September 29, 2019 – Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
Giving our Hope to God
Lectionary 26C – September 29, 2019
First Lutheran Church – Winnipeg, MB
Jeremiah lived in very difficult times.
He lived at a time of war.
He lived at a time when everything he loved was about to be destroyed.
The year is 587 years before Christ.
Jerusalem is being besieged by the Babylonians: they are just outside the city.
The people of Jerusalem are about to be overrun by the Babylonians,
who will take their land away from them.
Many will die and the rest will be taken into exile.
Babylonians will live on their land and in their homes.
God’s long held dream that the land would be a place where the people would
bring blessing to all the families of the earth would be no more.
But into this dire situation, God speaks.
And Jeremiah listens.
So: listen.
A man comes to Jeremiah and tells him to buy his cousin’s land.
“I knew this was the word of the LORD,” says Jeremiah – but how did he know that?
I think he knew it was from God because it was just so crazy – because it defied all logic.
Why would anyone in their right mind make a purchase of land
that is about to be completely worthless?
Nevertheless, Jeremiah buys the land – and he makes a big show of how legal and proper
the purchase is: he makes sure there are two copies, has witnesses sign them,
and puts them in an earthenware jar.
I like to think that the earthenware jar is then buried in the earth, on the land, for safe-keeping,
where it will be preserved for a looooooooong time.
For, as God says, “Houses and fields and vineyards will once again be bought in this land.”
See, here is the thing: God has a future in store for this land, a holy future:
A future in which there will once more be justice,
despite the seeming prevalence of injustice.
A future in which there will once again be peace,
despite the seeming prevalence of violence.
A future where sharing, and mercy and love will prevail.
A future in which life will flourish, on that little piece of land.
A little piece of land, to which God staked a claim on that day long ago,
a little piece of land Jeremiah invested in.
The land was about to be worthless,
but God looked at the land and declared it is not worthless to me.
Jeremiah’s investment on that day was a tremendous act of hope.
God has a good future in mind for that land and that is why he invests in it.
Jeremiah will die before he sees that future, but his action is an investment in hope.
A hope for the future.
And when he buys the land, and draws up the deeds, and puts the deeds in an earthenware jar,
what he is doing is entrusting his hopes to God.
Jeremiah gives his hope to God for safe-keeping, trusting that God will keep his hopes safe.
Trusting that a future day will come when his hopes are realized.
This story of Jeremiah is one of the great stories of hope in scripture.
It is a story in which Jeremiah places all his hopes for the future into an earthenware jar
and entrusts it to God for safe-keeping.
Take a moment, look deep into your heart, and see what hopes of your own are lingering there.
Look into all the dark corners.
They might be hopes that you have long put away –
or they might be ones you can’t stop thinking about.
What is it you really really hope for?
Today I want you to entrust that hope to God.
I invite you to write down that hope on a piece of paper – it could be a hope for yourself,
a hope for another person or group of people, or a hope for the world.
Just take a moment and write it down.
2500 years after Jeremiah bought his little piece of land,
some Icelanders in the West End of Winnipeg bought a little piece of land
here at Sargent and Victor.
They invested in this land because they believed God’s mission to love, bless, heal and
feed this world and every person in it had a future on this piece of land.
They had hope that God would always be at work here.
Over the years, the neighbourhood changed and sometimes property values decreased while
crime rates increased.
Sometimes people wondered whether God really had a future in store for this place.
Sometimes the location looked worthless – but it was never worthless to God.
Many continued to invest in this place with their time and talent and wealth –
and blood and sweat and tears.
And many still do.
Over 100 years ago, God reached down and staked a claim to this piece of land at
Sargent and Victor and to the people who live here.
And so the people invested their hope here, their hope for God’s future of safety and well-being.
And so it has become a place where the hungry are fed.
It has become a place where children can find a safety and joy in the summer months.
It has become a place where all are welcome regardless of race, ethnic background, income,
marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity
and anything else that sometimes keeps human beings apart.
And that is why God continues to call you to invest in this place with your time, your talents,
and your wealth.
Because it is highly, highly worthwhile.
Because God continues to have a good future in mind for this place.
So I want you to take another moment.
And I want you to look deep in your heart once again.
And I want you to see what hope you have for this congregation and its mission and ministry.
What hope do you have for the future of this place?
What is your hope for this congregation?
Write that hope down on the other side of your piece of paper.
Would anyone like to share their hopes for this congregation?
Like Jeremiah long ago, you are entrusting your deep great hopes to God on this morning.
God will keep these hopes safe for us until the promised day of restoration.
That promised came for Jeremiah and the people of Jerusalem.
And it will come for you and for this whole world.
Like Jeremiah we are called to invest in that hope and we are called to work for it,
trusting all the while that our hope is not in vain – for God is keeping it safe for us.
When you come for communion, place your hopes in this earthenwar jar on the altar,
Just like Jeremiah did all those years ago.
And after worship, let’s all go out together to the garden and
place this jar in God’s earth for safe-keeping.
And from that time one, that place will be a place of hope.
And when you pass it each Sunday, you can remember that your hopes are resting with God.
So together, let us say, “Amen.”
Pastor Michael Kurtz
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