In the scripture readings for Jeremiah Sunday, the prophet Jeremiah writes a letter to the people of Judah who have been defeated by King Nebuchadnezzar and are living in exile in Babylon. Unlike what the false prophets are saying, Jeremiah prophesies that they will be in Babylon for a significant duration, while the wrath of God subsides, and the people learn their lessons. Jeremiah commands the people to get on with living, to get married and have children and build houses – to settle in, and be productive. Because the goal of exile is not to destroy but to prepare, just as the goal of our exile here on earth is to prepare us for life under the rule of the King of Kings....
An exile of nine weeks, to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. This is where the Canadian Armed Forces holds their Basic Military Qualification, also known in other forces as “boot camp.” In those nine long weeks, prospective soldiers prepare vigorously in the areas of professional conduct and military culture, physical fitness, military skills and drills, and resilience training. The goal is to give them the best chance to survive and win as a team, in the hostile environment of the modern battlefield. And almost all of those recruits sent into this exile are productive there – the pass rate for Basic Military Qualification is approximately 96%....
An exile of seventy years, to Babylon-sur-Euphrates. This is what the prophet Jeremiah prophesies for the people of Judah. Like the 40 years that God's people wandered in the desert, learning how to live as God's people, Judah will be in Babylon for 70 years to relearn it. And with that length of time, the requirements to be productive are different. “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce.” Three generations of Judeans will need to be born and raised in Babylon. Despite the extreme difficulty of the times, as a conquered people, God commands them to “take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage.” If you don't, there won't be a Judah at the appointed time. There will be no one left to receive the promise of the land restored. The exile will have failed its purpose.
And God gives an even harder commandment than that: “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. Don't seek vengeance against your conquerors or make trouble in their cities, pray for them. Work with them productively. Make the city better, for it will be your city too, for the three generations worth of time that you will live there.”
We, each of us, are at some point of an exile of 82.23 years, on average, or in different units, 1.0 lifetimes...an exile to planet earth, specifically Western Canada. And unlike the people at the start of their exile to whom Jeremiah was writing, WE were BORN here in exile. We were born in what C. S. Lewis calls “enemy-occupied territory,” with only the bare minimum knowledge of our eternal home as the Holy Spirit and some vague verses in Revelation provide us. We were born into a pluralistic society, where our faith in God competes with other faiths and with no faith, where the act of living out our faith puts us in a minority. And yet, the command is the same – be productive. “Build houses and live in them. Take wives and have sons and daughters. Seek the welfare of the city.” Make sure that your life here in exile is preparing you for your return to your eternal home.
And that involves the development of certain practices to the point where they are habitual, like a soldier marching in parade. Choosing good and rejecting evil. Placing full trust in God. Communicating with God frequently. Improving the welfare of others. Building relationships such that a sense of community results. Worshipping God together as that community. These are the practices that will be most useful at home in eternity. These are the practices that are normal under the reign of Jesus Christ. But they feel weird here in exile, like a soldier marching in parade. They are productive, but not as the world measures productivity....
“The days are surely coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a NEW covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more”. And with the resurrection of Jesus, those days have arrived! Through the righteous branch of David, Jesus Christ, God has restored his relationship with his people. He has sent his son to pay the price for his people's sins, so that forgiveness is a gift, one for which his people can be grateful. He has sent his son to place his law in his people's hearts, AND to fulfil the law, so that in following him, his people can be obedient. He has sent his son to teach, and explain, and show God's character, so that ALL his people can know him. And he has raised his son from the dead so that his people can see the end to the exile of this earthly life, and look forward to a future with hope.
As followers of Jesus, we cling to this new covenant – the covenant Jesus affirmed in his own blood at the Last Supper. As followers of Jesus, we celebrate his reign in our lives as the eternal descendant of David, as unshakable as day and night. As followers of Jesus, we ARE God's people, and He IS our God. And as followers of Jesus, we faithfully complete the appointed time left until his return, attempting to seek the welfare of the planet we're sitting on, and holding on to the amazing hope of the end of exile - going home to eternity.
Gracious God, keep us faithful to your son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to be productive and learn from the events of our life, until by your call, our exile from your heavenly home is over, in Jesus' name, amen.