Jeremiah 32:8
Well, since the silent clamoring for my wisdom has become so deafening I thought I'd best post something this Advent.
I planted 54 strawberry plants the other day. As I was planting I got to thinking about old Jeremiah, the prophet, not the bullfrog, although I seldom think of the former without singing about the latter...But back to the strawberries.
Jeremiah, the prophet, not the bullfrog, was locked up because he'd dared to tell a corrupt king and an ethically bankrupt people that they were wrong. The doom he'd foreseen was at the gate of the city. All seemed lost. And what did Jeremish, the prophet not the bullfrog, do. He bought himself a little garden plot, presumably to grow some strawberries. At the time all but the most foolhardy (or faithful) would have gotten out of the game, he bought some property!
It is pretty easy to get discouraged around here these days. Alabama, the place of my work and rest while I await Christ's final Advent, is under the heel of those who practice greed, discrimination, and abuse. Juan Crow laws have joined hands with Jim Crow practices.
Churches are building bigger edifices (and larger roadside crosses) while people are hungry and scared and unwelcome in those big fine buildings.
So I planted some strawberries and sang about Jeremiah, the bullfrog not the prophet. He is a good friend of mine. I don't always (actually seldom) understand a word he says. But those I understand are powerful. "PLANT YOUR STRAWBERRIES for you shall share them. Those who hunger for love And acceptance will be fed. Those who are thirsty for peace will have their thirst quenched. Those who are lonely and left out have a friend."
Gather Round children. The God who loves us all promises that what we see isn't the last word. The vision we see of the Peaceable Kingdom is real! As long as we believe, and give our lives to the Peaceable Kingdom, it is real. Do you want cream with your strawberries?
Shalom y'all,
Pastor Pat