Nehemiah, the Re-builder

So here's Nehemiah, still in Babylonian, serving as cup-bearer to the king, Artaxerxes, the Persian ruler.  A. notices how downcase Nehemiah is and asks for the reason.  N. tells him and requests permission to return to Jerusalem, "where my fathers are buried, so that I can rebuild it."

Nehemiah clearly has a burden from God to restore the city of Jerusalem and to bring peace to his "family," his people who are still scrabbling for subsistence there and who are still vulnerable to the attacks of their enemies.  The king gives him all the resources he needs and tells him to go do what is in his heart. 

Nehemiah travels to Jerusalem, but does not tell anyone what is in his heart.  At night, under cover of darkness, he sets out to survey the damage.  He gathers a small group of people -- not telling the officials of his plan -- and slowly begins the process of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.  At first, he is ridiculed and mocked for daring to think he could achieve his plan.  But little by little, the people take hope and begin to help.  Sanballat, one of the Samaritan officials (just north of Jerusalem) said this in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria:

What are those feeble Jews doing?  Will they restore their wall?  Will they offer sacrifices?  Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble--burned as they are?

But Nehemiah kept encouraging the people to pray and to put their trust in God:  So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.  Then the attacks became more than verbal, so some of the people had to stand with swords in hand while the others continued building.  The story is worth reading, but here's why I started it:

The name "Nehemiah" is from the same Hebrew root as "Noah," meaning "Comfort."  Our English word comfort comes from the Latin: with strength.  The current usage does not communicate its original meaning, but instead communicates more softness than strength.  Going back to its origin helps us to understand the story. 

When Noah was born, his father said, "He will bring us comfort from the painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed."  Both Noah and Nehemiah were Comforters and Sources of Refuge from pain and destruction in their time.    Both were builders and preservers of life.

Jesus called the Holy Spirit "The Comforter."  Like Nehemiah, the Holy Spirit broods over the broken-down walls of our personalities, the places where we are vulnerable to attack, the groveling life we lead.  He wants to rebuild the broken-down walls of our life, so He secretly, under cover of night, without telling anyone, surveys the damage, gathers the people and resources He needs to succor us, and begins the work.  Immediately, as our heads lift and confidence begins to build in us, we come under attack:

Who do you think you are?  You....?   What do you think you can do?  Why are you even trying?

Like the people of Jerusalem listening to their enemies, we become discouraged, thinking the voices of those around us are right.  There is no use trying; we never succeeded in the past; we will fail again.

But the Holy Spirit calls those in the church to take up swords (connected to the Word of God in the N.T.) in our defense and quietly encourages us, bringing to our side people who can help us.  He is not discouraged; He knows exactly what needs to happen, and He is directing the work. 

The Comforter is rebuilding the weak and defenseless areas of our personalities.  He knows what He is doing.  Nehemiah brought the work of rebuilding Jerusalem to completion.  Let us trust ourselves and our families to the powerful and watchful care of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter!

Repair and Restoration

In the time of the Babylonian Exile, when the city of Jerusalem had been totally destroyed, its walls reduced to rubble, when all of the important people had been deported to Babylon, where they missed their language, their culture, their way of life, Isaiah and Jeremiah prophesied that the exiles would not only return to Jerusalem, but that:

your people will rebuild the ancient ruins

and will raise up the age-old foundations;

you will be called "Repairer of Broken Walls,

Restorer of Streets with Dwellings (Is. 58:12).

Jeremiah encouraged the exiles with these words (he had remained in Jerusalem, but sent letters to the exiles in Babylon):

'All who devour you will be devoured;

all your enemies will go into exile,

Those who plunder you will be plundered;

all who make spoil of you I will despoil.

But I will restore you to health

and heal your wound,'

declares the Lord,

'because you are an outccast,

Zion for whom no one cares.'

'I will restore the fortunes of Jacob's tents

and have compassion on his dwellings;

the city will be rebuilt on her ruins,

and the palace will stand in its proper place' (Jer. 30:16-18).

Jerusalem had been destroyed in 587 B.C. and the people taken away to Babylon.  In 538 B.C., Cyrus, King of Persia conquered Babylon and began to rule there.  In his first year, someone showed him the prophecy of Isaiah, made some 50 years previously, where he mentioned Cyrus by name (while the Babylonians were still in power, probably while Cyrus the Persian was still in diapers):

I am the Lord....

who says of Jerusalem, 'It shall be inhabited,'

of the towns of Judah, 'They shall be rebuilt,'

and of their ruins, 'I will restore them.....'

who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd

and will accomplish all that I please;

he will say of Jerusalem, "Let it be rebuilt,"

and of the temple, "Let its foundations be laid."

