A Parade Toward Home – Jeremiah 31:7-9

A text – Jeremiah 31:7-9      

⁷ 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.”
⁸ 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.
⁹ 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 where they shall not stumble,
for I have become a father to Israel,
    and Ephraim is my firstborn.

A reflection:

These are some beautiful verses in the middle of an Old Testament book filled with sadness and the desperation of being exiled. This section of Jeremiah is filled with hope – drawing pictures of what it will be like when God leads the people back to their homeland.

I especially like that God leads them all back together – the able-bodied and the disabled, and even the pregnant women and those about to give birth. Those walking home will always be near water, and the paths will be straight and not covered with rocks to stumble over. These are very specific provisions God is making for people to make the journey back home.

God sees everyone and has provided for everyone. God has included those who might normally be marginalized. Everyone is going home, and the parade includes them all, no matter their state. What does this glimpse, from the chaotic and sad time of exile into the future going home, teach us today? We might consider ourselves to be in a state of chaos ourselves – a chaos of exile from the world we thought we knew into an unrecognizable and frightening place and time. But our future will be better. God will lead us into that better future, but not alone. We will be in community with the blind, the lame, the pregnant – everyone will see it together.

What might that hopeful future reality be urging us to do now? Maybe getting to know and love those who will be in the parade with us? Thinking about the road back from their point of view? Considering what greater community might mean for us? If God sees everyone, how might we aspire to that greater vision and even live into it?

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for providing hope in times of stress and chaos. Help us to see those around us that we might usually miss. Help us to think about restoration of good living for everyone, not just ourselves. Help us to consider our gifts for use on behalf of others, because we are all in this parade together.  Amen.