Today's Scripture Reading (September 3, 2026): Jeremiah 37
The war in Ukraine has highlighted how
interconnected our world is. Our reality is that we really do need each other. The
ties between Russia and Ukraine should be strong, but those living in Ukraine would
probably like to forget the days that they spent tied to Russia in the U.S.S.R.;
however, leaving that history buried in the past seems somewhat unrealistic.
Russia's focus is on Ukraine, and to be honest, the focus of Ukraine is on
Russia. It has to be. As one Ukrainian worker put it, whenever he looks behind
him, he sees the lives of his father and grandfather, and in those memories,
Russia is there. That tie is important. Whenever they look into the past, what
they see and hear is Russia. The reality is that Russia will not be going away
any time soon. Unfortunately, the relationship the two countries should enjoy
won't be achieved through war. Note that I am not just talking about Russia and
Ukraine. I am also talking about the United States and Canada, or maybe the
United States and Greenland, Denmark, or even the United Kingdom. We are linked
by history, whether we recognize it or not.
Jeremiah sends a message to the king that should
sound familiar. The Prophet tells the king that Babylon's focus is on Judah. In
Babylon's case, it is not a shared history that has caused this focus; it is
God. Jeremiah's message to the king is that whenever he looks at God, he sees
Babylon. Whenever he listens to God, he hears Babylon. The two nations are focused
on each other all because God has determined that is the way it needs to be. Neither
nation is going away any time soon. Even though Egypt rides out to support
Judah (not out of a love for Judah, but out of a fear of Babylon and a belief
that the best thing for Egypt's future was an independent Judah that could
provide a buffer zone between the two empires), Egypt would be unsuccessful.
Babylon was not going away.
As much as we want to spend effort changing
our physical realities, that time would be better spent understanding our
realities and how we can live within them. I am Canadian. We are defined by
saying "eh" (which, just so you know, is rarely actually said in my
part of Canada anymore), and by our apologetic, gentle nature. One difference
between Canadians and Americans is found in the word "sorry." In the
United States, saying sorry is an admission of guilt; in Canada, it's just a
way of being polite. Canadians sometimes take issue with the United States
being called Americans because we are Americans too; we are full citizens of
the North American Continent. But we also try to distance ourselves from the
Americans who live to the South of us. We are different from them. When we
travel abroad, we sew Canadian flags into our stuff so people know we are
Canadian, and so they know we are not from the United States. We have our own
character. Our reality is much like Ukraine's. When we look backward, we see
the United States. These Americans are our brothers and sisters, often quite
literally. We share history with them, and they influence us just as we
influence them. Canadians know the United States is not going away, and it
would be foolish to think that it was. So our task is to define ourselves as a
people in our own right and develop a good relationship with these people, who
are also called "Americans."
Jeremiah's basic instruction to the king is
simply that Babylon is not going away. The best, and most God-honoring, thing for
the king to do was to figure out what life looks like in the new reality and in
relationship with Babylon. To do anything else would be foolish, and God never
instructs us to act the part of the fool.
Tomorrow's
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 38
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