June 28, 2020 Nehemiah: Rebuilding Life - Finding Joy in the Midst of Sorrow.

Video of the service from which this message comes can be viewed here - https://www.facebook.com/david.p.charlton.9/videos/10163819202295298

And here - https://vimeo.com/433412384?fbclid=IwAR3PHkuxV9Z6zzuMMCYzepyBoNY09uOmllwm-VjZzRCeZgs_YnU8qppiQX8

I don’t remember the first time I very specifically thought about using humor at a funeral, but I vividly remember one of the first times.  I sometimes make mental notes of things people say or do, so when the time comes, I can add those to my funeral message.  Now, please don’t imagine that every time I talk to you, I am listening to what you say or observe what you do so that I will have material for your funeral, but some things are certainly worth remembering.  In one of my former churches, a member told me she wanted to have a lottery drawing at her funeral, and the winner would be required to be present to collect the prize.  She thought this would be a good way to boost attendance for her funeral.  I thought that was funny – and actually a good idea – so I added that comment to the funeral message.  I wasn’t sure about using it, however, because humor at a funeral can be really tricky.  It either works or it doesn’t work, and when it doesn’t work, it reallydoesn’t work.  There is, I can assure you, no recovering from an inappropriate use of humor at a funeral.  When I am not sure, I will generally ask a family member if it is okay to share a funny story, but on this occasion I did not.  When I told the story at the funeral, a few moments of silence passed, and although it was only a few moments, it seemed like a really long time. And then, thankfully, people started to chuckle.  I was watching her son and daughter, seated on the front row, and when they began to laugh, I was very relieved.

     

Even though I have officiated at hundreds of funerals, I sometimes wonder if it is appropriate to laugh at a funeral service.  I guess that somewhere along the way I had that thought instilled in me and I cannot completely let it go.  But I have found that a bit of humor, and a bit of laughter, can be very helpful at a funeral.  To find some measure of joy in the midst of sorrow is very therapeutic, I believe.

     

This morning I am concluding my series of messages from the book of Nehemiah.  From the first Sunday to the last, this series of messages has spanned 43 days.  Considering that it took Nehemiah and the exiles only 52 days to rebuild the wall around the city of Jerusalem, I decided it was time to wrap up this series. Although I have only completed 8 of the 13 chapters, it is time to move on.

     

To let you know what is ahead, next week I will begin a new series of messages, titled What Jesus Did.  You will remember, I’m sure, the popularity of the WWJD bracelets a while back.  WWJD stood for What Would Jesus Do, a phrase popularized in the Charles Sheldon novel, In His Steps:  What Would Jesus Do?  I think it is a good sentiment, asking what Jesus would do, but it also seems to me that we have plenty of examples of what Jesus would do, based on what he did.

     

Follow along with me as I read from Nehemiah 8:1, 2, 6, 8-12, 17-18.

¹ all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.

³ He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

⁶ Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

⁸ They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.

⁹ Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

¹⁰ Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

¹¹ The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.”

¹² Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

¹⁷ The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.

¹⁸ Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.

In wrapping up this series this morning, here are the final thoughts I want to leave with you. 

1. There are plenty of reasons to weep and be sorrowful.

     

What else can happen this year?  Could 2020 get any more difficult?  We began the year in the midst of an impeachment trial.  Then a pandemic hit, which triggered a financial meltdown that cost millions and millions of jobs.  Then we entered the social reckoning around race in our society.  Now we have a sandstorm arriving in our country, along with the worry that the hundreds of billions of locusts now infesting Africa and causing so much destruction might move to other continents.  Oh, and the 17-year cicadas come out this year.  Oh, and lest we forget, we still must contend with climate change.  

     

Aren’t you glad you’re here today, so you can hear some good news?  Well, there you have it.  So see you later; have a great day.  Actually, don’t worry, as there is plenty of good news to come this morning.

     

We are facing some real, existential problems in our country and in our world, and I certainly don’t mean to make light of them.  There are times, when we look at the state of the world, we ought to weep and be sorrowful.  Ecclesiastes is correct to say there is a time to weep (Ecclesiastes 3:4). 