In truth, the book of Ezra tells us that Cyrus issued an edict in 538 B.C. that anyone among the exiles who wished might return to Jerusalem to re-build the temple.  Cyrus also ordered survivors of the destruction to provide freewill offerings of silver and gold, goods and livestock, to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.  In order to understand Cyrus' motivation, we need to continue reading Isaiah 45, God's further words to Cyrus.  

The Book of Ezra describes the return of the first wave of exiles to Jerusalem and the re-building of the temple under Zerubbal and Jeshua.  But still, the people were downcast and discouraged because the wall of their city was still a pile of rubble, and they were like the people of present-day Haiti, picking out make-shift dwellings among the stones. 

God was not finished with Jerusalem, however.  The ancient prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah were not yet fulfilled.  The second Temple had been completed in 515 B.C., but the heart of the people was not in worship (see Malachi 1:13).  Their hearts were still far from the Lord.  Nehemiah, who had remained in Babylon as cup-bearer to the king, was grieving over the reports he was getting from his relatives in Jerusalem: Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace.  The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.  In his grief, Nehemiah began to fast and pray to Yahweh (Neh. 1: 4-10).

Tomorrow....the rest of the story.....

God Speaks to the Soul

Way down deep in the recesses of our hearts, there is a tiny, almost indistinguishable, spark -- not really yet a flame, but a persistent spark waiting to be noticed.  "I think I'd like to.....;"   "Maybe I could...;"   "What if.....?"

Immediately as we feel the spark, we extinguish it:  But I couldn't;   it would be impossible;   I don't think so;    What would people think?   I've got too much going on now;     How could I.........?

The spark re-kindles.  This time, it lingers a bit longer, and takes from us more argument against it.  More rationalization.  More reasons why it would never happen......    Again, we firmly douse the would-be flame in our hearts.

But it does not go away.  Persistently, it does not accept our firm decision to ignore it.  It comes back again, burning quietly this time -- more than a spark:  Why couldn't I......;   I think maybe....   No, No; let's just leave well enough alone.

Quiet persistence.  Unyielding to our best arguments.  God is preparing the way for a new thing in us.
He refuses to be put off, but still, the choice is ours.  "Come," He says, "I'll show you the way."  And still, we hesitate. 

He will not force us.  He knows exactly how long it will take for us to yield to Him.  He waits.  And He waits some more.  He knows that He will win in the end. 

Finally, our tentative, wavering "Yes, let it be done unto me according to your word."  And the spark in us bursts into flame.  It surprises us; it carries us along.  We did not think we could do it, but it is being done somehow in us.  We laugh for joy.  If only we had known all along how easy it would be!

God laughs, too.  "I told you so," He says.  "I told you so!"

"It is finished!"

"Am I good enough to get to heaven?"  "Have I done enough?"  "Have I committed too many sins?"

All these questions mean that we have no clue......

When God began creating the heavens and the earth, He completed what He began.  By the end of the first chapter of Genesis, the writer switches from simple past tense to the past perfect tense:  God saw all that He had made, and it was very good......By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing.  This change of tenses indicates (at least to English teachers) completion; He is no longer in process of doing the work, but it has been brought to a satisfactory finish.

[Note:  on a theological level, every act of God is eternal and on-going, so what He does once continues forever.  Christ saved us once on the cross, but the action and effect is on-going and eternal.]

During the seven days of creation, God sees what is still in process and sees that "it was good."  On the 7th day, however, He sees all of creation in balance and in relationship, under the dominion of mankind, created in His Image, and He sees that it is "very good," (better than just "good").

In the same way, because we are creatures bound by time, we are right now in the process of a new creation.  God's action in us is on-going, bringing us to completion.  But to Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our salvation, "it is finished."  He does not bring us to a new birth, not to finish the work.  The work is not ours, but His.  The Book of Hebrews says it this way:

...he is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them (7:25). 

Am I "good enough" to go to heaven?  Let me put it this way.  In New Orleans, we can stand on the Moonwalk in front of St. Louis Cathedral and look across the Mississippi River to Algiers on the other side.  If we decided that we would all see who could jump across the river to the West Bank, some of us could undoubtedly jump further than others because they might have been practicing all their lives for the "big jump."  Some might be stronger or more athletic than others, so they could jump further --- but it doesn't matter who can jump how far; we will all end up somewhere in the river.  Fortunately, however, there is a great bridge across the river, so even the weakest and most feeble of us can get to Algiers.

Those who worry about doing enough to get to heaven fail to realize that we have a great Savior, Who is able to "save completely all who come to God through Him."  We don't have to be "good enough"---witness Mary Magdalene; the Good Thief; Matthew, the tax collector; and Zaccheaus, who cheated and robbed his way through life.  Maybe we are "better' than they were; maybe not. It doesn't matter.  There is only one Door to eternal life --- and He knows how to finish the work He begins in us. 

