“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 29:7).
My beloved in Christ,
The prophet Jeremiah lived about twenty-five hundred years ago. The Kingdom of Judah was riven by internal disputes and was threatened from the outside by the Babylonian Empire. Babylon conquered Judah, sacked the city of Jerusalem, and carted off many of its residents into what was to be seventy years of exile.
Jeremiah wrote what I consider still to be the finest example of a pastoral letter to a people in distress. It said in part: “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” (29:4-11).
Jeremiah’s letter does four things: It places God squarely in the center of the people, their history, and their present situation. It encourages, even demands, that the people to go on living, day after day. It warns the people against misinformation and easy answers. And it promises the people that there will be an end to their distress, a future with hope.
These United States are riven by internal disputes and threatened by outside powers. One half of our people fears we soon will be carted off into exile. The other half of our people rejoices that exile is over and restoration is at hand. We shall see.
Meanwhile, I remind you, my dear people, that God is squarely in the center of our history and our present situation. I encourage you to go on living, day after day, praying for and seeking the welfare of our city, our country, and our world. I invite you to discern carefully, using the practices of the Church, the words of the present-day prophets, sacred and secular. And I ask you to trust that God did not undertake the whole of creation without ensuring its salvation – through Christ, God promises an end to our distress and a future with hope.
Fr. Daniel S.J. Scheid, SCP
Rector and Parish Priest
November 10, 2024
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