March 27, 2009

Read Jeremiah 23:1-8

Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD.—Jeremiah 23:2-4

During the season of Lent, I often find myself feeling a little misplaced - disoriented maybe. It’s a strange time of year: the seasons are on the cusp of changing, but you can still expect to have a balmy Spring-like day followed by a wintry blast of cold, cloudy air. It’s unsettling. And it doesn’t help that in our communal life at church, we’re a little more somber, more penitent, more reflective. Lent reminds us of Jesus’ time in the wilderness and the years the Israelites spent wandering in the desert. So it’s little wonder that we might feel slightly misplaced. Things just aren’t quite right. We’re not “at home.”

In Jeremiah, the Israelites were far from home, too. They’d been scattered all over the place as a result of some bad leadership. They know they’re not where they belong. And God knows they’re not where they belong. So God makes a promise - a pretty incredible promise. God promises that everyone will make it home. Everyone. They will be brought back to the fold. They will be fruitful. They will have good leaders. They will not fear or be dismayed. And they will all be there.

However misplaced we might find ourselves, however far we’ve been scattered from our home in God, God takes it upon Godself to gather us up and bring us back. And no one will be missing.

Pray: O God, greatest of all shepherds, help me keep my faith in your promise that you will always find me and bring me home. Amen.

Yvi Martin is a seminary student at Emory University in Atlanta, GA, and a candidate for ministry in the Missouri Annual Conference.