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Written by Reggie Kidd, a contemporary pastor, professor, and author. This is an excerpt from the book “Exile and Return.”

The Bible’s quintessential account of “exile and return” is Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. Matthew’s gospel portrays Jesus’s death and resurrection as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s vision of God “bringing justice to victory” through his Servant. God’s Servant will suffer in his people’s place to bear their iniquities and justify many. By his rising, Jesus, as God’s servant, will fortify “bruised reeds” and rekindle “smoldering wicks.”  The victory of justice through Jesus’s exile into death and his return from the grave will be so complete that his victory will include Gentiles as well as Jews. For this reason, Jesus insists that people not trumpet his miracles and identity during his earthly ministry. He is not on a tour of self-promotion. Rather, his mission is one of “exile and return” that he might “bring justice to the Gentiles.

Prayer:

Written by Desmond Tutu (1931-2021), a South African social rights activist and retired Anglican bishop who actively opposed apartheid in the 1980s.

Goodness is stronger than evil.

Love is stronger than hate.

Light is stronger than darkness.

Life is stronger than death.

Victory is ours through Him who loves us.

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Written by Caleb Mathis, a contemporary pastor and writer. This is an excerpt from his work “Daniel: Keys to Surviving the Exile You Don’t Know You’re In.”

Even if you don’t feel like it, if you’re a follower of Jesus, you’re an exile. It’s important to recognize that fact, or you’ll be spinning your wheels in the wrong direction. When followers of Jesus are more formed by their political ideology than their theology, we’ve forgotten we’re exiles. When comfort matters more than conformity to Christ, we’ve lost the plot. When individual freedoms eclipse love of neighbor; when we’re more familiar with the numbers in our bank account than the chapter and verse of the scriptures; when we look and act and think and inhabit the world just like everyone else, we’ve not only forgotten we’re exiles, we’ve been assimilated. The dominant culture has won. The people of God have always been minority populations in the world—and they didn’t seek to be anything else. That minority population toppled the Roman Empire not by force, politics, or violence, but simply by being different. In a highly classed society, the Church treated prince and pauper alike. With hunger and sickness rampaging, the Church emptied itself to feed, clothe, and bandage the forgotten. When sexual relationships had no boundaries, the Church practiced minority sexual ethics. When the world said Caesar was Lord, the Church responded by saying that was Jesus’ title, and then they actually lived like it was true. Perhaps more than anyone else in the scriptures, Daniel understood exile—physical and spiritual. He not only survived his time of exile, he thrived under it. More than ever, we need his example… As much as I love Daniel, he puts me between a rock and a hard place. He leaves me with a choice. I can invest in the comfort of my life here and now: better job, bigger car, greener lawn— or I can humbly accept my life as an exile, a citizen of a coming-but-not-yet-realized Kingdom built on foundations of love and grace, mercy and sacrifice, that our culture will never, ever understand. I can build my life, or I can build something larger and more lasting. What I’m pretty sure I can’t do, though, is build both. Faithful people do faithful things, right? Daniel pushes me to get moving by making peace with being different, leaning on others, becoming a self-feeder, doing good work, and elevating my vision beyond myself. It’s the only way to survive, even thrive, in this exile.

Prayer:

Written by Henry Martyn (1781-1812), an Anglican priest and missionary to the peoples of India and Persia.

O Send thy Light and Thy Truth, that we may live always near to Thee, our God. Let us feel Thy love, that we may be as it were already in heaven, that we may do all our work as the angels do theirs. Let us be ready for every work, be ready to go out or come in, to stay or to depart, just as Thou shalt appoint. Lord, let us have no will of our own, or consider our true happiness as depending in the slightest degree on anything that can befall us outwardly, but as consisting altogether in conformity to Thy will, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Written by Walter Lam, head of the Alliance for African Assistance, a mission supported by the Village Church.

