Jeremiah 32:1–3a and 6–15

Introduction: This passage tells of the prophet’s purchase of a field during a time of impending destruction, symbolizing hope for restoration. This act of investment in land, even amid devastation, represents faith in God’s promise of renewal for both people and the Earth. The land, though suffering due to human disobedience, remains a part of God’s creation with intrinsic value. Peace with creation involves recognizing that, even in times of ecological crisis, the Earth holds hope for future restoration. Like Jeremiah, we are called to invest in the long-term protection and healing of the planet . We are called to live out hope in action.

The Good News of Bad News

The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah. Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.

Jeremiah was not a yes-man, or a sycophant – in the face of bad news he spoke out.

Like Jerusalem we are facing extremely bad news. We know that the exacerbation of extreme climate events can no longer be seen as “natural disaster” but rather Creation’s super-powered response to a war which continues until we set aside the injustice of a global fossil fuel economy benefitting some, harming many. Such change is beyond individuals, but communities can encourage it. How can people of good faith best support their leaders in decisions for the good of all? What can we learn from the prophet Jeremiah?

What do you see coming? What can you do to share what you see? What sort of peace may still be made with the Creation against whom the late Pope Francis observed, humankind has been waging war?

We need to preach the bad news!

The Christian Gospels- books of ‘Good News’ are actually characterized by a large proportion of warning vocabulary – bad news! John the Baptist’s blunt and forthright message is described as “good news”. The Sermon on the Mount ends with the parable of the wise and foolish builders – surely one of the most up-to-date parables for our time: the imperative of responsive action in a climate circumstance well beyond immediate control. Here the builder on rock survives (though presumably not without some damage and flooding) – whereas the builder who pig-ignorantly – (or is this optimistically?) chooses sand does not. Both have the same opportunity to assess their climate. But faced with threats beyond our immediate control, salvation is still by the skin of our teeth.

The scenario of this part of the Book of Jeremiah has a similar, but brutally acute relevance to how we engage with a post-1.5 degrees world, in which an initially unstoppable momentum of extreme climate events, ecocide, extinctions and more will be part of all our shared future.

And it may well be “a long time” before the results of the best decisions of nations bear fruit in peace with Creation. Jeremiah acted as if he knew that it’s vital to act now in any case.

“Everything is going to be all right” has become dishonest and harmfully misleading to our peoples and their planet. Of course, the climate emergency will also affect our investments and calculations. Jeremiah here makes an “investment in hope” well beyond what the market of that time would consider wise.

In all our geographical contexts today, Things Will Get Worse, and the honest acknowledgement of that now moves into the mode of Good News– just like the confirmation for Jeremiah of God’s tip-off that his relative will come and try to rip him off over a property option in a time of recession.

Jeremiah’s meticulousness over the following procedure is striking, and includes attention to durability, to investment in hope beyond the grim and immediately foreseeable future. “Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time”. It’s the sort of prophetic ‘madness’ – with eyes wide open – that rebels against the common sense of despair, rather than evades or denies the crisis.

Beyond the time of tipping points, the remaining Good News of 2025 is to warn clearly of immediate bad news, and offer not facile solutions, but mitigation strategies, which may initially seem either alarmingly costly, humiliating, or – as for Zedekiah – politically unfeasible for as long as the idolatrous fictions of ‘prudently, gradually eventually” still masquerade as wisdom. These three words “‘prudently, gradually eventually” are used by politicians defending a retreat from Net Zero targets at a time when the UK government has been soft-pedalling what they might previously have touted as climate leadership.

In the background of the passage, – as the Book of Jeremiah proceeds, we find to our horror what Zedekiah was afraid of, but kept at arm’s length. Psalm 79: 1-3, also this week, fills it in graphically. The temple will fall, Jerusalem will be reduced to rubble, blood poured out like water and no one left to bury the dead.

During the reign of Zedekiah Jerusalem fell. The Babylonian army, led by Nebuchadnezzar II, breached the city walls. This event marked the end of the Kingdom of Judah and the beginning of the Babylonian exile

But this is why there is no ‘good news’ component in denial.

King Zedekiah took the way of least resistance by imprisoning Jeremiah in an attempt to silence his “good news”. But acting on the prophet’s unwelcome truth might have spared him the butchering of his sons – and therefore the future of his family identity as the last thing he saw before his eyes were put out, followed by the remainder of his life in suffering and humiliation.

Bible commentaries have characterized Zedekiah as weak and foolish, but this was a king of a city already under siege, with pressures way beyond those that assail the leadership of my own nation. Few can act wisely or rationally when this level of urgency takes hold.

The fear of political opposition led Zedekiah to permit the people the people to continue their “pollutions” (2 Chron 36:14).

That’s a good word to choose. The refusal of our leaders at every level, to enable a just transition from lifestyles which harm both our local and global ecosystems, calls at least for protest, but even more for our support and encouragement of the best of our leaders in the bold decisions which may be for the good of all. What does it cost us to enable them to give leadership in this time of crisis of nature and climate?

Rev David Coleman, Chaplain Scottish Eco-congregations

NOTES ON THE OTHER READINGS

Psalm 91:1–6 and 14–16 emphasizes God’s protection and faithfulness, offering refuge from harm. This psalm affirms that God’s safeguarding extends to all of creation. Just as God promises to shield the faithful, the Earth itself is under divine care, and we are called to honour that sacred relationship. The psalm’s imagery of God’s wings covering us reflects the protective, nurturing role humanity is meant to take in relation to the environment. Peace with creation arises when we recognize God’s ongoing care for all life and commit to living in harmony with and protecting the Earth.

1 Timothy 6:6–19 contrasts contentment with greed, urging believers to store up treasures in heaven rather than on Earth. This passage challenges the consumerist mindset that exploits the Earth’s resources for personal gain. True contentment comes from living simply and sustainably, understanding that wealth is not in accumulation but in stewardship. The call to “fight the good fight” and “take hold of the eternal life” invites us to pursue ecological justice, living in a way that honors the Creator and ensures peace with creation. Care for Creation, not exploitation, is central to peace with the Earth.

Luke 16:19–31, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus highlights the stark divide between wealth and poverty, with the rich man ignoring the needs of the poor. This parable also reflects how humanity often neglects the Earth’s vulnerability while prioritizing personal gain. Just as the rich man’s disregard for Lazarus leads to his downfall, the exploitation of natural resources without regard for ecological balance brings suffering to the planet and its vulnerable communities. It is the over consumption of the richest people on earth that is causing the worst environmental degradation Peace with creation calls for us to recognize our responsibility to both the poor and the Earth, embracing justice and sustainability.