Everyone wants a happy life—it’s one of the most universal human desires. Some people even work tirelessly day and night to provide for their families in pursuit of it. As the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle argued in the 4th century BC, the ultimate purpose of human life is the pursuit of happiness.
For the ancient Greek people, happiness and virtue were always connected. Simply put, you could not live a happy life without being good and wise in all your relationships. The biblical idea of happiness might be similar, but it is more closely connected to God. Psalm 1 is one of the readings that talk about a happy life in the Bible. I’d like to read a few verses from it:
“God blesses those people who refuse evil advice and won’t follow sinners or join in sneering at God. Instead, they find happiness in the Teaching of the Lord. They are like trees growing beside a stream, trees that produce fruit in season. Those people succeed in everything they do.”
And in today’s reading from Jeremiah, the prophet Jeremiah wrote a letter to the Jewish people in the exile in Babylon in the sixth century BC regarding a happy life.
For almost 100 years, Israel was battered, ruled by the Assyrians, then the Egyptians, and then the Babylonians. This cruel time was one of the darkest moments in their history. Jerusalem’s Temple was stripped and destroyed multiple times. Their politics, finance, religion, and society were gone, and their key leaders were either killed or dragged into exile in Babylon, including thousands of ordinary people.
The actual message God sent to the Jewish people in today’s reading was more shocking than their already cruel situation. It makes you wonder: “Does God really exist? If he does, why is this happening to us?” God tells them to “Build houses, plant gardens, and eat?” What does that mean? He also says, “Get married and have children as if nothing happened?” What is God trying to tell them?
Jeremiah’s prophetic mission was not just to give his people helpful tips on surviving in a foreign country. His true mission for the Jewish people in Babylonia was to remind them that they were there for a reason; that they were there for a purpose.
They had to learn again that the God they were serving in the foreign land was the same God they used to serve back in their country. They had to learn again in that cruel reality that they were still in God’s presence and care. And their new mission was to show and prove it to all the people living in Babylonia.
When my wife and I were struggling to survive as students in Sydney thirty-five years ago, these words from Jeremiah were like a moto to us. “Stop missing your home. Get on with your life here in Sydney and have children to be happy.”
The Jeremiah reading gets even more intense. “Build houses, start families, and have children?” That part is understandable because it’s what many people do anyway.
However, God asks them to go further. In the middle of nowhere in a strange land, God tells them to work for the good of the Babylonian cities and pray for them.
This didn’t make sense to them at all. Those Babylonian people looked down upon these Israeli and treated them as slaves. They were basically enemies to the Israelis. But God said, “Do not hate them back, but work and pray for their wellbeing and happiness.” To those Jewish people who were in doubt and confusion, God gave them the reason. “Because… because if they prosper, you will prosper, too.”
The Jewish people of that era were always proud to be God’s chosen people. They believed that every other nation and its people existed for the sake of Israel, with Israel at the centre of the world always and forever.
However, today’s reading from Jeremiah suggests otherwise. God tells them to overcome their centuries-old Judaism and their nationalism. Instead, they are told to begin working and praying for the well-being of other nations.
I love Australia; it is my home, and it will be the home of my children and their children. At the same time, I also love my birth country, Korea.
But sometimes, we must set aside our favoured nationalism and actively work and pray for the wellbeing of the people in a new country and its society. We must always remember the reason God gives us: ‘if they prosper and are happy, we will be prosperous and happy, too’.
I know this idea would certainly upset Donald Trump. If they truly want to “make America great again,” they need to learn once more to work and pray for the good of other nations and their people. It’s a shame that Trump and his government got it all wrong.
I believe that this Jeremiah’s letter to his people in Babylonia back in the 6th century BC still speaks to many of us here in Canberra in this 21st century. Quite often, an excessive focus on nationalism and patriotism is what actually breaks down the foundation of our small global village.
Wherever you’re from—whether you were born here in Canberra, elsewhere in Australia, or came from overseas— right now, this is your home. No matter how much you miss your home or your home country, please note that this is where your life is happening now. Commit fully to your life here. Get on with things! Work hard and build a happy life for yourself. Take excellent care of your family, your children, and even your grandchildren.
Finally, we must also work and pray for the well-being of other people in our town, our workplace, and our community, wherever we are. And remember this simple truth: their prosperity is our prosperity. Their happiness is eventually our happiness.
Friends, this is the core of God’s Kingdom life that Jesus tried to teach all of humanity. Jesus taught his disciples to be humble, always considering others better than themselves and looking out for the good of others. He taught them to love others as if they were family: if someone asks you to go one mile, go two miles; if someone asks for your shirt, give them your coat as well. Friends in Christ. I urge you again. Commit fully to your life here. Work hard and build a happy life for yourself and your family. Take good care of your children, and even your grandchildren. And at the same time, work and pray for the good of other people, wherever you are. Why? Because their prosperity is your prosperity. Their happiness is your happiness. Amen!