Jeremiah 33:16

In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The LORD is our righteousness.”

It was about 2,600 years ago that the prophet Jeremiah spoke among the Hebrews. He had a forty-year ministry. It was a time when one of their greatest and most godly kings had died, and later the Jewish nation got conquered and destroyed. It was the worst of times. Jeremiah ended up with those who fled to Egypt. Many others got deported north to Babylon.

Now, in 2024, quite a few Christian folk believe we are living in ‘the last days,’ a time of things getting worse and worse before the better days to come, the golden age. (I’m not quite in that camp.) This feeling was surely among Jeremiah and his people all those centuries ago. And many times in history, people have felt ‘the end was near.’

Our little season of Advent and Christmas is a time for us to discover, together, some hopes and some reasons to carry on in our faith. For there are many reasons to give up. Like Jeremiah of old, there are voices of hope for us. Keep alert; stick together; seek goodness! Then our name can also be ‘God-Is-Doing-Right-Things.’

PRAYER: God of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy: we pray for us, Your people. These days are hard. Not always for us, but for so many, that’s for sure. Is there hope for this world of people? We look to You, to find that answer is ‘Yes.’ Even when we are not sure what are the right things to do, may You accomplish some good in us. This Christmas, and always. Amen.

- Jeff White