     

There are times when we need to express collective sorrow.  There are times, in any society, when people need to express sorrow as a group for the tragedies we have endured.  After 9/11, for example, there were many services that helped us, as a nation, to express a sense of collective mourning.  At other times, there needs to be a collective sense of sorrow for what has been inflicted upon others, such as now, when we tackle the conversation about race.  The difficulty is, however, we don’t seem to know how to have that conversation.  Our leaders will sometimes say, as we navigate difficult times, we need to have a national conversation about this matter.  But how do we have a national conversation?  It seems to me that we do not know how.  Perhaps a starting point is to express sorrow for what has happened in our country to cause people so much difficulty and suffering.  

     

When we turn to the Bible, we find it is a record of the problems of humanity – the sufferings endured by humanity and caused by humanity.  As we arrive at chapter 8 of Nehemiah, we find Ezra, a teacher of the law, reading daily to the people from the Book of the Law of God.  As the people listened to Ezra, they had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law (verse 9).  We are not told of the specific reasons for why the people wept, but I am going to assume that one reason is because the people realized that they had drifted away from the law that had been given to them through Moses.  One of the reasons why the people had been taken into exile was for this very reason – their departure from the law.  Though there were warnings from prophets to not enter into certain political alliances, those warnings went unheeded, and with disastrous results.  Looking back, the people were able to see how the decisions of their forebearers led to the fall of Jerusalem and subsequent exile to Babylon, and these were traced to their departure from the law.  It was a collective sorrow they expressed, and once expressed, it helped them to move on.

2.  Sorrow can be the soil out of which joy grows.

     

I know that sounds really strange, but it is true.  Sorrow canbe the soil out of which joy grows, but it is not guaranteed.  Sorrow can create bitterness, or it can create joy.  When my stepfather passed away last month, it was a time of sorrow. But in that time of sorrow was a sense of joy as well, because it was the first time my four siblings and I had been together for a long time.  The closest we had come in recent years was five years ago next month, when four of us were together.  I don’t know how long it had been since the five of us had been together, but it had been a long time.  Too long.

     

Last year, my mom was in the hospital for six weeks.  We were all very worried about her.  One night when I was there, I was sitting in her room and one of her church friends came by to see her, and one of her sons came along as well.  Her son is probably my oldest friend, in terms of how long we have known one another.  We were in the church nursery together, and the first wedding I ever officiated was his wedding.  It was a great blessing to talk with him and to catch up on what has taken place in our lives over the years.  I’m not saying I wanted either of those events to happen, but there were definitely some joys that came out of them.  

     

Paul’s letter of Philippians is one of my favorite books of the Bible.  In fact, the Zoom Sunday School class that I am leading is studying Philippians.  Philippians is sometimes called the letter of joy.  To call Philippians the letter of joy is more than a little ironic, as Paul’s circumstances were anything but joyful.  He wrote Philippians in the dark and difficult circumstances of his impending execution.  I don’t know how many times I’ve read Philippians over the years, but it has brought a lot of peace and a lot of joy to me, and it comes from circumstances that could hardly be considered peaceful or joyful.  

     

There is, I believe, a correlation between sorrow and difficulties and the joy that can come from them.  I’m not saying this is the reason why we have difficulties, or that I would wish difficulties on anyone, but we can find joy even in the midst of difficulties.  There have been many, many sorrows in this time of pandemic, but what joys have come out of this time as well?  Families spending more time together.  Schedules easing and people slowing down to enjoy life. A reminder that life is fragile, and the resulting appreciation of life that comes.  And what about church?  Do you sense a renewed appreciation of church these past months?  Do you feel a greater sense of gratitude to be able to be here this morning, after so many weeks when we could not gather together?  These months of pandemic have given me a greatly renewed appreciation for what the church means to me, and to see you sitting here this morning is, for me, a great gift. None of these are small blessings, certainly.  

