“The Audacity of Hope”

A few years before he became president, the forty-fourth president of the United States of America, Barak Obama, wrote a book entitled The Audacity of Hope. It is a bestselling book that outlines the philosophies and hopes of the former president for his country. Within his chapter on “Faith,” Barak Obama said that he did not grow up in a Christian home, but what led him to shed some of his uncertainties toward the community of faith and essentially embrace the Christian faith were the “attributes of the historically black church.” In addition, not only did he see the power of the African American church to forge social change within its community but working “day-to-day with the men and women that were from the African American church,” who knew how to “make a way out of no way and maintain hope and dignity in the direst of circumstances.…” inspired him. This kind of hope led Barak Obama to believe in the manifestation of unseen realities etched in people’s hearts with the audacity to hope for change and better days.

Before President Obama dared to have hope, the prophet Jeremiah dared to hope at a time when it seemed foolish and irrational to have hope. In Jeremiah 32:1-44, the prophet Jeremiah teaches us something about the audacity of hope. In this pericope, Jeremiah carries out an irrational hope-filled act of purchasing land based on his obedience to God’s Word. This purchase seemed to be a waste of money. To appreciate Jeremiah’s actions, we must examine at least three things about Jeremiah.

First, we must see Jeremiah’s predicament (Jer. 32:1-5). Jeremiah had the audacity to buy land when it seemed foolish. In 586 B.C., the city of Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar. During this time, Jeremiah is imprisoned because King Zedekiah didn’t appreciate his prophetic message that the Babylonians would conquer Jerusalem, Zedekiah would be carried away into captivity, the army would be defeated, and the people would go into Babylonian exile (Jer. 32:1-5).

Second, we need to understand Jeremiah’s purchase (32:6-14). God informed Jeremiah that his cousin would approach him with an offer to purchase land (Jer. 32:7). Hanamel appealed to Jeremiah’s sense of familial obligation and knew that property was sacred and should never leave one’s family (Lev. 25:25-34). In moments of disparity, God didn’t want His people seeking aid outside their bloodline. If one fell into debt, a kinsman redeemer could redeem the property. Thus, Hanamel sought Jeremiah as his kinsman redeemer (goel). Ironically, the land was on the outskirts of Jerusalem, in Anathoth. The Babylonians occupied the land and were about to occupy all of Jerusalem. In an irrational move, Jeremiah had the audacity to go against logical thinking and purchase the seemingly worthless land.

Third, we need to identify and embrace Jeremiah’s hope in God’s promise (Jer. 32:15). Why would Jeremiah buy land that Hanamel knew was worthless? Jeremiah bought the land for at least two reasons. First, Jeremiah purchased the land in obedience to God’s Word. He knew the Lord had told him to buy the field in Anathoth from his cousin Hanamel. Second, Jeremiah paid full market value for the land because the Lord promised that a day would come when His people would buy “houses, fields and vineyards in the land again.” Jeremiah’s purchase of the land from Hanamel provided a word of hope that God’s people would return from Babylonian exile. Despite the mass destruction of Jerusalem, God would fulfill His promise of restoration. Even though Jeremiah wouldn’t live to see the day the exiles returned to Jerusalem, he had the audacity to hope for a better future by committing the land deed to a safe deposit box until God revealed the manifestation of His promises. We should celebrate this great prophet of God and what he teaches us about the audacity of hope.

First, Jeremiah teaches us that we will face times when God tells us to act in faith about an irrational directive that originates from God. Second, Jeremiah teaches us to never forget that God can challenge us to demonstrate our faith through obedience to His Word. Third, Jeremiah teaches that we must trust God to bring His Word to pass in His timing. Trusting God’s promise to come to fruition is not easy, but we must have the audacity to hope in God to fulfill His promises. 

People like Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, Asa Philip Randolph, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., James Meredith, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Shirley Chisolm, John Lewis, Julian Bond, Marian Wright Edelman, and Fannie Lou Hammer had to trust God’s promises would come true regarding the advancement of people of color. They all dared to have the audacity to hope for better things despite others feeling the time wasn’t right. Moving forward, do your best to have the audacity to hope in God for a better life now and forever. Having the audacity to have hope will never be easy, but having the audacity to have hope is always essential.