Sermon: "The Welfare of the City" (Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7)

By the rivers of Babylon, where he sat down

And there he wept, when he remembered Zion.

Who knows that song? It was written in 1970, one year before I was born. It was written and performed by a group called the Melodians, and appeared in the 1972 movie The Harder They Come. It was later covered by Boney M., the Neville Brothers, Sinead O’Conner, Linda Rondstandt, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Sublime, and others.

The lyrics, you may know, are from Psalm 137, which was written at one of the saddest moments in biblical history. I’m gonna come back to the song in a moment, but first, let’s set the scene.

The people of Jerusalem were not where they wanted to be. Have you ever found yourself in a place where you did not want to be?

They were not in Jerusalem. They had been captured and taken to Babylon, where their captors asked them to sing. But they couldn’t sing. They could only weep, as they remembered their home in Zion.

Babylonians had taken over Jerusalem, and had sent the residents of Jerusalem packing, starting with the elders, the priests, the prophets, and other members of the upper class.

But before you start to feel too sorry for them, know that the prophet Jeremiah believed that it was their own fault, and that their captivity in Babylon was the result of their own sinful ways.

Does that make you feel any less sad for them?

In chapter five, Jeremiah said that these members of the upper class had become great and rich, fat and sleek, and that they had gotten that way through treachery [5.27].

They had worked to deny justice. They did not defend the rights of the needy. When the true prophets said “Hey, stop ignoring the poor; their lives matter!,” the upper classes just said, “No, all lives matter,” and they refused to change their ways.

And behind that defiance, they did not see the injustice, the oppression, the inequality that they themselves were contributing to. And they “did not judge with justice the cause of the orphan, and they did not defend the rights of the needy” [5.28].

They worshiped their wealth. They bragged about how successful they were. Chapter 1, verse 16 says: “they have made offerings to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.” Instead of humbling themselves and seeking justice, they lied about how things were. “This is our wealth, our reward for hard work,” they said. “We earned this.”

No, they didn’t. They stole it from the poor. They stole it by denying the poor fair wages. They stole it by taking advantage of their privileged status in society.

The leaders among them said “What’s the problem? We have peace [6.14],” but the poor did not have peace. The oppressed did not have peace. As Jeremiah says in chapter 23, their leaders “led them astray by lies” [23.32].

Not much has changed. Even today, we have leaders, wanna-be leaders, potential leaders who work hard to create and maintain a society that benefits the rich at the expense of the poor. Their tax incentives go to the rich, while the poor are thrown in jail. People with power and wealth who break the law rarely end up in jail, but the poor do, even when their crimes are less minor. Then the wealthy and powerful have the nerve to say to the poor, “Just do what we say. We have the solution to your problem.”

And the people believe their lies.

The lies eventually caught up to the leaders in Jerusalem. According to Jeremiah, their exile to Babylon wasn’t really caused by the Babylonians; it was caused by God.

Chapter 29, verse 4: God says, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon…”

It was because they denied justice to the poor, that God sent them into exile.

It was because they passed laws that favored the rich and penalized the poor that they were sent into exile.

It was because they did not judge with justice the cause of the orphan or defend the rights of the needy that they were sent into exile.

And it was because they lied about all this, saying “we are for the poor! We care for the needy! We are making Jerusalem great again!” … For these lies, they were sent into exile.

If you don’t believe me, read it for yourself. It’s all right there in the book of Jeremiah.

Now, about that song, and about Psalm 137 …

It’s such a sad, mournful tune. All the people want is to return to their home in Jerusalem. “How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, O Jerusalem.”

But that’s not the whole prayer. Psalm 137 is only 9 verses long, but we never hear verses 8 and 9. Because in the last two verses, we hear the people’s prayer for Babylon. And it’s not a nice prayer.

“O daughter Babylon,” they prayed; “Babylon, you devastator! Happy shall they be who pay you back for what you have done to us! Happy shall they be who take your babies and smash them against the rock!”

