'The Violent Take It By Force'; Kingdom People Seek Shalom (Matt. 11:12; Jeremiah 29:1-12)
Advent Reflection at the John Wesley Fellows Christmas Conference 2024 for Advent III (December 15, 2024)
By Michael J. Christensen, Ph.D.
Intro: Advent III
Traditionally, the Prophecy Candle of Hope, Bethlehem Candle of Peace, Shepherd's Candle of Joy, and Angel's Candle of Love each point to different parts of the story Christ during the four weeks of Advent.
Matthew 11: 2-5; 11-12 reads:
"2When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to [Jesus] him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” 4 Jesus answered them [by pointing to the signs of the Kingdom]:
“Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, those with a skin disease are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them…”
Then the Gospel writer adds this dark note in vs 12: "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and violent people take it by force…”
A disturbing verse (some say it doesn’t belong there but was added later).
“The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, when violent people take it by force.”
The phrase is the title of a new book by Matthew Taylor on the rise of American Christian nationalism in its extreme and violent forms. Most notably in the rise of ‘God’s Army’ and the so-called New Apostolic Reformation willing to advance God’s Kingdom by force and violence.
• Not unlike the Zealots in Jesus’s time wanting to force his hand to overthrow Roman occupation
• Not unlike Palestinians in our time who have endured displacement and oppression and are fighting back with violent means...to destroy the State of Israel.
• Not unlike the message in the new Bonhoeffer film about the moral clarity between good and evil that justifies an assassination plot to destroy an evil dictator or empire.
In contrast to taking the kingdom by force is Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles from Jerusalem to Babylon. After the downfall of Judah in 597 BC, the leaders in Jerusalem are carried away into captivity in Babylon. Deposed, displaced, deported to a foreign land.
• Should they rebel, revolt, seek to overthrow their oppressors?
• Should they curse the Babylonians in their prayers?
• Should they hope for a quick deliverance and restoration?
The displaced Judeans were in denial…. They wanted to believe the new prophets who said their time in bondage will be short-lived?
They wanted to resist, refuse, rebel, and try to overcome their oppressors. These where Judah’s enemies who destroyed their city of Jerusalem, looted and burned their temple, and dragged them away as captives. In their anger, the exiles refused to sing their songs of joy for the amusement of their conquerors. “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?”
Instead, they cursed their enemies and prayed that God would kill their offspring: “Blessed is the one who takes your little ones and bashes them on the rocks," many prayed. (Psalm 137}
The pastoral Letter from Jeremiah to the exiles provides clear guidance on how to surivive in Babylon:
• Don’t believe the false prophets who claim a quick deliverance.
• It not the time to fight and overthrow Babylon.
• Instead, buckle up for a long ride… Settle in for a long stay in Babylon. (70 years. 2 generations)
• Yet, do not despair, the Lord has not abandoned you…
• The Lord will keep his promise—to return you to your homeland.
• In the meantime: Trust, Hope, Love, Seek Shalom… right where you are.
Not everyone believes in seeking shalom in times of oppression and domination… Some seek to use the sword, to use any necessary means to overthrow the enemy. Rather than seeking shalom in a repressive regime, some believe God has called us to take up the sword to fight a holy war and help usher in the kingdom of God. “Fight, fight, fight!” the violent chant in their desire to usher in God’s kingdom of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love by force.
As the former International Director of Communities of Shalom for the UMC, I have taught Shalom Principles around the world for many years. Jeremiah provides practical, concrete instructions for exiles and pilgrims in a foreign land; and for us who feel the weight of oppression in times of displacement, domination and despair.
Four Shalom Mandates/Imperatives for Survival and Shared Prosperity
Jeremiah instructs the Exiles to take four non-violent actions in Babylon:
1. Build Houses and live in them. Settle down for a long stay in a new land. Change your perspective. Accept the situation for what it is. In God’s providence, you have been sent into exile… Learn to cope with the new reality. Consider your stay in Babylon as a learning season. Try not to stay in a temporary shelter but build a house and live there. Become more stable and secure if you can.
2. Plant Gardens and eat their fruit. In the back yard of your house, plant a garden and eat its produce. Don’t focus on what you used to eat back in your old country (the olives and the pomegranates). Eat local. Cultivate the new land. Rebuild your life through farming. Become self-sustaining and not dependent on the food of others.
3. Raise Families. Mandate to marry and have children and grandchildren. Focus on the next generation. Do not decrease in numbers but multiple to ensure that a future generation of children will survive the exile and return home. Love your family. Invest in the hope that they have.
4. Seek Shalom. This mandate is the hardest one. How to seek the shalom of your enemy and oppressor in the land that is not your own? To seek shalom and pray on its behalf? Praying for the peace of Jerusalem was good and right, but not for Babylon. I think this is the only place in the OT where prayer for one’s enemies is commanded…
The word Shalom is a key word in book of Jeremiah. Used 26 times.
[Often negatively in reference to a false sense of peace or the false prophets who use the word falsely. E.G. “They have healed my people’s wound superficially, saying ‘shalom, shalom, when there is no shalom.” (Jer. 6:14). ].
Shalom is used 3 times positively in Jer. 29:7. “Seek the shalom… [quote].
Shalom, of course, means more than peace or absence of conflict. Big word with rich meanings: welfare….
Let the city of Babylon become a place of shalom. Let it temporarily become the new Jerusalem—the place of Yahweh’s blessing. If Babylon prospers, you will prosper too. The people of Judah can experience the blessings of land, and home, and gardens, and offspring, and peace—if you seek the shalom of the community where you have been sent, and pray to the Lord on its behalf. Knowing that in its shalom, you will find your shalom.
Conclusion:
Using violence to advance the Kingdom of God is a contradiction to the message of Jeremiah to seek Shalom among one’s enemies… And a contradiction to the gospel of Jesus who said to put away the sword and don’t pay back evil for evil…
Seeking shalom is a fruit of the Spirit…in all its fullness and meanings---health, healing, harmony, wholeness, welfare, shared prosperity, human flourishing—is the way to live with love, joy, peace, and hope.
To give you a future with hope (vs 12)—quote
You may not see God’s deliverance and return home in your lifetime, but your grandchildren will….[two generations, 70 years, before the exile ends and the promise fulfilled]
The day will surely come for the promised Return. When the tribe of Judah will return home and rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. A longing and a hope...
Not unlike…
• Syrian refugees finally able to return to their land after 50 years of Assad family domination and oppression.
• Not unlike Somalian refugees in Africa longing to return home…
• Not unlike Palestinians awaiting the day that they can return and rebuild the land of Gaza.
• And not unlike our hard times in this present darkness.
The Letter from Jeremiah is a clarion call for eschatological living in the land where God’s people have been sent for the allotted time.
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God…” (Ps. 20: 7)
“Rejoice in the Lord, always. Again I say, rejoice.” (Philippians 2 ]
Time to light the third Candle. Let us pray….
[Light the Third Candle]—Shepherd's Candle of Joy
Let us pray….
Today, we light the rose-colored candle, a symbol of joy in the face of adversity. We know that You, O Rose of Sharon and Lily of the Valley, are our source of beauty, truth, hope, and joy.
Just as the shepherds rejoiced at the birth of our Savior, may we too embrace this moment with hearts full of gratitude and praise.
We remember Your promises— that echo in our souls and invite us to find delight in the simplest of moments. May we be "Surprised by Joy"— In the midst of our ordinary lives,
Let Your otherworldly joy break forth, brightening our days and lifting our hearts… AMEN.