     

Which makes me wonder, can we have joy without sorrow and difficulty?  Can you have one without the other?  I love summer, but would I love it as much without the winters I so dislike?  To me, spring, summer, and fall are wonderful times in Kentucky, but I don’t like the 17 months of wet, dreary winter weather we have every year.  

     

Could we appreciate what the church means to us without the difficulty of being away from it?  When the cancellations of our services began, I turned to the story of the Hebrew people wandering through the wilderness for a series of messages.  There were a lot of lessons they learned during that time, lessons I’m not sure they could have learned without those years of struggle. When Jesus was baptized, where did he go?  He went immediately into the desert.  The Hebrews could not become the nation they became without first traveling through the wilderness and the desert.  Jesus did not minister until he first went into the wilderness and the desert. Until we go through our wilderness and our desert time, there’s a lot we won’t learn.

3.  Be joyful.

     

Nehemiah has an interesting response to the weeping of the people.  He doesn’t say to them, count your blessings and stop your whining.  Neither does he tell them you are right to be weeping.  You are reaping what you have sown.  While others might have told the people a prophetic version of, I told you so, Nehemiah does not.  Instead, Nehemiah tells the people to not mourn or weep (verse 9).  Instead, what he tells them to do is quite surprising, as he says, in verse 10, to go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks (verse 10).  Basically, Nehemiah tells the people to go and have a big party.  In doing so, Nehemiah recognizes there is much for which to be grateful, and some legitimate reasons to celebrate in spite of what they had faced.  Yes, there had been much heartbreak, with the greatest heartbreak being almost 70 years in exile.  Yes, there was much to do.  The walls of the city were in ruins, as was the temple. The homes were gone, and businesses were nonexistent.  Their political neighbors were up to no good, as they sought to undermine the efforts of the people to rebuild.  But there were reasons to celebrate and party as well, chief among them the return to their homeland and to Jerusalem.  In spite of all the problems they faced, Nehemiah knew that in order to keep going, in order to persevere in times of difficulty, sometimes you have to set aside the struggles and problems and celebrate the blessings of life.

     

I don’t say that flippantly, or without regard to the very real and serious concerns we face, but be joyful!  And when I say joyful, I’m not necessarily speaking of an emotional state of being.  I’m not speaking necessarily about a throw your hands in the air and dance around the backyard sense of joyfulness.  The joyfulness of which I speak is a sense of gratitude that in spite of all the difficulties and all the anxiety of the time, we can be grateful for what we have and what we have received, even in the midst of difficult times.

     

We are now three and a half months into a pandemic, and there are many reasons to grieve and weep, but there are reasons to be joyful as well.  I will add, however, that as joyful as I might be, I am not planning on dancing around this morning like the priest in the video that Tanya posted on my Facebook page

(https://www.facebook.com/carolyn.anderson.seccesp/videos/10222324854928535).  I appreciate the many encouragements to do so, but it ain’t gonna happen!  

     

All last week I had Facebook memories of VBS pop up on my feed.  Monday’s was a picture of kids coming in and the caption was people are coming in and they’re joyous.  Even though we had to cancel VBS this year, we can still celebrate the many years of great Vacation Bible Schools.  In the past months, people have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries.  Last month Tanya and I celebrated our 36^thanniversary.  Families have welcomed babies into the world.  David and Florence are grandparents!  Maureen and Matt are new parents!  There are reasons to celebrate!  We are still here, which is no small blessing.  So let us be joyful, and let us celebrate that God has seen us through to this point!

June 21, 2010 Nehemiah: Rebuilding Life - Remembering...

