Recently I’ve heard the word exile raised as a lens to think about our contexts today. So let’s allow our imagination to wander. To begin, the staggering realities of 2020 signal a devastating series of upheavals in society, security, politics and the life of God’s people. What was familiar is now gone. What gave security is now challenged. The world has been turned upside down.

Of course, with the metaphor of exile, I’m not suggesting that we have been pulled out of our homes and taken to a foreign land. For most of us, we still very much benefit from the privilege and bounty of living in the U.S. – even those of us who lost power and running water during last week's winter storm. I do not want to equate Israel’s exile with our current season of dislocation. Yet all of us have entered a different space where what is normal is contested.

We grieved, as much of 2020 felt like a series of funerals. We found ourselves letting go of yet one more thing that anchored our lives, one more practice that gave meaning. In a word, we are relinquishing elements of a world that is passing. That grief reveals itself in a multitude of ways – from depression and inactivity to anger and violence. Within the spectrum of despair to polarized political rhetoric, we find a deep longing for something certain.

Sadly, our search leaves us empty. Certitude is an elusive creature. And for all of the promise of U.S. ingenuity, advancing technology, modern medicine, and abundance of things, we are left with the haunting reality that our lives are not nearly as secure and under our control as we would, in our optimistic moments, like to think.

Welcome to exile. Exile is the place where we come face-to-face with truth. Truth that you and I are not in control. Truth that science and medicine (as marvelous and wonderful as they are!) are not able to eradicate the undeniable existence of frailty and death. Truth that, over the past 50 years, the witness of Christian churches in the U.S. has largely failed in bearing witness to the gospel in ways that positively influence our world.

The truth is that Christianity is declining in this country. Regrettably, many Christians, unwilling to acknowledge it, still think that the way forward is to throw themselves fully into some political solution to restore what is lost and to regain control. This utter failure to recognize that the Christian faith is never really in control, gives rise to the false and blind assumption that there is something ideal to restore in U.S. American life. Yet conquering is not what exiled people do.

So what do exiled people do? The ancient people of God wrestled with such a question. In or about 587 B.C.E., a large portion of Jews were uprooted and sent to Babylon in exile. These people were deeply troubled and sought a way forward. Let us look to a series of narratives in Jeremiah 28 and 29 to find some hope and direction.

First, the narrative suggests the dilemma of easy answers. A prophet named Hananiah, who uses appropriate sorts of language like “thus says the Lord,” basically says, “This is no big deal!” Everyone will be back home in Jerusalem in a couple of years. In short, Hananiah claims they will return to the status quo, the old normal, so don’t sweat it.

Jeremiah, on the other hand, has a different word. His word is that Hananiah doesn’t know what he is talking about. Not only is the exile really exile, but also the whole world is swirling around in a toilet bowl, and the chief leader, Nebuchadnezzar himself, is going crazy. Jeremiah says, “Don’t be fooled by easy answers!”

Second, pressing on, Jeremiah says to settle in. Adapt, adjust, and find ways to make a meaningful life in a new environment. This is what I would say to those who provide leadership for congregations: we are moving toward a new normal. That new normal will not be what we are used to; it may not be a normal that we will like. Yet, like persons in exile, it is the reality in which we are called to act as faithful stewards. So learn this new environment. We can embrace it courageously because God is already present!

Third, Jeremiah calls for prayer. Pray for this new reality. Prayer does two incredibly important things. It reminds us that the world is not in our control and reminds us of the one who is sovereign. And it keeps us humble, expectant, and watchful as we look for signs of God’s goodness and grace emerging in our new setting.

Fourth, live with confidence in God’s promises. These two chapters of Jeremiah contain that famous, oft-quoted verse: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” What we usually forget is that God gives this promise to people who recognize that the world has turned upside down and that nothing is familiar. Perhaps it is time for us to hear God’s promise of courage, even as we live in a time of exile.

One thing is for sure: it isn’t the first time God has walked with his people during a time of pestilence and uncertainty! And, if we heed these four principles, the church in the U.S. can be positioned to receive the Spirit of God in new, fresh ways for renewal!