Helping Our City Prosper
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; 2 Timothy 2:8-15
Rev. Kenneth M. Locke, Interim Pastor
Orchard Park Presbyterian Church; Carmel, IN
Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Jeremiah is writing to the exiles in Babylon. He tells them it’s God’s desire for them to settle down. Find jobs. Make homes. Find someone to love who also loves you. Pray for the city to prosper. When the city prospers, everyone prospers.
Notice there’s nothing about abandoning their faith. They’re not supposed to embrace the Babylonian gods. They’re supposed to live in Babylon and help Babylon prosper, and do so as children of the living God.
As Christians today, we understand this is not just a onetime message to a small band of exiles. This is God’s will for all of us. Make a home. Be productive. Find someone to love who also loves us. Pray for our community and help it prosper. And do so not as atheists or agnostics or ‘spiritual but not religious.’ We help our community prosper as children of the living God.
I’m always glad to find Christians in the public realm. I’m always glad to see Christians at every level, both in government and the private sector. I’m especially glad to see Presbyterians because we Presbyterians are a thoughtful people. Not that other denominations aren’t. Many of them are. But Presbyterians have a reputation for thinking things through. It’s one of the things that sets us apart. In our activism, as in every area of life, we are thoughtful. We think things through.
Being a Christian activist, being a Christian actively working for the betterment of our community, can sometimes lead to trouble. It can even lead to suffering. Not the kind of suffering Paul is talking about. I doubt any of us will ever find ourselves in a Roman jail. (If you do, please let me know so I can pray for you.) But nevertheless, working to make our community a prosperous place for all people can sometimes lead to suffering.
And when it does, we need to remember everyone suffers. Everyone suffers. Even Christians suffer. It’s a universal experience. We live in a fallen world. Sin is real. And so is suffering. Sometimes we bring it on ourselves. Sometimes it just happens. And sometimes our suffering is a consequence of our ministry and our activism. We question the status quo too loudly, we push the-powers-that-be too far, and we pay the price for it. Christians are not exempt from suffering.
The good news, though, is our suffering does not go unrecognized. Those who hold firm will experience Jesus in a powerful way. Look again at our New Testament Lesson.
If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. (The word ‘endure’ can also be translated as ‘suffering.’ I would probably translate this as, ‘if we endure our suffering.’)
The point is, God is not oblivious to our suffering. Jesus sees our living and our suffering and those who hold firm will experience Jesus in a powerful way.
Not all of us are going to be public Christians in high places. That’s not everyone’s calling. But we can all help our community be what God wants us to be. We can pray. We can volunteer. We can support our church.
If Orchard Park Presbyterian Church were a single person, that person would be a powerful force working to alleviate hunger, educate all children, and advocate for mental health. If Orchard Park Presbyterian Church were a single person, it would be a very influential person in our community.
(This is not a stewardship sermon, but I can’t ignore what I just said. As Christians, one of the things we do is help our city prosper. We speak out. We protest. We empower. And we support our church. By supporting our church, we are taking part in her ministries. We are helping our community prosper.)
You and me, we’re not exiles in some foreign land. This is our home. It’s where we live our lives. We find meaningful work. We find someone to love who also loves us. We strive for the wellbeing of our community and far beyond. Not in secret. We live our faith boldly, out in public, as children of the living God.
Sometimes, that leads to suffering. If it does, we know it will be alright. It will be alright. God sees us. Jesus knows our suffering. And those who remain faithful will experience Jesus in a powerful way. Because Jesus is on our side. Thanks be to God. Amen.
