Make Way for the Future…by Learning God’s Will

Nehemiah 8:1-10

Rev. Dr. Mary Alice Mulligan

The scene we hear from the First Testament book of the prophet Nehemiah is quite touching. The people of Judah have returned from exile in Babylon, but life did not automatically return to normal, pre-exilic existence, since 70 years had elapsed and those who were left behind were very different from those who returned. No wonder many felt a need to hear what directions God might give. So a group of lay people, not priests or scribes, appealed to Ezra to read God’s law to them. A group of lay people stand on a raised platform with Ezra as he reads to apparently thousands of people gathered to hear – everyone: men, women, and children old enough to comprehend the meaning. He reads for a number of hours. The lay people are joined by a group of Levites who give explanations of the texts. As the people hear and understand what the scripture is telling them, they weep from a sense of failure, their inability to keep the law of their God. Nehemiah calls them not to mourn, to stop weeping, and to rejoice. The day should be one of feasting, making sure everyone has plenty of food (especially those without enough). From the 8th chapter of the book of the prophet Nehemiah, listen for the word of God.

All the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. 

Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. The scribe Ezra stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people 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 he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them 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.”

Chaos seems universal. Many areas are fraught with social unrest and misunderstanding is creeping everywhere. Divisiveness in the United States exacerbates the bedlam and since the inauguration, lots of people seem to feel the turmoil even more. Some new parents are unsure whether their babies are citizens… Many worry ICE is coming for them... Veterans are suddenly unsure the VA can take care of them… And how many are afraid of illness since bird flu has jumped from chickens and ducks to cows and now to humans and their pets, even as the CDC seems to have been forbidden to publish bird flu reports? …In the back of many people’s minds is a fear that privatization of Social Security is coming, and what would that mean?

But it’s not just U.S. Instability seems to break out in new places every day. Civilians are bombed in Lebanon; attacks have broken out in Democratic Republic of Congo; while political upset rocks Belarus (election) and South Africa (land seizure law); Afghan refugees are blocked from coming to the US. Climate crises are worldwide. Destructive storms in UK, Ireland, and Brazil. Choking smog in Thailand, and Island nations threatened by sea level rise.

However, widespread mayhem is not new. In reading about Ezra and Nehemiah last week, the history became more turbulent than I realized before. It wasn’t just Babylon conquered Judah then Persia conquered Babylon and let Judah go. The conquering didn’t happen all at once; waves of violence went on for years, while internal strife was common in all the ruling houses, which affected what happened to Judah. Various governors oversaw Judah, who made decisions about everything. For decades, some Jews living in Babylon escaped back to Jerusalem from exile, only to find their houses and lands were taken over by those left behind. Throughout the whole Mideast, intrigue and murder were rampant as different forces tried to conquer more lands. And by the way, Egypt was an important player in regional back and forth wars, too. Each conquest meant new taxes, as new administrators were appointed over Judah, which was only about half the size of Rhode Island. Chaos is rampant throughout time and around the world.

But God’s will helps make sense. Paying attention to what God is about helps clarify what is going on around us. Don’t get me wrong. I am absolutely not saying that the blowing up of children in Lebanon is God’s will, Quite the contrary. Instead, I’m saying that in the midst of children’s getting blown up, we must figure out: What is God’s will?

Two valuable guides for determining God’s will are: scripture and contemporary people we admire for doing the right things. Scripture and role models, we might say. Curiously, for years Christians seemed reticent to mention scripture in public, even if they read the Bible at home or listened politely in worship. But recently role models have been boldly quoting scripture. Facebook blew up with biblical quotes for a few days after the Episcopal bishop encouraged the president to show mercy to the queer community and undocumented persons.

We know some of the passages that help us catch God’s vision for the world, like the first of the 10 Commandments: “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of enslavement; you shall have no other gods before me.” (Deut 5:6,7) The next step of understanding God’s will comes from biblical reports of God’s saying that those who were freed from enslavement must have mercy on foreigners among them; all must treat aliens as they treat their own kin. Such ideas are foundational for a vision of how God wants the world. As God has spread mercy, the people must extend mercy to others.

Jesus continued teaching in line with what God spoke through the prophets about divine generosity and grace, especially for those Jesus called the Least. He taught followers to feed the hungry and set captives free. In fact, before Jesus was born, his mother is reported to have said his birth signaled God is scattering the proud, bringing down the powerful, and lifting up the lowly. God fills the hungry and sends the rich away empty.

There is the beginning of a vision of how God wills Earth to be. No one should be hungry. No one should be gluttonously rich. Each person should be treated with dignity. And the fullness of Earth should benefit everyone. Once we catch the vision, we can easily list models who lived from God’s vision; like Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King Jr., St. Teresa of Kolkata, William Barber, and now Bishop Budde. Scripture and these role models are showing us God’s vision of the world set right. God’s will helps make sense of the world.

So then, what does God’s will mean for a congregation? Once we catch a vision of God’s will, what does that mean as St. Andrew makes its way into God’s future? During this time of turbulent transition in our country and world, some churches have just hunkered down, stressing their commitment to Jesus Christ who promises them salvation. Other churches have become bolder in their witness, like congregations who recently decided to become sanctuary churches, providing a place of safe shelter for families in this country without required documents. Or other congregations whose leaders are speaking out more boldly and promising more attention to those Jesus calls the Least. Our General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson spoke last week at an event with other clergy and religious leaders including Bishop William Barber to call people of faith to bolder witness. They reminded us of the biblical book of Esther, the Jewish orphan who became queen of Susa. She told no one she was Jewish. But when an edict was given that Jews could be killed with impunity, Esther’s uncle urged her to speak to the king, but she was afraid, because to go to the king unbidden was punishable by death. Her uncle said, “For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.” (Esther 4:14)

God doesn’t move human events around like chess pieces, but when circumstances arise which call us to bold and faithful witness, we need to respond. Who knows but St. Andrew is in a place to make a difference, during such a time as this? Of course, many of us are wondering what is next for St. Andrew’s faithful witness. Maybe each Team can spend time thinking about making its way into the future, keeping track of God’s will. Not just wondering how we will gather enough people and money to keep being church, but why should we keep being church? I’d say we need to keep being church to witness to God’s will which shapes our vision of how the world should be. Then the question for each Team becomes: How are we going to participate in manifesting that vision? A question for the entire congregation: How are we going to participate in manifesting God’s vision? And for those of us not involved in a Team yet, figure out what team to join or where else we can bear witness to God’s vision for the world through St. Andrew. For who knows, perhaps we together are here precisely for such a time as this.