israelis;

-- until a suicide bomber blew himself up on the crowded dance floor

            murdering twenty-one young adults and wounding many others.

 

The next day   a spontaneous memorial and defiant message     happened

            when people brought flowers and other meaningful objects,

                        and hung a sign that said,   “lachaim – lo nafsik lirkode”

                                    ‘choose life – don't stop dancing’…

                                                            we choose life and we will not stop dancing.

 

 

About six hundred years before the birth of Christ

            Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian army conquered Jerusalem.

                                       They made off with the city’s wealth and valuables

                                                including sacred objects from the temple itself.

    They also took in chains   anyone with learning or skills that

            could contribute as useful labor for the benefit of Babylon.

 

It was a terrible and crushing disaster for the people Israel,

            and the exile created a serious spiritual crisis for Judaism.

 

God had given the Promised Land, Jerusalem was God's holy city,

                           and the Lord God was present in the inner Holy of Holies

                                    behind the curtain in the great Temple of Solomon…

… yet, Almighty God allowed all that to be contaminated and defiled

            by the pagan Babylonians with their vast array of false gods.

 

            So had the God of Israel been defeated by the gods of Babylon?

                        Had God revoked or reneged on His promises, and abandoned

                             His city to destruction  and His people to brutal exile?

                And how could they even worship the Lord their God of Israel

                         while they were being held captive in a foreign land?

 

          Amid all that hopelessness, all that defeat and devastation,

                many of the religious leaders   held out a false hope –

   -that the Lord wouldn't allow this devastating defeat, and surely

       would restore the nation and quickly bring the people back home.

 

In contrast,   the prophet Jeremiah says in  vs. 4

            Thus says the LORD of hosts,   the God of Israel,   to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon

 

This verse raises a really thorny & complicated theological issue -

             where is God, and how is

                   God involved when terrible and disastrous things happen?

 

Speaking through Jeremiah,

     God clearly says to the traumatized-struggling people in exile,

                   - you are suffering in Babylon because I sent you there.

 

According to Jeremiah, God is directly and intentionally involved;

            it's not fate or luck, or happenstance

                        or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

That is what verse 4 says;    

            but    that does not mean or infer

                   that all  human suffering and all  disasters and troubles

                             occur   because God sent them,

                                   and especially not that God is punishing someone…

 

… for clearly and repeatedly in the New Testament

            Jesus rejects the assumption that human trouble or suffering

                        are necessarily sent by God as direct retribution for sin;

                                    but rather,  may serve an unknowable purpose of God.

 

We read in John 9:1-3; (KJV and The Message)

            And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.  And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?  Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.  (KJV)

 

            Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?" Jesus said, "You're asking the wrong question.  You're looking for someone to blame.  There is no such cause-effect here.    Look instead for what God can do.  (The Message)

 

When the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians living in Rome,

     he described the hope   inherent in that perspective, vs. 18, 28

                        I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. …  For we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

 

Paul is describing the truth of promise and hope amid suffering,

            that is based upon two critical characteristics of God:

1)                    God's grace and promises

                                    are far greater than even our worst defeat or loss.

2)                    God will surely and usefully redeem

                                    even our worst losses   to produce good and blessings.

 

Paul writes:          Romans 8:18

            I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.

 

The Apostle Paul understands something about suffering and perspective.

            He applies the concept of long-term, eternal perspective

                        as the way to interpret theologically  pain and suffering.

Paul recognizes that this life is finite, momentary and passing;

            and that even our worst suffering doesn't even come close

                        when compare to the glory, promise and joy that awaitsà

   that is so much more than anything  that we can see in the present.

 

God never promised that we won't have hard times and difficulties,

            and God never promised or even suggested

                        that we would sail through this life

                                    without any hurts, troubles, disasters or problems.

  However, God did promise that He will never leave us or forsake us.

 

 But then Paul explains it goes even further, something incredible;

            that not only is God always present with us and sustaining us

                        but also, somehow God will redeem   every situation & loss;

 

meaning that  from even the worst disasters & brokenness of our lives

   incredibly,    God will always transform them into good somehow …

             into fulfilling God's purpose & blessing in and for  our lives…

 

            …that even the worst and most painful   that we have to endure,

                 God can use for our benefit, for God's purpose – our good & growth.

As Paul asserts in Romans 8:28:

            For we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

 

I know for sure that Paul's words are true, and let me explain why.

            In my own life, I thought I had my future all figured out,

                        and I had a plan in place for my life and dreams of success.