I fled persecution from Uganda, went to Kenya and Italy, and finally arrived in San Diego in 1986. This was the most difficult decision for me; not knowing where I was going and leaving my family behind. Everywhere I went during this challenging time, God had His children welcome me. In San Diego, the La Jolla Presbyterian Church welcomed and resettled me. I praise God for making it possible for my family to join me in San Diego after two years. Two years without them was the most difficult part of my life ever. We started Alliance for African Assistance (AAA) in 1989 to resettle refugees with $7,000 seed money from the Presbytery of San Diego’s Self-Development of People Fund. Since then, AAA has resettled 18,757 refugees from more than 50 countries. Additionally, since the inception, AAA has provided various social and medical services to about 216,000 people. The number of Afghan refugees who had helped our Forces before the fall of Kabul and were resettled by AAA comes to 1336, the largest total number resettled in the State of California. Major support from The Village Community Presbyterian Church and most Presbyterian Churches in San Diego, made it possible for AAA to successfully resettle the large number of Afghans within six months. Today the largest population we serve are Ukrainians mostly women and children fleeing from the war in their country. So far, we have provided services to 600 Ukrainians. I believe that God made my family and I go through the refugee resettlement process in order to prepare me to serve His children fleeing persecution and coming to San Diego.

Prayer:

Written by Rebecca Barlow Jordan, a contemporary Christian author.

I long for your presence, Lord. Narrow my thoughts to include only those things that are honorable, truthful, beautiful, pure, and praiseworthy. I ask for your wisdom to apply these truths to my life morning, noon, and night—literally all through the day. For you are worthy to be praised all the time.

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Written by Matthew H. Patton, a contemporary pastor.  This is an excerpt from his work “The End of Exile: The Old Testament as Cliffhanger.”

The Old Testament ends in a cliffhanger. Remember how much God promised would happen: the magnificent complex of promises we call “the restoration” or “the kingdom of God.” And then consider the fizzling disappointment we discover in Ezra–Nehemiah. What is more, consider how Israel’s recalcitrant sin intensifies the problem: If the only way out of exile is through Israel’s repentance, but the very reason for exile is Israel’s inability to repent, how will the restoration ever come to pass? All this leaves us with an unresolved “To be continued . . .” flavor. But it also leaves us with some insights about why God gave us the Old Testament. First, the story of Israel’s ongoing exile deepens our appreciation for how deep sin’s tyranny goes. Even when Israel was in the depths of their misery and knew that they needed to truly repent to be restored, they could not do so. The allure of their sin was too powerful, the corruption of their hearts too great. Second, Israel’s unending exile underscores their desperate need for God to make the first move. They desperately needed a deliverer, one from the outside who would take the initiative to rescue them from something too powerful for them. Third, we see how everything is riding on God’s steadfast commitment to His covenant promises. God’s recollection of these promises prompted a new beginning long ago. Now, after so much sin and apostasy, Israel’s only hope is that He will act on these promises once again, even in their exile. No wonder that in the depths of Israel’s groaning over the loss of Jerusalem, they found hope in the Lord’s steadfast commitment to His ancient covenants. No wonder that God’s compassion repeatedly emerges in passages about the end of exile. The transition from wrath to grace must begin with His compassion for Israel’s bondage to sin, apart from any worthiness in Israel. Finally, we can now appreciate God’s purposes in the small positive trends in Ezra–Nehemiah. Their mitigated return to the land, the small temple, the dubious gift of the wall—these and all the other attenuated blessings cannot be called the promised restoration. But they are signs of God’s continued regard for His people. He will one day make good on His promises, and therefore these small gifts are pledges of greater things to come…Ezra–Nehemiah is a period of “lightened exile,” where they are still in bondage, but God has shown them that He has not forgotten them, even in the valley of the shadow of death, by allowing them to come back to their land. The curtain closes on the OT amid great anticipation. The promised kingdom must come. How will God finally bring exile to an end once and for all? As they say, to be continued . . .

Prayer:

Written by Paige Deane, a contemporary author.

Lord, you are faithful to me. Your glory outshines everything. Help me to step out in faith for your kingdom and to challenge those I’m discipling to do the same. Do not allow us, your disciples, to grow complacent or prideful. Challenge us to step out in faith and depend on you fully for all that we need. You are worthy of our trust. Your plan is perfect. Cast out all doubt that would hold us back from stepping into all that you have called us to do. We are your servants, help us to be obedient to your Holy Spirit’s convictions. You are God above all creation. You are all powerful, all knowing, and always present. We give you all our adoration and praise for your grace and mercy in our lives. Amen.

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