No one includes those verses when they sing that song. Not the Melodians, not Boney M., not the Neville Brothers, not Sinead O’Conner, not Linda Rondstandt, not Sweet Honey in the Rock, and not Sublime.

But the Hebrews prayed it. And God heard their prayer. All 9 verses of it. And God answered their prayer by saying to them:

 “Get comfortable. You’re not going anywhere. You’re going to be here, in Babylon, a long time. So build houses, plant gardens. You’re not just here for a few days or even a few months. Only when your 70 years are up, will I visit you and bring you back [29.10].

“And while you are here, you are going to learn what you did not learn in Jerusalem. You are going to learn that the lives of the poor and needy, whom you neglected, matter.

“So I want you to seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. Don’t just seek your own welfare. Seek the welfare of the city. The whole city. Seek the welfare of all who live there.”

“I have heard your prayers for Jerusalem. I have heard your prayers to return home. I have heard your prayers to return to life as it was, your prayers to make things great again. And frankly, I’m a little tired of those prayers.

“Those are selfish prayers. You want things to be great again for you, but you don’t care about the cause of the orphan or the rights of the needy. You don’t care about the foreigner and immigrant. You don’t care about your neighbor.

“You just want things to go back to the way they were. When you were in charge. When you could happily ignore the poor and the needy and those who were oppressed.

“You pray for a return to Jerusalem, a return to the way things were, back when you could ignore such unpleasant realities, and be content in your own wealth and privilege.

 “But I say no. Instead, pray for the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, for in its welfare will you find your welfare. 

“Pray for the city of Babylon. Pray for those who now rule over you with their power and wealth. Pray for the welfare of those babies who you want to smash against the rock.

“Their lives matter. You hear me? Their lives matter!

“This is what you need to learn in your time of exile.

“You need to learn how, in Jerusalem, your position of privilege gave you advantages over the poor and needy; advantages that you used while ignoring how they oppressed others.

“You need to learn that your welfare is dependent on the welfare of your neighbor whom you ignore.

“You have ignored your neighbor when she cried for help.

“You have ignored your neighbor when he cried for justice.

“You have ignored their quiet, peaceful protests and you have closed your ears to their loud shouts…

But God hears their cry.

God always hears the cry of those who are denied justice.

God always hears the cry of those who are oppressed.

God always hears the cry of those whose rights are denied.

You have not heard the cry, and so now God has taken away your rights.

You have not heard the cry, and so now God has taken away your freedom.

You have not heard the cry, and so now God has denied you justice.

This is so that you will learn that your welfare depends on the welfare of the city in which you live.

Your welfare depends on the welfare of your neighbor.

You’re going to be here a long time. You will raise your children here, and they will raise their children here. So build houses. Plant gardens. And learn to seek the welfare of the whole city, the whole population.

I don’t know. Maybe I’m repeating myself too much. Does it seem like I’m always preaching on the cause of the poor, the needy, and the oppressed? It does to me, so I’m guessing it does to you as well.

Yet ignoring the needs of the poor is the number one sin in the Bible. It appears over and over and over and over again. So I guess it’s a message we need to hear over and over and over and over again.

At least God still hasn’t given up on us. That’s the amazing thing about God. God never gives up on us. We still have a chance to get it right. We still have the opportunity. We still can learn to pray and work for the welfare of ALL who live in our community, our nation, and our world.

Thanks be to God.

And as you know, we have a special ministry that is focused on hearing the cry of those who are oppressed. The Disciples of Christ Reconciliation ministry focuses on the welfare of those who are poor, those who are oppressed… particularly because of factors related to race.

Last week we heard how gifts to the reconciliation offering support programs like the Youth Immersion Ministry, which allowed Tristan and other youth from our region to travel to Puerto Rico last summer. You have the opportunity today to support that reconciliation ministry.

So if you would like to make a gift to reconciliation offering – a gift in addition to your normal tithes and offerings to Bixby Knolls Christian Church – you may use the special reconciliation offering envelope found in your bulletin.

Our reconciliation ministry is one way that God gives us a chance to “get it right,” and to work for the welfare of the whole community of God.