There are fires and drought in
Australia, and rising sea levels in the Pacific Islands;
Wages are stagnating and interest
rates on investments are close to zero;
I am not surprised that people
wonder what is going on with the world.
We read in the Scriptures how
the people of Israel
were slaves in Egypt,
escaped to wander in the desert for many years
invaded and taken into exile
released by King Cyrus of Persia
They too must have wondered
what the future held for them.
They left for us some of their
reflections on what was happening to them, scripture – narrative, poetry and
law. “They give voice to their grief, anger, fear – the whole range of human experience;
they testify to the abiding presence of God with them and, most importantly, to
their repeated discovery – a discovery that only comes through life and death
struggle – that the realm of God is always infinitely larger than human
imagining.” Rev Jane Fry Insights Summer
2019
In Ezra, we find the future
was not a return to the past.
The temple, the beautiful
temple that Solomon had overseen, is destroyed. The people returning for exile,
as well as those who stayed in Jerusalem are looking at a different future.
“The Jews in Ezra are trying to determine what
it means to live into a new future that God is creating in their midst. But
what that future looks like is only beginning to emerge, and with mixed results.”
[ii]
When I first read the Ezra
passage, the thing that clicked with me was the rebuilding of the temple. The first
Temple was big and spectacular, built with slave labour. The second temple
would be built by people who had been in exile, people who had been unable to
fulfil the religious rituals.
This time the resources need to
build the temple would be given, rather than taken.
Still the future was unknown,
they were still under foreign rule, though foreign rule that left them alone
much of the time. And they were still on
the trade crossroads, a small nation vulnerable to attack.
What would the future be like?
What did God have in store for
them?
The Luke reading is set for
next week, but I included it this morning.
Zechariah is in the Temple,
doing his priestly duty. Priests were from the tribe of Levi. Zechariah would
not have been on duty all the time, but on roster.
With the bushfires at present,
I wondered what would be rebuilt first if the Peninsula went up in fire. Would
it be individual homes?
Community facilities?
Shops?
Businesses?
Schools?
Hospitals?
The answer to the question is
biased today because of money and insurance and uneven access to resources. I would
hope that as a community, decisions would be made on the basis of need not
money. That school and hospitals would have priority, that community spaces and
shops and places of employment would quickly return.
That the good of all, rather than
the individual, would prevail.
The people returned from exile
and set up a space to worship God.
The people are restored - not
to reclaim the land, but to worship God [iii]
Being able to worship, to
offer sacrifices, was important to the people of Israel.
Is worshipping as a gathered community
important to you?
Zechariah
was in the Temple while people were praying. The people of Israel are again
under foreign rue, this time the Romans, who kept a close eye on what was
happening.
God
had not deserted the people. While Zechariah was fulfilling his duty, an angel appeared
and told Zechariah he and Elizabeth would have a child. His response reminds me
of Abraham and Sarah – we are too old; this is not possible. Next week we will
hear of another person who told an angel – this is not possible.
When
we read the scriptures, particularly the Old testament, we see the best and
worst of humanity, we see how they dealt with personal and national crises. We read
of the place of worship and the Temple in their lives. and continually we read
of people who have heard God speak, who have been visited by angels, who have
done the impossible.
The
people were looking for a future without slavery and imprisonment, a future with
freedom and peace.
We
know that future is in Jesus,
in
a life without slavery to sin,
with
peace that the world cannot give,
life
that is always listening for God
waiting for God
moving with God
life
that is free to serve and love
as
we are loved and served by Christ.
During
Advent we wait, we wait to hear the stories of Christmas again, but we also
wait for the renewal of creation; for the coming of the Kingdom of justice and
peace.
[i]
https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/young-and-out-australia-s-hidden-scourge-of-youth-unemployment-20180622-p4zn4k.html
[ii]
https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2570&fbclid=IwAR3QQ26t2rT-nX-uQLPRT1h4l45bsKXksbNiOxPvKo-u5nD804aEUtrJWmY
[iii]
https://www.pulpitfiction.com/narrative-notes/2-15?fbclid=IwAR1x0r5nctdGwzDzepE8tcg4hfL0oGRs8FkSqljb0H6E_IDQ4_tc5wkgK5Y
