Loving God, with you there is a future with hope, for you never go back on your promises.  Teach us to trust you in all things and to seek you at all times; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

           There is a saying that goes something like this: “We make plans, and God laughs.”  Have you heard that one before?... Do you think it’s true?... [perhaps God doesn’t laugh quite like that, but there is a kernel of truth…]  There’s another saying that goes, I’ll see you next week – “Lord willing and the crick don’t rise!”  In other words, I hope to see you next week, but a lot can happen in the mean time.  It is just like the letter of James says:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there doing business and making money.”  Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring (James 4:13-14).

There are our plans, and then there are God’s plans.

         In the letter that we heard today from Jeremiah, he was writing to people whose plans had quite literally gone up in smoke.  They had seen friends and family killed.  They had seen their houses and their city destroyed and burned.  They had been taken away as slaves to a foreign land and now found themselves stuck in Babylon.  What on earth were they supposed to do, other than just sit there and be miserable?

         If you have difficulty imagining yourself in a situation like this, perhaps you could imagine some more recent situations.  For example, imagine if you were one of the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria and taken away from their families.  Or, imagine if you were one of the millions of refugees worldwide who have been forced to leave their homes and their countries and now live in refugee camps.  Or, a little bit closer to home, imagine that you find yourself in a care home or a hospital, and you only want to go home, but you can’t.  These are just a few examples of what it would be like to be in exile.

         As for what to do, the people who were in Babylon were hearing two different messages.  There were some who claimed to be prophets who were telling them that it wouldn’t be long and they would be home again.  And then there was Jeremiah, who knew that these so-called prophets were lying and that they would be in Babylon for many years – 60-70 years, to be exact.  And so what does he tell them to do?...  Build houses, have children, get married, give your children in marriage, plant gardens -- in other words, settle in.  You’re going to be there for a while!

         At the same time, the people were invited to pray.  Pray for the welfare of the city in which you find yourselves.  Pray for the welfare of your enemies who live there!  Seek God and you will find him – even in a strange land.  Pray, for God will hear you, and God will fulfill God’s promises to you.

         Ultimately, even though it would be a long time, God’s promise to the people of Israel is that they would eventually return home.  God’s word to them through Jeremiah is this: “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” (Jer. 29:11).  God is telling them to make plans for the immediate future, but also to keep in mind God’s plans for them.

         In the same way, we make plans, but we are best equipped when we also keep in mind God’s plans.  We can make our plans for this congregation, but as participants in God’s mission, we could find ourselves running in circles if we don’t also seek out God’s plans for us.  In the same way, with any big decisions in our personal lives, we can simply go ahead and make our own plans, or we can pray about it and seek what God has in mind for us.

         For those of you who are still in school, one of these decisions that will come up for you is what you’re going to do with the rest of your life.  How are you going to make a living?  What is your calling or vocation?  What are you well-equipped to do?  You can make this decision without God, or you can make it with God, asking God to show you what God’s plans for you might be.  It could be dangerous, though.  If I had simply made my own plans, I would not have ended up as a pastor.  However, because I kept seeking what God had in mind for me, it became clear that this was it!  You never know in what direction God might take you.  However, where God guides, God provides!

         This doesn’t mean that everything goes smoothly, or that there is never any heartache or suffering.  The Israelites endured much suffering before their descendants finally made it back to Jerusalem.  Yet, that suffering did not have the final say, and God was there with them in the midst of it.

         In the same way, when we feel like we are in exile, or we feel as though everything around us is changing, or we are fearful about what the future might hold, God is also right here with us, through Jesus.  He is the one who promises peace that is out of this world through the Holy Spirit.  He is the one who tells us that there is no reason for us to be troubled or afraid.  For just as we are in God’s hands, so is the future of this world and the future of the church.  For even when it doesn’t look like it, Christ reigns over all.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Christ the King / Reign of Christ (NL 4)                           Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14

November 26, 2017                                                                        John 14:27

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2017 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved