A Strange Hope

For many years, I struggled with the message the Prophet Jeremiah offered the people of Israel, who had been taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. The people were living in a foreign land, surrounded by strange customs, foods, and religious practices. They lamented their reality and longed for the day when things would go back to “normal”—to the peace and prosperity enjoyed by their ancestors during the reign of David and the United Monarchy.

Jeremiah had the unenviable task of sharing difficult truths with God’s people—a task that made him a less-than-beloved figure among his community. Nevertheless, Jeremiah spoke God’s words and offered a strange sort of hope. In Jeremiah 29:5-7, the prophet tells the people something that seems unthinkable: “Make yourselves at home in this strange land, work for their well-being, pray for them; their future and your future are connected.”

It takes courage to deliver this kind of message to a people who long deeply for their home. Jeremiah’s words are not the “feel-good” encouragement one might expect. Instead, they challenge us, then as now, to accept that sometimes God calls us not to escape our circumstances but to transform them from within. The message is a call to stay, to engage, and to serve—even in places or seasons where everything feels foreign or unwelcome.

Although these words were spoken long ago, the message of Jeremiah is worth heeding even today. As people who profess Christ as our Lord and Savior, we must remember that our ultimate home is not here, but, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us, our home is in “the city that is still to come” (Hebrews 13:14). Yet, we are not to withdraw from the world while we wait. The question for us is, what are we to do during this waiting period?

Jeremiah’s words provide a powerful answer: “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. But 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” (Jeremiah 29:5-7, NRSV).

These words reveal a core principle of faith: we are called to participate in the civic life of our communities and to actively contribute to the common good, even in places where we may feel like exiles. Jeremiah urges the people to build homes, plant gardens, raise families, and engage in the life of the city in which they find themselves—not to isolate themselves in resentment or despair but to work toward the flourishing of the community around them.

Our faith, too, calls us to participate in the lives of our communities. Jeremiah’s message suggests that while we wait for the fulfillment of God’s kingdom, we are to be agents of that kingdom here and now. This means we vote. We advocate for policies that promote life, uphold human dignity, and prioritize care for the most vulnerable among us. It means that we work for the welfare of our neighbors and our city, recognizing that the well-being of the whole community—especially the poor, marginalized, and oppressed—affects our own well-being, both spiritually and practically.

As followers of Christ, we are called to an active, engaged faith that seeks justice, loves mercy, and walks humbly with God (Micah 6:8). We see this embodied in Jesus, who shared life with the poor, offered healing to those who were oppressed, challenged unjust systems, and called His followers to be “salt and light” in the world (Matthew 5:13-16). Jesus did not teach a faith that withdraws but one that enters into the struggles and joys of life with compassion and purpose. We are called to do the same.

Even as many of us have gone to the polls and election season is coming to a close, our engagement does not end with this season or with any election cycle. No matter which candidates enter or exit public office, Christ calls us to “preach the Message of good news to the poor... to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the burdened and battered free, to announce, ‘This is God’s time to shine!’” (Luke 4:18, MSG).

We act not only because it aligns with our civic duty but because through these acts of engagement we live out the gospel call to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are not only preparing ourselves for the world to come, but we are also bearing witness to the kingdom of God here on earth. In doing so, we build a legacy of hope, justice, and love that will reverberate in our communities for generations.

In Christ,

Pastor Jefferson