We need to shift our focus from being "good enough" to watching without taking our eyes off His work in us.  We need to know that, like our Father in faith, Abraham, we have no clue as to where we are going or how to get there --- but we do know and trust the One Whose love is eternal, faithful to us, and able to save us completely.  Jesus' last words on the cross were, "It is finished."  Why don't we believe Him?

Ebenezer Road

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen.  He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the Lord helped us."  So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again (I Sam. 7:12-13).

The word Ebenezer is a combination of two Hebrew words -- eben (stone) + ezer (help), the last connected to the primary root azar, which means to surround, to protect.

Yesterday I wrote about the Old Testament people who walked with God.  Of course, the people as a whole, formed by their communal experience of escape from Egypt and gathered into a nation with common laws at Mount Horeb, all together "walked with God" as they journeyed across the wilderness to the Promised Land.  Until they had all learned to trust God as they walked, they were not ready to settle down as a people.  It does no good for one person to trust God if his neighbor is still bent on taking whatever he can get and waging war until he gets it.  There is no "land of milk and honey" until every person and every tribe believes that the land he/they own is the land given to them by God Himself, that He has led them to this place and that it has not been done by their own hands.

Moses warned the Israelites as they stood on the threshhold of the Promised Land:

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you....Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks have grown large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions.  He brought you water out of hard rock.  He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you.  You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me" (Duet. 8:10-17).

As a testimony to the help of God, to His Presence with them in the desert, the Israelites set up altars, or piles of stones as memorials in the wilderness --- and later, as in the Book of Samuel -- in the land itself.  And they called the stones "Ebenezer," meaning 'thus far has God helped us.'  The altars were reminders to them of the events where God was present to deliver them, as well as testimonies to the next generation, who saw the stones and heard the stories of God's faithfulness to His people.

We have all heard the Old Testament stories, but until we walk our own journey and set up our own memorial-places, we do not really get it.  It has been said that God has no grandchildren.  We can tell our children that "God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress" (Ps. 46:1), but until they make their own journey, they will not really believe it.

Faith is nothing more than confidence in God's willingness and ability to be with us in all circumstances. We will never gain that confidence by hearing other people's stories, although those stories may give us the courage to begin our own journey with God.  But faith cannot be passed on -- it is an I-Thou relationship with God, based on our own experience. 

Jesus told Peter, "unless you let me wash your feet, you will have nothing to do with Me."  Unless we allow God to help us, to surround us, to protect us -- until we take a chance and surrender our circumstances to Him, we will never know Him, but only what other people say about Him.

The Christmas after Katrina, we rented a cottage at the top of the Smokey Mountains because we had no place to live.  We did not know where we would spend the next 18 months....but God had already provided marvelous places for us, places of safety and welcome, with plenty of food, with jobs that remained to provide our needs.  We did not know it at the time, but He had already marked out the path we would travel until we could settle in our own land of Promise.  In the mountains, I found a beautiful, heavy rock that I just had to have, so my husband and I spent a morning trying to "roll" the rock up a 45-degree slope of loose gravel until we could get it in the car.  That rock sits on my front lawn today; it's name -- you guessed it -- is Ebenezer!  Everytime I look at it, I am reminded, "thus far has God helped us."

Walking with God

Give Us This Day, a daily prayer/meditation book that I like, today used a reflection written by Archbishop Timothy Dolan:

"During the happy years I spent in Italy, I grew fond of the Italian custom of a passeggiata  -- a casual stroll, always with a friend, usually after a good meal, in the evening when the sun began to set and the breezes arrived.

A passeggiata is a ritual.  If someone asks you to go on a passeggiata, it is a compliment.  It means he or she enjoys your company and wants to get to know you better.  The conversation on this walk is usually substantive.  You end it by having shared something significant with each other."

-- from Doers of the Word

The reading today made me start thinking about all the Old Testament people who "walked with God."  From the time of Adam and Eve forward, it seems to me that God was always "out looking" for someone who would walk with Him and talk with Him.  We tend to think of God "up there," watching us, so to speak, from a distance, but the Bible reveals a God Who is more what Jesus describe as the Paraclete.  Paraclete is a Greek word meaning "One Who is called alongside [us]."  It comes from the roots "para"  -- alongside--- and "caleo"--called.

It seems to me that God is always asking someone--us-- to go with Him, to stroll with Him, to get to know Him better, to engage in conversation, to refresh ourselves with His friendship at the end (or the beginning) of the day.  In Genesis 3, Adam hears "God walking in the garden in the cool of the day," and hides from Him.  Now we all know that when a child is hiding from mama, something is going on---it's time to start asking some questions.

