The Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles (Jr 29,1-14): rebuilding in the present with an eye on the future

Abstract

The times of rebuilding are not always ideal or friendly moments. Sometimes, we have to rebuilt in hostile conditions, that do not inspire hope. This article seeks to explore the hard situation of the Judah’s exiles when they received a letter from the prophet Jeremiah exhorting them to rebuild their lives in Babylon, far from their land and their ideals. They were invited to plant, to build houses, to marriage, to bear children, to seek peace and to pray for Babylon, because their stay in the land of exile would not be brief, unlike what the false prophets preached. The “letter to the exiles”, as it became known, must have been a severe blow to the human perspectives of the exiles, but it contained instructions for the Judahites, so that they could rebuilt their lives with the feet in reality and with the eyes on the future for their children. Precisely for this reason, the letter can bring inspiration also to us today, since the times of rebuilding are difficult, sometimes, but the wisdom to fight and to hope is connected with the ability to look ahead with the feet on the ground.