Engage the Mess: Grieve the Mess

There was nothing else to do but hang his head in the pain of what was happening. How had it come to this? He had preached faithfully for over forty years - a message, a warning, a pleading to repent, and all for nothing, so it seemed. He and his message were utterly rejected by the very people he was sent to as a prophet. Babylonian forces were now razing the city of Jerusalem, and destruction, death, slavery, and exile were all that remained for the unrepentant people of Judah. In Rembrandt’s painting of Jeremiah lamenting Jerusalem's destruction, we see the prophet utterly dejected, head in hand in utter lament. Looking closely, you can see the flames consuming the city on the lower left-hand side.

We need to grieve the mess. The consequences and pain of sin make life more than messy. The destruction of addictive behaviors, substance abuse, family violence, inequity, injustice, and shattered lives are the result of the mess. When we see what the Gospel offers and then have others reject that message, we need to grieve. We recognize that we live in a fallen world, and the effects of sin are all around us. Perhaps they've touched your family, your friends, or those you love.

Yet, even in grieving the mess, there is hope. While confined under house arrest in Jerusalem during the siege, Jeremiah buys a plot of land from his cousin just outside of Jerusalem, already under Babylonian control (Jer. 32:1-15), and as the Babylonians are besieging the city. It was a ludicrous action as he could never possess or use the land; the enemy already had control of it. Those who escaped the siege and massacre were heading to exile and slavery for seventy years. Yet he buys the plot of land and has the legal documentation drawn up, both an open and sealed deed of ownership. He did this because there was hope; “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land” (Jer. 32:15). There was hope, there would be a future! The sealed deed would be needed to claim ownership at that future time. The sealed deed proclaimed hope in the mess and a future joy.

This Thanksgiving season, many will gather as family and friends, celebrate over turkey dinners, and give thanks. Yet, for many, the mess is still there, and there is only grieving, no joy, and no thanksgiving. Perhaps that describes some of you this season; like Jeremiah, there is despair, head in hand, because there is nothing left but grieving. Let me encourage you with the words from Jeremiah that reflect the truth that everyone and every situation is redeemable because of the Gospel. At a time when his world was imploding, and there was only pain and suffering, moved by God's Spirit, he writes, "Behold, the days are coming declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah . . . For this is the covenant that I will make . . . I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer. 31:31,33).

Jesus gives us this same promise of hope as we grieve the mess, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).

Grieve the mess but focus on the hope of the Gospel!

Rev. Bill Allan
AGC President