People's Prayers: Prayers of the People: Heads Up! ~ 7th Sunday after Pentecost WLWC* ‘25 Yr C

For Sunday, July 27, 2025; Readings: Letter of Jeremiah/Baruch 6:1-7, Psalm 106:1-6, 40-47; Colossians 2:6-14, Luke 21:20-28

Because of the sins that you have sinned before God, you all will be taken to Babylon as captives…you will remain there for many years…up to seven generations; after that I will bring you away from there in peace…my messenger is with you, and is watching over your lives. [Letter of Jeremiah/Baruch* 6:2a, 3b-c; 7]

Who can utter the mighty acts of the MAJESTY OF THE AGES, or disclose all her praise?...she saw them through their distress when she heard their cry… For their sake God remembered her covenant, and showed compassion according to the abundance of her faithful love… Save us, HOLY SHEPHERD, our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name and rejoice in your praise. [Psalm 106:2, 44-45, 47]

As therefore you all have received the Messiah, Jesus the God-born, in him continue to journey, having been rooted and built up in him and having been confirmed in the faith, just as you were taught… [Therefore] see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and worthless deceitfulness, according to human tradition…When you were buried with the Messiah in baptism, you all were also raised with the Messiah through faith in the power of God, who raised Jesus from the dead. And…God brought you to life, together with the Messiah, forgiving us all our trespasses… [Colossians 2:6b, 7a, 8a, 12, 13b]

[Jesus said to the women and men gathered near the temple:] When it happens that you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you all shall know that its devastation has come near… These are days of retribution, as fulfillment of all that is written… People shall lose heart from fear and expectation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they shall see the Son of Woman coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin, stand up and keep your heads up, because your redemption is drawing near. [Luke 21:20, 22, 26-27]

Note: The reading from Baruch* is also known as the Letter or Epistle of Jeremiah. In some Bibles, the two are separated by the book of Lamentations. [see more below]

The Babylonian Captivity of the Israelites was orchestrated by God as punishment for their continuing sins and many rebellions against God’s Commandments. As they were told they would be, they were in exile for many generations. They had to learn how to survive in this new and foreign land with unfamiliar gods about whom they are warned in the Letter. They are also told that God’s Messenger is with them watching over their lives.

The community of the Psalmist is also in captivity and reflects on all the transgressions that led to this time. While God showed compassion that caused them to be viewed with more tenderness by their captors, they still long to be restored to their homeland. We are, as they were, accompanied by God in all of life’s circumstances. We, too, must learn to live in the world in which we exist that occasionally, or more frequently, requires making considerably difficult choices in order to merely survive.

Six months ago, as of this writing, most of us “average” Americans, and others in similar life-styles in similar economies, would have read these passages quite differently, as those who are from worlds and millennia apart from these captive exiles. Now we are bear witness to untold thousands being rounded up, detained in, reportedly, less than humane conditions, and deported to prisons in countries other than those of their birth. Whatever one’s particular feelings or political stance about those deemed undocumented or with “illegal” status, it has taken such a short amount of time to shake our once deeply held beliefs about but now not-so-solid democratic foundations. Even those with pristine credentialed citizenship are losing decades-long employment to “budget slashing” and rumors of planned “loyalty oaths” to come. And, what of those among us, legal in every way, yet out of sight to “us” because their poverty, permanent housing issues, addictions, chronic health, or disability needs render them invisible or worse ~ less than human ~ for too many? What does it take to awaken us, to shake us out of complacency, justification, or even the fear of what is to come? What are we called to do?

As with other letters in the Pauline collection, the true writer of the Letter to the Colossians is not clear as it may or may not have been by Paul. Colossae was a community of Christians founded by one of Paul’s adherents and colleagues, Epaphras, in Asia Minor, and they were not strictly following the teachings of Jesus. In addition, these Christian communities developed by Paul and his disciples, were also oppressed by Roman occupation and moved through captivities of varying kinds. This Letter reminds those attracted by other philosophical and/or a fusion of religious practices, not to be deceived and reminded them to stay rooted in Christ rather than in things of human tradition…and not according to the Messiah. [see syncretism, gnosticism for examples] Paul is more concerned with the capture of one’s mind and inner being. If we are free in our minds, not allowing ourselves to be pulled this way or that, but comfortable and solid in our beliefs, even as we study to learn more, we are less likely to be swayed by those of dubious intent who are attempting to corral us into their space in a differing type of captivity.

It is important to remember that Jesus was born and raised into the oppression of Roman rule and forced to be exiled to Egypt as an infant with his parents [illegally?] to avoid persecution. Equally important, as was mentioned last week, we are not to be deceived by claims that the return of Jesus is imminent or already here. While this passage in Luke outlines what is to come before the return of Christ, there is no given timeline and perhaps not all that is written here is all that will happen. Even Paul was caught up in believing that Jesus would return in Paul’s own lifetime. Social media platforms are rife with posts about the end times are here whenever there is reporting of a spate of vicious storms or earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, etc. There are those who simply enjoy fear-mongering, and there are those genuinely frightened by a literal sense of the Bible’s meaning that they have been taught. Whatever Bible translation, faith tradition, belief, or practice, for a Christian rooted in Christ, Redemption is a sure and certain promise. Let’s keep our hearts from fear and our heads up!

*The readings for this week, as last week, begin with the generally obscure Baruch, a scribe for and companion of Jeremiah. His writing is not found in Hebrew Scripture or Evangelical Christian Bibles (NIV, ESV, etc.) but is in the Bibles of Orthodox and Roman Catholicism in the deuterocanonical or second canon. The apocrypha or hidden books, are the same as those in the deuterocanonical but they are in a separate section, generally between the Hebrew Testament and the Christian Testament in Protestant Bibles such as the New Oxford Annotated Bible, The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), etc., and not considered as part of the official Canonical books of Scripture, yet relevant. Biblical scholars may have issues with authenticity of authorship and content yet feel that the work still contributes to greater understanding.

LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY

Leader: ~ MAJESTY OF THE AGES, you brought us to life in Christ through Baptism, forgiving all our trespasses. Keep us from being held captive by the deceit and philosophy of those who would have us stray from our Messiah. Hear our cries of distress, and in your compassion, guide us to continue our journey to the fullness of our faith, giving thanks to your holy name.

HOLY SHEPHERD, our God

RESPONSE: Your Faithful Love endures forever

~ MAJESTY OF THE AGES, infuse the rulers and authorities of this World, this Nation, and this Community, with the prudence and right judgment not to sweep away the innocent with the guilty. Release them and us from governance according to the human thinking that benefits only the few and disregards the human cost for the many. We pray especially for: add your own petitions

HOLY SHEPHERD, our God