A Deposit in the Absurd

Text: Jeremiah 32
 
I want to share a story with you. 
 
About 600 years before Christ was born, a man sat in darkness and isolation in a prison cell.  His crime had been telling the truth to power, proclaiming the Word of God to the king.  Always a dangerous profession, it was a particularly difficult time to be a prophet.  The people had taken advantage of God’s blessing, not understanding that justice and righteousness were required in the Land that had been promised by a God of justice and righteousness.
 
They had been led to do so by both the National Religion and the National Government, who had told them they could trust God no matter what.  After all, God had made a promise—a covenant—and God doesn’t break those. 
 
And yet, as this man sat in the prison cell, his vision was coming into focus.  His words, the Word of God, began to create the reality he had described: The Babylonians, the greatest army the world had ever known, surrounded the city.  They had already sacked and pillaged the countryside, and it would not be long before they broke through the walls and burned the city to the ground. 
 
And so, Jeremiah sat.  Waiting.  Always waiting.  And listening to the growing panic outside the bars of his cell.
 
Finally, someone came to see him in prison.  The king, coming to beg God’s forgiveness?  No.  The priests, coming in search of guidance and correction?  No.  His fellow prophets, coming to give him strength and solidarity? No.
 
It was, of all people, Jeremiah’s wayward nephew, Han.  He had recently decided that, given the circumstances, now was the time to get out of the Real Estate Business.  Han presented his imprisoned prophet-uncle with a seemingly worthless deed of land, adding: ‘Buy this from me.  It’s your duty.’ 
 
I can’t imagine Jeremiah’s first thoughts, but it’s easy to envision the shock on Han’s face when Jeremiah said: ‘Okay.’ 
 
And so, Jeremiah bought the land, even going so far as to have the purchase certified and sealed by the authorities. Why would he do such an absurd and foolish thing?  Why buy a piece of property that clearly the Babylonians owned, and had probably razed, by now? 
 
For the same reason he found himself in prison: The Word of God—and the Word’s ability to create and recreate reality.
 
God told Jeremiah to buy the field as a demonstration of Prophetic Hope, for: ‘The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land’ (Jeremiah 32:15).
 
It was, for all intents and purposes, the end of the world for the People of God.  There was no hope, only darkness and isolation, as their enemies surrounded the gates.  And Jeremiah bought a field—because he knew that there would come a time when the People of God would return to the Promised Land.  He had the courage and imagination to believe in the Word of God. 
 
We, the same People of God, now sit in our own time of darkness and isolation.  What absurd thing is God asking of us now?  What will we do as a sign and seal of Prophetic Hope?
 
And, do we have the courage to imagine a future free of this prison cell labeled COVID-19?
 
I am confident that we do.