“Nehemiah
… and Ezra … and the Levites who taught the people [the Book of the Law] said
to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or
weep’. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the
law. Then they were told, ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine
and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy
to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of The Lord is your
strength’.” Nehemiah 8:9-10 NRSV
The
priest Ezra was encouraged to bring forth the Book of the Law of Moses and read
to the people, after which time would be a period of teaching and
interpretation. This was a period of reconstruction; Israel had endured a
long period of exile because they had forgotten or outright ignored Torah
and had dismissed the Covenant of The Lord. They had convinced themselves
they could do life better for themselves. During this period, however,
families were destroyed, the poor were marginalized in society or exploited for
the gain of others, and widows and orphans had all but been forgotten. In
short, they lived as if there were no law, no God, no Covenant. As it is
written often in the book of Judges, “each did what was right in his own
eyes”.
Having
suffered the terrible consequences of their actions and having lost everything
(including their identity as the people of The Lord), they were back home,
rebuilding the Temple, and rebuilding their collective life as a “kingdom
of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). There was one
thing still lacking: the Word of The Lord, the words of the Covenant that
defined Israel as “a special treasure to [The Lord]” (Exodus
19:5).
Upon
hearing these words of life, the people were cut to the heart! They not
only heard within these words their own indictments and judgments, they also
heard within those same words the Promise only The Lord can make: “If you
will return to Me … then you shall not be moved” (Jeremiah 4:1).
In this moment of repentance, the entire nation had once again discovered its
identity and had rediscovered for themselves the faithfulness of The
Lord. They heard, once again, the “gospel” (the Good News) of The Lord!
In
many ways the Church has failed the people of The Lord in trying to be all
things to all people, attempting to sell a marketable product that is “new and
improved” and more “user friendly”, and trying to convince everyone that all is
well only because we call ourselves “Christians”. It can be well with us,
of course, and it can be well with the nation if the Church will rediscover
herself in the light of the Whole Word, not just the carefully
selected words that seem to promise us everything but asks and
expects nothing of us. Because of this epic failure, we have become a
nation of exiles who have forgotten or outright ignored the Word and have
watched families be destroyed, the poor being exploited for economic or
political gain, and widows and orphans completely pushed aside. The
Church (that is, the congregation of the people of The Lord) has lived as if
there were no law, no God, no Covenant; and for too many years we have done
“what was right in our own eyes”.
We
can do better. Indeed we must because no one else is going to tell our
“neighbors” there is a more excellent way. We are baptized into this
Covenant for a reason: to serve The Lord as a “kingdom of priests” ministering
to a world overtaken by darkness. It is long past time to get past the
lie that we are “good people” and strive to become excellent ministers of the
Gospel. It is who we are called to be. It is entirely up to
us to determine whether this is who we will choose to be.
Blessings,
Michael
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