The Days Have Surely Come: Jeremiah 33:14-18 - Second Sunday of Advent

Generations of my family have earned their living in the coal mines of Greene County, Pennsylvania.

This was why my family was glued to the television in the summer of 2002, when a flood trapped nine men inside the Quecreek Mine in Somerset County.

All communication with the miners had been cut off. Nobody up top knew if they were alive. Given the extent of the flooding, there was only one spot within the vast networks of tunnels and shafts where they could be alive: the section of the mine having the highest elevation. Using GPS, they were able to pinpoint this location on the surface, and they began drilling a small borehole for ventilation. Amazingly, they detected the faint sound of nine consecutive hammer strikes on the steel pipe. The miners were alive. But for how long?

The flood waters kept rising. Oxygen was running out. There was very little light, food, or water. Each passing moment reduced the probability of rescue. 

Photo by KaLisa Veer on Unsplash

 Nevertheless, the crews immediately got to work drilling a much-larger rescue shaft. Soon, the miners could hear the faint sound of drilling. Unfortunately, the drill broke, and the rescue ground to a halt. For eighteen long hours, there was only silence. Eventually, the miners began writing goodbye letters to their loved ones and sealing them inside a bucket. Time was running out.

Meanwhile, a new drilling rig was rushed in from West Virginia, and the digging continued, though not without complications. Finally, the drill broke through. Fear turned to joy when they heard the faint sound of nine hammer strikes on the steel bit. After 77 harrowing hours, each of the nine miners was lifted to the surface inside a rescue capsule.

This was a miracle not only of modern technology but of human ingenuity, determination, and the will to survive. So many times, it seemed as though all hope was lost. But they refused to give up.

In our Old Testament reading, we find the Old Testament prophet facing circumstances every bit as dire as the miners. He is chained up inside the palace of Zedekiah, his king, for prophesying the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. From the king’s point-of-view, this was treason, but from Jeremiah’s point of view, this was truth. God’s people had forsaken God’s law and turned to idols. They refused to repent. And now, they were about to suffer the consequences.

Click here to read the Scripture text

All this spells bad news for God’s people, but especially for Jeremiah. If Zedekiah doesn’t kill him, the Babylonians likely will. And this is so unfair because Jeremiah wasn’t guilty of the sins of his fellow Israelites.

But there was another important truth that only someone like Jeremiah could know: God had not, and would never, abandon his people. Even though they are suffering the consequences of their sins, there is hope. There is a way forward. God will deliver his people from their unrighteousness, and from the might of the Babylonians.

But God’s salvation is not something that will happen in a far-off place at a far-off time. God is laying the foundations and sowing the seeds right now.  God is speaking, through the prophet Jeremiah, to awaken his people to this new reality.

This is what Advent is all about—being awakened to the saving actions of God happening all around us. However, salvation doesn’t drop from the sky as a quick, easy fix to all our problems. It’s a process. It’s a journey. And it is a new reality breaking through the old.

Without faith, though, all these promises are meaningless. It is only by faith that you can see the works of God amid the chaos and decay. Remember: faith isn’t something you create in yourself. You can only receive faith from the Holy Spirit. How does the Holy Spirit create faith? It’s through the Word of God, spoken through prophets like Jeremiah and others who believe in God’s promises. But it’s up to you to nurture your faith with prayer and Scripture reading.

Furthermore, Faith is not a private, personal pursuit. Faith exists in relationships, for it is the Body of Christ which exercises faith. You would not be a Christian if people hadn’t ministered Christ to you. In the same way that no one could have single-handedly rescued those trapped miners, much of God’s works are accomplished in community. Just as every single rescue worker had an important role which contributed to the rescue, every individual in the Body of Christ matters greatly.

God’s salvation isn’t so much brought to us as it is brought to life through us.

Even though we’re a long way off from the peaceful reality Jeremiah describes, God’s salvation isn’t so much the destination as it is the journey. We have hope, not because we’ve reached the destination, but because Jesus making the journey with us. God’s Kingdom is not a far-off place in a far-off time. God’s Kingdom happens now, whenever God’s promises are spoken, and we, as God’s people listen to God’s Word and act on it.

Jeremiah said, “The days are surely coming.” But Jesus Christ reigns, which means “the days have come.” God is here, there, and everywhere where God’s Word is spoken, and God’s will is done. When you have people doing God’s work in the world, things change. Broken lives are healed. Needs are met. Peace is made. Justice and righteousness become a reality. The world will take notice as we do good to others while everyone else pursues power, privilege, and pleasure. We can work miracles. We can either move mountains of drill holes in them. \We can make tomorrow better than today.