NL 213 Promise of a Messiah

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Jeremiah 33:14-18

Initial Thoughts

  • A much needed word of hope in the midst of despair- light in the darkness and a reminder that no matter what the dark tidings the news may bear- God Is With Us.

  • Hope is about waiting

Bible Study

  • Written in the midst of exile.

    • The people were warned and remained unfaithful: they now have “reaped what they sowed”, yet their suffering and despair is real and cannot be ignored.

    • The judgement of God- Exile- is deserved, yet is still so awful that even God joins the people’s lament and dreams of restoration

    • Known as “The Little Book of Comfort” Jer 30-33

  • Waiting

    • People are waiting for their promise to be fulfilled

    • God always keeps God’s promises, but not always on our timetable

    • The challenge is not how do we endure the waiting, but how do we participate in what God is doing?

    • Hope inspires imagination- how can we embody God’s creative image of restoration and reconciliation

    • Despair limits our creative processes- Hope inspires us

  • Working with and through

    • Despite the judgement of God that Israel and Judah have brought upon themselves through exile, God still chooses to work through and with Israel and Judah to restore justice and righteousness

    • God chooses us to bring about reconciliation and restoration

  • Justice and righteousness

    • Righteousness needs to be unpacked- it is a “church” word that hold very little meaning for most people

    • Righteousness = acting according to God’s purpose

      • What is God’s purpose: love, forgiveness, reconciliation over self-preservation - RADICAL

    • What does it mean to declare “The LORD is our righteousness”!

      • God is our plumbline- not sustainable, not profitability, but God.

      • God, who declares equal rights for all people- citizens and aliens

      • God, who would rather die on a cross than resort to violent retribution

      • God, who tells us to love our enemies and those who revile, persecute and hate us

      • God, who tells us that to be rich, we must first become poor, to be first we must become last and to inherit eternal life we must be willing to die

Thoughts and Questions

  • We are called to have compassion for all people who suffer, even those who suffer due to their own actions (or inactions). Will we be a light in the midst of their darkness or will we smugly sit back and say “I told you so”?

  • Advent is not about what God will do in spite of us or about waiting to be saved, but about what God will do through us and within us to save the world.

  • This passage gives us a chance to reimagine the world as one of justice and peace, forgiveness and reconciliation, love and grace. What a perfect way to start the year as one of unlimited hope and possibility and asking ourselves- how can we participate in God’s restorative actions?

Year 2Eric FistlerJeremiahComment