Video of the service from which this message is taken can be viewed here - 

https://www.facebook.com/david.p.charlton.9/videos/10163782690855298

And here - 

https://vimeo.com/user38606035/review/431284968/0d36ec27d5?fbclid=IwAR1juZhm25YRJC9zhPgY-gZ46xJFiQPeC9yYieJnEkXSJ2OpPZKRkszV-hI

When I travel to my hometown, I find it sad to drive or walk through downtown.  My hometown was never large, but it was quite a bustling small town in my growing up years. The peak population was about 6,400 people, which was enough to support a number of businesses, before the malls and later, Amazon, came along.  From my childhood until now, the population has declined by more than half, to its current population of about 2,500, and the downtown businesses are almost completely gone.  When I was visiting about a year and a half ago, I took a walk through downtown, and discovered sections of town where entire blocks have nothing but shuttered buildings.  It was such a sad sight to me.  As I walked along, I remembered when the sidewalks were busy with shoppers and people conducting business.  I remember going to the shoe stores, to the 5 and 10, to the movie theater, and many of the other businesses.  I walked past my middle school, a large building sitting on the bank of the Ohio river, which now sits empty and has a For Sale sign out front.  I could walk down the middle of the street for blocks and not worry about being in the path of a car or seeing another pedestrian.  

     

Remembering is often bittersweet.  The comparison of what was, and what is, can be very difficult.

     

I wonder what it was like for Nehemiah when he returned to Jerusalem after he and the others were allowed to return from their decades-long exile in Babylon.  I don’t think Nehemiah had lived in Jerusalem; I think he grew up in exile, but he had certainly heard the stories of his homeland. I’m sure Nehemiah had heard about the beauty and majesty of the temple, I’m sure he had heard about the great walls around the city, and I’m sure he had heard about how the city of Jerusalem was filled with faith, activity, business, and so much more.  When Nehemiah and the other exiles were allowed to return, I’m sure they had a very palpable sense of excitement as they journeyed, discussing among themselves how finally, after so many years, their dream of seeing Jerusalem was about to be fulfilled.  

     

And then came the day they arrived.  Imagine, how the excitement must have quickly dissipated when they saw the city.  It was in ruins.  When they stood and gazed upon Jerusalem for the first time, and saw the walls in a pile of rubble, the temple in ruins, and the homes and businesses gone, I’m sure they compared that scene to the stories they had been told about the city’s former glory, and it must have broken their hearts.  What they found was not the Jerusalem of which they had heard in so many stories.

     

But they set to work, rebuilding.  After 52 days the walls were complete, but there was still much work to be done.  Before continuing with the remainder of the work, however, Nehemiah gathered everyone together so a list could be made of all who had returned, as we will find in verse 6.

     

Follow along with me as I read this morning’s Scripture text, Nehemiah 7:1-6 – 

¹ After the wall had been rebuilt and I had set the doors in place, the gatekeepers, the musicians and the Levites were appointed. 

² I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do. 

³ I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.”

⁴ Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt. 

⁵ So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there:

⁶ These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town…

You might remember that on Mother’s Day my sermon was also about remembering.  The title of that message was Will We Remember? Interesting, then, that on Father’s Day I am doing another sermon about remembering.  Maybe there is something unconscious in that decision; I don’t know, but this is not a repeat of that message.  In this message, I am going in different directions about remembering.

     

So let’s do some remembering, shall we?

1.  Remember People.

     

We all have a record of those people who left a profound mark on our lives.  The other day, I was going through a pile of papers I had set aside in recent months, and as I was sorting through that stack of papers there was a manila envelope.  As soon as I saw it, I knew without looking at the return address, who had sent it to me. It was from Fred Moffatt.  Once or twice a year, in the last few years of his life, I would get a large manila envelope from Fred, and I never had to open it to discover what it contained; it was updates for the outline of his funeral. I was always happy to hear from Fred, but when I would receive one of those envelopes, I really didn’t want to open it.  I didn’t want to look at the outline of his funeral and think about what life would be like once he was gone.  I sure do miss Fred.

     

Nehemiah called the people together to do something rather innocuous – he wanted to make a list of the people who returned from exile.  It wasn’t quite a census, but he wanted a record of those who returned from exile and had come home to Jerusalem.  I imagine he also had a record in his heart of those who did not return from the exile.

