Christmastide
December 29, 2020
Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 31:7-14
For thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘Save, O Lord, your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame,
those with child and those in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
With weeping they shall come,
and with consolations I will lead them back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn. — Jeremiah 31:7-9
Jeremiah proclaims that the people will be returned to their land, and indeed they were. People left behind remained, and sharing the land was a challenge when those in exile returned. The temple lay in ruins and had to be rebuilt. While they were technically returning to their homeland, they remained under the governance of their captors. We here in Oklahoma are accustomed to rebuilding after tornadoes and wildfires. Significant loss changes people. We decide if such change is for the better or the worse. Such times of rebuilding and recovery is always for the better when we trust in God to guide us.
Our whole world is currently dealing with the COVID pandemic. Our nation is experiencing a tumultuous election and changing of governmental leadership. Racial division is raw across our land. We are not the first to deal with recovery as those who returned from exile did. I leave you with the words of an old hymn written in 1641 by Georg Neumark:
1 If you but trust in God to guide you
and place your confidence in him,
you’ll find him always there beside you
to give you hope and strength within;
for those who trust God’s changeless love
build on the rock that will not move.
2 Only be still and wait his pleasure
in cheerful hope with heart content.
He fills your needs to fullest measure
with what discerning love has sent;
doubt not our inmost wants are known
to him who chose us for his own.
3 Sing, pray, and keep his ways unswerving,
offer your service faithfully,
and trust his word; though undeserving,
you’ll find his promise true to be.
God never will forsake in need
the soul that trusts in him indeed*.
Prayer: Guide us, O Lord, as we seek recovery and renewal for ourselves, our nation, and our world. Amen.
*See at https://hymnary.org/text/if_you_but_trust_in_god_to_guide_you#Author
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.