 

But then I was cheated out of that business by someone I trusted,

            and I saw my hard work and expectations torn apart-taken away.

                                    For many years I felt betrayed, bitter and angry,

                                                as in my mind, I plotted revenge, retribution                                                                and how I would restore all that I had lost.

 

As I look back today,

            what a tiny and meaningless life I had planned for myself,

                        and what silly and insignificant goals I had ---

                                      --- and I thank God that it didn't work out that way.

 

I remember the hurts and bumps, losses and strivings along the way,

            but now   I can appreciate   in retrospect

                        that each was somehow made useful and beneficial by God.

 

            The things that seemed so unfair, disturbing or pointless,

                        were in fact, not insignificant or random, but were à

                             God's loving preparation and attention to detail,

                              for the blessings of this life I am permitted to live…

… not to mention providing me with stories for sermon illustrations

 

vs. 28                          For we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

            How wonderfully true and what an amazing God we serve,

                                    which brings us back to Jeremiah and the exiles.

 

Jeremiah’s first point:

                        You are in Babylon because God sent you to Babylon.

The God of Israel was not defeated by the Babylonian gods,

            but it was God’s will & purpose that send them into captivity.

 

Looking back these centuries later,          we can see

            how the loss of Jerusalem, the Temple and animal sacrifice

                        were necessary for God’s planned development of Judaism

                                    into a religion where God   

                                                is uniquely revealed    in the words of Scripture.

 

Until the exile,   temple sacrifice in Jerusalem dominated Judaism,

            & the writings of Moses, David & others  were relatively unimportant.

 

A number of times in Jewish history, the Old Testament describes

            someone finding the ancient scrolls somewhere in the temple,

                        they read them, there is a brief revival, and then,

                                    the writings are set aside to gather dust once again.

 

But without the Temple, living as exiles in distant Babylon,

            Scripture became their living lifeline to God and tradition.

 

During the exile, the various writings were brought together,

     they were carefully edited, copied and preserved for study

            forming the Old Testament as the sacred writing of God’s word…

… and the written word of God because the central truth of Judaism,

            and the Jews become, “people of the book”   --- people of the book.

 

God’s second message given through Jeremiah: vs. 5-6

            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.

 

            “You’re not coming home soon – the Lord God sent you there.

Accept it – get over it – you might a well unpack your toothbrush.

            Choose life and get connected –this is going to be your home,

                                    and until you let go of the past and what you have lost

                                                you will not be able to live well   where you are.

 

We might as well accept that we are where   God has placed us,

            and learn to live a meaningful life   where we are…

               … accept that God will use even this  for good  -- His purpose,

-even that which is unfamiliar, uncomfortable and not to our liking

 

If we give in   to self-pity, bitterness or blaming others,

            or let life's defeats, failures and disasters define us,à

 - then we may miss the hope and possibilities   God places before us.

 

Sometimes we hold onto, and cling to our broken pasts and troubles,

            as if by dwelling on them, we might change - improve that past;

                             which of course we cannot do,à

    - for change & improvement can only occur  in the present & future.

 

Perhaps  Jeremiah’s message was to get on with the tasks of living.

             As hard as it can be to accept, the exile was real,

                        and our losses are real, and we've got to live into them.

 

Jeremiah’s message:  wherever God has placed you, make it your home

            those circumstances are  our opportunity to live and serve God.

 

Our call is to embrace the present as the place where God has put us,

            as the place where God  intends   working in us   and through us,

                        and stop trying to recreate or restore what has been lost.

 

            We cannot be God's blessing to anyone, if numbed into inaction,

                        if we will not connect and engage   where we are

                                    and allow God to work in the world, through us…

  … whether this is the place & circumstance  of our choosing or not.

 

These are not the easy words, not words that we want to hear …

            - we'd much rather suppose that God's grace and faithfulness

                        means that we won't ever have to struggle or suffer loss.

 

But if we try to hold onto the past or unfulfilled dreams too tightly

            then that will leave far too little room and opportunity

                for God's purpose that takes time to ripen, deepen & develop…

 

                                    … causing us to miss out on the benefits & blessings

                                                that God intends for us now   and in the future.

 

Ultimately,

            the Jeremiah text and the Romans text are about God's grace,

                God's goodness and that our faith  is hope in God's promises.

 

            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.  … For we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.                        What then are we to say about these things?  

            If God is for us, who is against us?   

                        He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us,   will he not with him also give us everything else?

 

            Therefore,  we choose life   and we will not stop dancing.