WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
July 22nd 2007
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Field of Hope”
Jeremiah 32:1-16
To many, Jeremiah was a prophet of doom. He was often in conflict with the royal advisors who always claimed things were going well despite what was really happening on the ground. Jeremiah was such a troublemaker that he was even accused of not supporting the troops because of his doomsday prophecies. In fact, by the time we pick up the story Jeremiah has been beaten, arrested, and placed in the protective custody of the Kings. This was the kings’ way of keeping an eye on this troublemaker.
When we join the story, things are not going well. The end is in sight. While the Egyptians helped by driving the Caldeans back, they are not dependable. Unsure what is going to happen, King Zedekiah comes to Jeremiah and asks him: Why do you keep saying I am going to go into exile? It might be true but that sort of talk undermines the morale of our troops in the field and only emboldens our enemies. In response to these damning charges, Jeremiah ignores the question and instead tells a story about hope.
It is an odd story that sounds like it belongs on the real-estate channel. In meticulous detail Jeremiah shares how he purchased a field in Anathoth from his cousin Hanamel. In fact, it is the most detailed account of a business deal anywhere in the bible. But it is not a very good lesson in economics. In fact, it should go down as a lesson in what not to do with your money.
While I am no a real-estate professional, common sense says that purchasing real-estate in an area that is about to be invaded is not smart. Yet this is what Jeremiah does, under God’s direction. Jeremiah does this in an extremely public way so that all will know what he is up to. This foolish action is really a sign of hope in some bad news times.
When Jeremiah takes his cash and buys a field it is a real and symbolic gesture of hope. From this prophet who is often a bearer of doom, this public action says: I trust that there will be a future and that future will be here, in Jerusalem. However, despite this hopeful action, it is not a repeal of the promised exile. That becomes clear near the end of the passage.
In this action, Jeremiah is still proclaiming that the country will loose the war and be exiled. However, all in not lost, God has not abandoned the people. There will be a future. That is why Jeremiah carefully places the deeds to the property in earthen jars. These jars were an ancient form of a safe deposit box where they could be stored until the promised return from exile. It is an action which says the immediate future, the pain of exile, does not have the last word.
It is a bleak present; Jerusalem is under siege, the food supply has run short, and Jeremiah is a prisoner of a deluded King, however, he still takes a symbolic act of hope rooted in his faith in God. Jeremiah’s actions are symbolic and they are powerful. They are powerful because they are hopeful actions that are not built upon a future that is easily foreseeable. It is a hope that God will act even if the current signs are not hopeful. It is a hope that affects the way that Jeremiah lives in the moment of desperate times. It is a way of living which does not ignore the reality of the exile, but does not allow despair to overwhelm.
It is important to notice that Jeremiah does not take this course of action alone. There are many witnesses and even family members who stand with him. If nothing else, it is an important reminder that we cannot remain hopeful without the support of other. In isolation, we cannot sustain ourselves as people of hope. One cannot stand alone as a prophet of hope today because the odds are overwhelming.
If you don’t believe me try this. Seek to make a difference in this world all by yourself. Do not call on friends and family, and do not work with other people who share your vision. The result is predictable… It will not take long before you join the ranks of the hopeless or cynical or even the despairing. To be a person of this sort of hope takes a community. That is why Jeremiah takes public action with others in the court of the King. It is a powerful reminder that in order to bear the message: The King, the empire of Egypt, the empire of Babylon, and all the empires of the world simply do not have the last word; requires support.
To live out this sort of hope over sustained periods requires other of like mind and hope. I believe this simple truth has been captured well by Paul Rogat Loeb in his inspirational book “The Impossible Will Take a Little While.” He writes: “Join with others in pursuit of the impossible, drawing strength from community… Acting together is essential if we are going to keep on… (After all) who wouldn’t choose to join the team that keeps working for change over the team of cynical despair?” These are powerful words which remind us that we are called to be bearers of hope in world drenched in despair and cynicism.
In the symbolic actions of Jeremiah we are reminded of the hope that is at the core of our faith. We join this story as followers of Jesus who know that death does not have the last word, in this life not just the next. Our calling, in this story and throughout the stories of our faith is that we are to be bearers of this hope and tellers of these stories. We live in an age where hope is a precious commodity and as such we have got to get better at sharing our hope.
So as we prepare to break ground, and take a risk for a future which is hopeful but not fully known, let us proclaim boldly that we are the people of hope. That our hope is not bound by the rising and falling of the market, out hope is not tied to our feelings, or tied to the hope of results. Our hope is such that we cannot but help to believe that God has a future for us and that future is here, on the corner of Union and Delmar. Amen.
