If you want to love your city . . . A Sermon in Honor of Willie Richardson ~ Jeremiah 29:4-7

 

⁴ This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. ⁶ Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. ⁷ 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 29:4-7

We've heard and celebrated a lot about Willie. Her joyful heart. Her southern charm and style. And her fire forged wisdom. But I'm not here to do that. I'm not here to speak about her but as her pastor I’m here to speak with Scripture about the God who loves us and calls us to one another. And seeing that I've been on the end of more than a few of her sermons and her loving smacks, I know a thing or two about it. I don’t know what Willie would exactly say about these verses from Jeremiah that I’m sharing with you today. But I do know this. She lived every last one of them. And so with the words of Jeremiah, and the heart of Willie, and with the Spirit of God, I have three quick things I want us all to hear about how to love our city and each other.  

If you want to love your city, you’ve got to tell the truth.

The great Christian and African-American activist Ida B. Wells once said, “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” And that was what Willie believed as well. That’s the loving thing to do, she would say – to take what has lain destructively in the dark and bring it to the light.

And the truth is that for many of the people who live here – this is exile. For many of our brothers and sisters– this place hasn’t always been home. And I’ve heard the truth from Willie – stories of racism, hate, and loneliness. Friends, Jeremiah and Willie want to remind us that we will never be able to love this place, love its people, if we can’t tell the truth where it has fallen short, if we can’t recognize it as exile for some. We cannot love without the light.

It says in Ephesians 4, that we must all “speak the truth in love.” And friends, if you have a problem doing that with others, or with Salem, you have to work on the relationship. And Willie did that. She leaned into exile. How do I know? Well, because I’m a Babylonian who Willie loved – Willie told me the truth – and called me her pastor, and better yet, called me her friend. She served this city and asked us to join her in building, planting, seeking, and praying. She told the truth and invited us in. If you want to love your city, you’ve got to tell the truth.

If you want to love your city, you’ve got to pray for shalom.

Willie and Jeremiah understand the importance of prayer. When Willie wanted to address the disturbing trends of racism and hatred she always began with a need and call to pray. And for Jeremiah, prayer is the deep recognition that the Lord carries you. And that whatever experience of exile you have, God will not, cannot, be exiled. So we pray in order to have eyes to see and ears to hear that God is not an us-or-them-god, not an I-love-you-but-hate-others-god. No, God is an I-call-you-to-bless-everyone-god.

And so prayer is placing one’s self in the arms of God who then calls us to do something. How do you know that you are truly praying Shalom? Well, you know it when you are given a task. Every true prayer should lead you to be an ally for others, to become the thing for which you pray. That word peace, by the way, is the word Salem or shalom. And shalom is not the absence of conflict nor simply going to church. It’s building homes, planting gardens, and feasting on local produce. It’s extended families, celebratory weddings, and children playing in the streets.

Praying shalom is learning that it’s not about winning. It’s about reconciliation. It’s not about triumphing over enemies. It’s about there being enemies no more. Willie and Jeremiah taught me that. If you want to love your city, you’ve got to pray for shalom. I mean Salem.

If you want to love your city, you’ve got to get the order right – “if it . . . then you.”

For many of us in the room, Willie would diagnose that we’ve failed to love our city because we get the order wrong. We don’t say, “If it prospers . . . then you prosper . . . OR If it prospers . . . then I prosper.” No we say, “if me first . . . then them, or we say, “if my family . . . then those.” We will never be able to find God’s peace, God’s shalom, by thinking of ourselves first. Friends, listen, you can thrive and your city languish. But if you help the city thrive – everyone will be better. How does evil flourish? How do cities fail? It’s rarely because there is some hidden conspiracy of evil. It’s when good people say, “I only have time for my family.” It’s when righteous people say, “That doesn’t affect me.” And stay silent. The struggles of our world will never be addressed if we imagine it’s a them-problem or a your-problem. We will only find love and healing when we all say, “This is OUR . . . city . . .  problem . . . love.” If it . . . then you, If us . . .  then me, If the whole . . . then the part. Like Willie, find a way. Find one way - one way to be an “If it . . . then you” type of person. Find one way. One way to love your city. One way to cross aisles, bridge gaps, serve people, sit at tables, tell the truth, laugh, and prosper others – for doing that will prosper you. Find one way – and wear a fabulous hat! Amen.