     

When I walk into this sanctuary on Sunday mornings, or any other day during the week, I think about the people who would be here, under normal circumstances.  But these are not normal circumstances.  I still find it a jolt to look out on these few chairs, spaced apart, with a handful of people.  And though I know there are so many more who are watching online, it reminds me of this – online worship has been a gift to us during this time, but it’s not the same. It’s just not.  

     

In our online Sunday School class we’ve been studying the book of Philippians.  I find myself gravitating to that book of the Bible when life gets out of sync, and it is certainly out of sync now.  There are a lot of verses in Philippians that I love. I like to underline favorite verses, and it would be simpler for me if I would just underline all the verses in Philippians.  And I know I have quoted the verse many times over the years, but I find myself drawn back to it over and over again – verse 3 of chapter 1, that says I thank my God every time I remember you.  I think of you on Sunday mornings, and I thank God for you.  During the week, as I walk through the building, I think about when the hallways were busy with people and the excited voices of children. Do you know what was scheduled to begin tomorrow?  Vacation Bible School.  Under normal circumstances, the sanctuary and building would be decorated for VBS, and we would be ready for a large group of kids and adults to fill our space.  Will you do me a favor?  Will you pray for the kids who would have been here this week, and in Vacation Bible Schools in churches all over?

2.  Remember Decisions.

     

I’m going to assume that we all share several things in common, and one of those is to look back to our past and wonder how different life might be if we had made some different decisions.  What if we had taken one job instead of another?  What if we had declined to go to a meeting or activity where we met someone who would become very important in our life?  I’ve got some decisions I have pondered over the years.  There are a couple of those decisions from my past I often think about, wishing I could go back in time to redo them.  I would love to go back and change my decision to trade away my 1969 Gibson Les Paul custom, a guitar that came into my possession for $300.00.  I traded it for a mid-80s pointed headed hair metal guitar.  What in the world was I thinking?  Why didn’t someone stop me?  That $300.00 guitar is now worth into five figures.  In fact, as I was talking to the owner of a guitar store a few years back, the conversation turned to guitars we let get away.  I told him the story of my Les Paul, and his response was heartbreaking, as he said, you traded away your new Mercedes.  I sure wish I could go back in time and redo that decision.

     

There is one decision from my past that looms large, larger than most others, and I have often wondered what would I do if I could travel back in time?  Would I change that decision?  Many times I have told myself, if I could redo that decision I would do so in a heartbeat.  But when I am honest with myself (and I am like anyone else in this respect – I am not always honest with myself, as though I can fool myself) I realize that it would be a mistake to change that decision.  Even though the decision brought me to some of the greatest heartbreak in my life, it also brought some of my greatest blessings.  If I had not made that decision, so many amazing people would be absent from the history of my life, and so many blessings that came to my family would have never existed.  So, perhaps it is a really great blessing that we cannot go back and change decisions.

     

We need to remember a couple of things about decisions – they have consequences, and sometimes, really, really big consequences.  When we are young, we don’t always realize the long-term implications and repercussions of our decisions.  We think of the moment, not tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or next year.

     

When we read the Bible, what we find is that the story of God and humanity is not a straight line.  God had a plan for humanity, and humanity had their own plan.  God had a plan for Abraham, and Abraham had some plans of his own, and his plans created some difficulties.  God promised Abraham he would be the father of a multitude (Genesis 15:5), but as he and Sarah, his wife, were getting on in years, they began to doubt that promise. Sarah convinced Abraham to have a child with her servant, Hagar (Genesis 16:1-15).  Ishmael was the child born to Abraham and Hagar, and the decision of Abraham and Sarah to make their own plan and to forsook God’s promise was a decision that continues to impact world politics to this very day.  That decision is one of the primary reasons why the small piece of land called Israel and the question of who owns that land has become so contentious.  Jacob and Esau, sons of Rebekah and Isaac, also made their own decisions about the plan of their lives.  Esau, as you will remember, came home one day very hungry.  Jacob took advantage of his brother’s hunger, offering him food in exchange for his birthright (Genesis 25:27-34).  Esau traded away his birthright in that moment of hunger, and the repercussions of that decision followed him and his descendants for many years.  David, the great king of Israel, had an affair with Bathsheba.  Compounding that bad decision, David arranged for the death of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. David was a great king, in many ways, but some of his decisions and their sad aftermath followed him and his family for many years (Genesis 11:1-27).  Peter regretted his denial of Jesus (Matthew 27:69-75).  Saul/Paul regretted that, before he was converted, persecuted the church (Acts 9:1-2).  If we charted out the Biblical story on a graph, the line of the story would not be straight but up and down, and it would be so because of the decisions of humanity to make their own way rather than following the plan God created for them.