In Genesis 12, God invites Abraham to walk with Him to "a land I will show you."  On the way, Abraham really gets to know this God who accompanies Him on the journey.  Sometimes, he must wonder where God was -- when Sarah is taken into Pharoah's harem, for example---but always, always, God is there, saying, "I got this, Abraham."  Without that journey, Abraham would never have learned the faithfulness and goodness and ability of God to save.  He had to walk a long ways to learn trust.

Jacob also had to "walk" with God to learn Who God was.  There is some indication that maybe Jacob was not entirely a monotheist at first; he learned to choose God based on Yahweh's faithfulness to him (see Gen. 28:20).  None of these Old Testament characters, any more than we ourselves, were "born" trusting Yahweh, or knowing Him as their God.  They learned to trust as they walked with God through the years and experiences of their lives.

One of my favorite people in the Bible is Enoch.  Even though the Bible contains only 4 sentences about Enoch, it is enough:  Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away (5:24).  Enoch walked with God for 300 years before he was taken away.

In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke tells us this:  When [the people] saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus (4:13).  Luke could just as well have said, "these men had walked with Jesus."  It was important for them to walk with Jesus from one place to another so they could get to know Him and He them.  I wonder whether Judas actually "walked" with Jesus too, and conversed with Him one-on-one, or if he just tagged along with the crowd.  I think maybe he may have been "hiding" from Jesus as did Adam from God. 

Our imagination is a great gift; it allows us to experience things that may never actually happen to us in the physical realm.  Maybe we can engage our imagination to allow us to see and hear God walking with us today, listening to us, laughing with us, eating with us.  And maybe tomorrow, we will hear Him say, "Come, walk with Me today; I want to tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know" (Jer. 33:3).

I think Ruth's words to Naomi, her mother-in-law, might be a wonderful model for us in regard to God:

Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay.  Your people will be my people, and your God my God.

And then let us watch to see where God will lead us; we may be very surprised!



The Apocrypha and the Doctor

The "Apocryphal" Books, included in the Catholic Bible but excluded in the Protestant Canon, were originally those written in Greek.  The word "apocrypha" in Greek meant 'hidden' (things), and most of the books refer to important and secret wisdom-- sort of like the Kabbalah, the mysticism of Jewish writing.  Somehow, the secret wisdom eventually became "extra," excluded not because it was too good, but not good enough to be included as inspiration. 

Technically, the apocrypha are those books outside of the Jewish canon, the scriptures accepted as authoritative by the Jews.  All of the books were, however, included in the original Greek version of the Old Testament written for Greek-speaking Jews living in Egypt; this Bible was known as the Septuagint (70).  With the arrival of Christianity, Gentile converts eventually outnumbered Jewish ones, so the Greek version (the international language of the time) came to be adapted as the Bible of the early church, along with the "extra' books -- those written between 250 B.C.E. and 100 C.E. by Jewish authors.  Initially, these books were preserved as inspirational by the Jews, but since the book was used by the early church, and as Christianity and Judaism gradually separated, the Jewish community denied canonical status to anything not originally written in Hebrew.

The Protestant Reformation and the new discovery of classical languages in the 16th century both contributed to a return to the "pure" Hebrew canon of the Bible.  Whatever had been defined by the Jewish rabbis in the first century as "Scripture" was also defined by Protestant translators as inspired.
So even though the status of the Apocrypha remains disputed even today, many people find them to be a valuable link to Jewish thought between the Old and New Testaments (the last book in the Jewish canon was written around 400 B.C.E.).

Anyway...... all of that was supposed to introduce a reading not found in the Protestant canon, but which I find interesting because of a recent discussion about consulting doctors.  Whether or not we consider it "inspired," I think it is full of wisdom and certainly worth reading:

Value the services of a doctor,

for he has his place assigned him by the Lord.

His skill comes from the Most High,

and he is rewarded by kings.

The doctor's knowledge gives him high standing

and wins him the admiration of the great.

The Lord has created remedies from the earth,

and a sensible man will not disparage them....

The Lord has imparted knowledge to mortals,

that by their use of his marvels he may win praise;

by means of them the doctor relieves pain

and from them the pharmacist compounds his mixture.

There is no limit to the works of the Lord,

who spreads health over the whole world.

My son, in time of illness do not be remiss,

but pray to the Lord and he will heal you...

And the doctor should be called;

keep him by you, for you need him also.

A time may come when your recovery is in his hands;

then he too will pray to the Lord

to grant success in relieving pain

and finding a cure to save the patient's life.

He who sins before his Maker

shows himself arrogant before the doctor.

(Sirach 38)

How good would it be to find a doctor who would "pray to the Lord to grant success"?