“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:7

The holiday season has traditionally been a time for joy and celebration, but it’s easy to feel a sense of captivity in the middle of all the busyness. To feel stuck with the obligations of family gatherings and social events, to be held hostage by heightened expectations - either expressed or suggested - can sometimes make this season feel more like a burden than the blessing and reminder it’s meant to. However a shift in our perspective can be a part of transforming our experience of this time of year.

Jeremiah was a prophet during the time of Israel's Babylonian exile. This was a time when the leading citizens of Judah were taken captive and held in Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar - the Isrealites faced a situation saturated with discomfort and longing. During this season, there were false prophets offering false hope that the exile would be short-lived. Jeremiah's message offered counterintuitive encouragement.

Instead of harboring resentment, or merely tolerating their captors, or even just passively waiting until they were able to return home… The Isrealites were encouraged to seek the peace and prosperity of the city they were in. Not to work to try to benefit themselves, but to work for the benefit of others - including their enemies. To actively pray to the Lord for it, because its well-being was interconnected with theirs.

There’s a similar principle for us today. In his first letter, Peter reminds us that Christians are foreigners and exiles in this world - that our citizenship is in heaven. Just like how an American living in Italy would be considered a foreigner, citizens of heaven are foreigners to the kingdoms of this world. But like the Isrealites living in Babylon - we too are to seek the peace and prosperity of the places we live.

While this includes seeking the peace and prosperity of the country we live in - practically, we’re to focus our attention on the cities and towns that we live in. We’re to participate as peacemakers, agents of flourishing, representatives of God’s shalom in bringing wholeness, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, to the local areas we live in.

An important step in this is through prayer. Communing with God in prayer recalibrates our hearts to His. Prayer leads to discerning where God is at work and enables us to join Him in that work with compassionate, proactive, wisdom.

As we navigate this season, let’s embrace our role as modern-day exiles and look for opportunities to actively engage in cultivating peace in our communities. In doing this, we not only find the true joy and blessing of the season, but also reflect the incredible wholeness and hope available for us in Christ.

Written by Pastor Josh Alves