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Morning Devotion for the Season of Lent

March 31, 2023

The Invitatory

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

Reading:Jeremiah 29:1,4-13

These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 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. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord.

For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 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. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.

Meditation: Jo Ann B. Jones

“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." My spiritual director gave me this passage to encourage and strengthen me during a difficult period in my life. What would happen if this verse were printed onto coffee mugs, posters, and tee shirts? Would people read this passage carefully? Taking verse 11 out of context, such merchandise appears to offer an appealing affirmation that suggests that God has a plan for their welfare and for hope.

No one, however, sips coffee from a mug bearing verse 10, about the long wait before their welfare is realized. There is no direct instruction about divine activity in our lives, even if we ought to exercise caution about expecting welfare on our own terms. Even if this passage does not elicit good feelings about how God will make things turn out our way, it teaches something we could learn.

Jeremiah wrote in a time of political and social upheaval. After the military of the Assyrian empire destroyed the northern kingdom, the Babylonian empire rose to power, defeated the Egyptians, gaining political power over Judah. Judah rebelled unsuccessfully against the Babylonian rule. Nebuchadnezzar overran Jerusalem and carried Judah’s king and many of the elite into exile. This chapter recalls events after this first deportation and the destruction of the temple and second deportation.

The burning question is how should Judah respond to this cataclysmic defeat at the hands of the Babylonians? Jeremiah advocated for settling in for a long wait. He counseled the people to buy houses and adapt to life in the foreign land. The verse advocates demonstrating that people recognize the long-term, but not permanent, nature of their situation. In order to remain true to Jeremiah’s actual message, the slogan should add a parenthetical comment “Build houses and live in them (in the last place you want to be).” His counsel can also be read to encourage the exiles to normalize living in exile, going so far as calling them to pray for the foreign land, and seek its welfare. You can imagine the cold response to these suggestions. Better to resist and assume exile would end quickly: a rejection of reality and an indulgence in fantasizing. It gives one a fantasized sense of power, a cheap thrill at best.

At the same time that my spiritual director shared this passage with me, I had been reading Paul’s Letter to the Romans and began carrying with me this passage to accompany the one from Jeremiah. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.” These disciplines build inner strength necessary for serenity. Jeremiah’s and Paul’s words still ring true for a number of life’s situations. God does desire our welfare and offers hope. We need patience and endurance in the time before that fulfillment. And perhaps slowly we may come to the realization that there is no division in God’s view between them and others; there is only all of us.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy Name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,

for ever and ever. Amen.