[RCL] Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Psalm 66:1-11; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19 Jeremiah 31:27-34 The days are surely coming. The phrase itself feels ominous, scary even. As we look around at what fills our current days, chronic stress and fatigue, political divisiveness, social unrest, climate crisis, and ongoing pandemic (just to name a few), thinking about…

[RCL] Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Psalm 66:1-11; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19 Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 Mention of King Nebuchadnezzar indicates that Jeremiah’s prophecy comes after the Israelites have to leave Jerusalem. Through Jeremiah, God offers instructions to God’s people, who are exiled from their promised home. While in exile, God will continue to help them prosper;…

[RCL] Lamentations 1:1-6; Psalm 137; 2 Timothy 1:1-14; Luke 17:5-10 Lamentations 1:1-6 Sometimes, we just need to give voice to our grief. The worst thing we can do is to ignore it—push it aside because it is too painful. In today’s Old Testament reading, the author is facing the reality that Jerusalem, a city that…

[RCL] Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15; Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16; 1 Timothy 6:6-19; Luke 16:19-31 Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15 This reading from Jeremiah finds us at a time of certainty: certainty that Jerusalem is about to be destroyed. Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, is besieging Jerusalem and its fall is a forgone conclusion. This is not the time to invest…

[RCL] Jeremiah 8:18-9:1; Psalm 79:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13 Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 Here in the eighth chapter of Jeremiah, we hear directly from God’s voice, as God laments the waywardness of God’s chosen people. Watching as the people of Israel worship idols and turn away from their relationship with the Divine, God cries, “Grief is…