July 22nd 2007
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
“Field of Hope”
Jeremiah 32:1-16
To many, Jeremiah was a prophet of doom. He was often in conflict with the royal advisors who always claimed things were going well despite what was really happening on the ground. Jeremiah was such a troublemaker that he was even accused of not supporting the troops because of his doomsday prophecies. In fact, by the time we pick up the story Jeremiah has been beaten, arrested, and placed in the protective custody of the Kings. This was the kings’ way of keeping an eye on this troublemaker.
When we join the story, things are not going well. The end is in sight. While the Egyptians helped by driving the Caldeans back, they are not dependable. Unsure what is going to happen, King Zedekiah comes to Jeremiah and asks him: Why do you keep saying I am going to go into exile? It might be true but that sort of talk undermines the morale of our troops in the field and only emboldens our enemies. In response to these damning charges, Jeremiah ignores the question and instead tells a story about hope.
It is an odd story that sounds like it belongs on the real-estate channel. In meticulous detail Jeremiah shares how he purchased a field in Anathoth from his cousin Hanamel. In fact, it is the most detailed account of a business deal anywhere in the bible. But it is not a very good lesson in economics. In fact, it should go down as a lesson in what not to do with your money.
While I am no a real-estate professional, common sense says that purchasing real-estate in an area that is about to be invaded is not smart. Yet this is what Jeremiah does, under God’s direction. Jeremiah does this in an extremely public way so that all will know what he is up to. This foolish action is really a sign of hope in some bad news times.
When Jeremiah takes his cash and buys a field it is a real and symbolic gesture of hope. From this prophet who is often a bearer of doom, this public action says: I trust that there will be a future and that future will be here, in Jerusalem. However, despite this hopeful action, it is not a repeal of the promised exile. That becomes clear near the end of the passage.
In this action, Jeremiah is still proclaiming that the country will loose the war and be exiled. However, all in not lost, God has not abandoned the people. There will be a future. That is why Jeremiah carefully places the deeds to the property in earthen jars. These jars were an ancient form of a safe deposit box where they could be stored until the promised return from exile. It is an action which says the immediate future, the pain of exile, does not have the last word.
It is a bleak present; Jerusalem is under siege, the food supply has run short, and Jeremiah is a prisoner of a deluded King, however, he still takes a symbolic act of hope rooted in his faith in God. Jeremiah’s actions are symbolic and they are powerful. They are powerful because they are hopeful actions that are not built upon a future that is easily foreseeable. It is a hope that God will act even if the current signs are not hopeful. It is a hope that affects the way that Jeremiah lives in the moment of desperate times. It is a way of living which does not ignore the reality of the exile, but does not allow despair to overwhelm.
It is important to notice that Jeremiah does not take this course of action alone. There are many witnesses and even family members who stand with him. If nothing else, it is an important reminder that we cannot remain hopeful without the support of other. In isolation, we cannot sustain ourselves as people of hope. One cannot stand alone as a prophet of hope today because the odds are overwhelming.
If you don’t believe me try this. Seek to make a difference in this world all by yourself. Do not call on friends and family, and do not work with other people who share your vision. The result is predictable… It will not take long before you join the ranks of the hopeless or cynical or even the despairing. To be a person of this sort of hope takes a community. That is why Jeremiah takes public action with others in the court of the King. It is a powerful reminder that in order to bear the message: The King, the empire of Egypt, the empire of Babylon, and all the empires of the world simply do not have the last word; requires support.
To live out this sort of hope over sustained periods requires other of like mind and hope. I believe this simple truth has been captured well by Paul Rogat Loeb in his inspirational book “The Impossible Will Take a Little While.” He writes: “Join with others in pursuit of the impossible, drawing strength from community… Acting together is essential if we are going to keep on… (After all) who wouldn’t choose to join the team that keeps working for change over the team of cynical despair?” These are powerful words which remind us that we are called to be bearers of hope in world drenched in despair and cynicism.
In the symbolic actions of Jeremiah we are reminded of the hope that is at the core of our faith. We join this story as followers of Jesus who know that death does not have the last word, in this life not just the next. Our calling, in this story and throughout the stories of our faith is that we are to be bearers of this hope and tellers of these stories. We live in an age where hope is a precious commodity and as such we have got to get better at sharing our hope.
So as we prepare to break ground, and take a risk for a future which is hopeful but not fully known, let us proclaim boldly that we are the people of hope. That our hope is not bound by the rising and falling of the market, out hope is not tied to our feelings, or tied to the hope of results. Our hope is such that we cannot but help to believe that God has a future for us and that future is here, on the corner of Union and Delmar. Amen.
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