     

As Nehemiah and the people traveled back to Jerusalem, I imagine they thought about the decisions of their forebearers, decisions that brought about the calamity of the exile.

     

The past informs the present and the future.  Maybe we can’t live in the past, and maybe we shouldn’t live in the past, but let me tell you this – the past lives in the present and the future.  Let me say that again – the past lives in the present and the future.  Make decisions wisely.

3.  Making Peace With the Past.

     

Of course, not everything about the past is missed.  I sometimes think of the difficult periods of my life, and though I learned from them, I am grateful those times are in my past and not my present. I do not miss, for instance, the schedule that I kept when I was in seminary.  I do not miss the days of hurrying to class after only a few hours of sleep, hurrying to work after class, and then hurrying home after work to begin a long night of studying.  I do not miss the financial struggle of those days, with a budget of $15.00 for a week of groceries.  When the pandemic is over, I will be very happy for it to fade into the past.  When it is over, I’m going to take my collection of masks and burn them in a bonfire in our backyard, and dance in celebration around that fire.

     

Nehemiah and the other exiles had a lot to remember.  They remembered the difficulty of their lives in exile.  They remembered the people who did not live to see the return to Jerusalem.  They remembered all that their homeland had been, and what it represented.  And as they remembered, they mourned what no longer was.

     

At some point, we have to make peace with our past.

     

In one of my seminary classes, I witnessed a powerful example of someone making peace with their past.  It was a class devoted very much to self-examination and learning why we do what we do.  The reason we do what we do, in large measure, is because of our past, and how the past informs our present.  I will never forget the day when the student sitting beside me came to terms with his past in such a powerful experience.  As he talked to the class about his life, he told a tale of an alcoholic, abusive father.  His father would physically assault his children, and this young man often hid himself and his younger siblings from their father’s rage, as he searched for them throughout the house, saying he would kill them when he found them.  The next day, as class began, our two professors led us through an exercise that helped the young man to let go of the pain from his past. I was seated next to him, and the relief he experienced was very powerful to witness.  There has been more than one time when I have wished for such an experience, an experience that would have allowed me to make peace with my past.  

     

Do you need to make peace with your past?  It’s never too late.  Nehemiah and the exiles had a lot in their past, and they had to make peace with that past.  They were in exile because of the actions of their forebearers, who made bad decisions and entered into ill-advised political alliances.  While in exile, they lost a lot of friends and family members. When they returned to Jerusalem, they returned without many people.  Some people did not survive to return home, while others made the choice to remain in Babylon, where they had built new lives.

     

As you remember, on this day, remember the people who have been, and continue to be, important to you. Remember the way that your decisions have impacted your life, in both positive and negative ways.  Remember that God can take even the bad decisions and bring good from them.  And remember that it is never too late to make peace with your past.  

June 14, 2020 - Nehemiah: Rebuilding Life - One Brick At A Time

Video of the service from which this message is taken can be viewed here -
https://www.facebook.com/david.p.charlton.9/videos/10163746294830298

And here - 
https://vimeo.com/429060678?fbclid=IwAR03ga3iTJ21JxbnyHd3BnkUT4wWoBKMv9_q3lUxdgeJ1ShE5CjprG2MJDw

Throughout the spring, the heavy rains we received washed out a piece of our yard.  The water would run through our backyard, around the corner of the house, along a retaining wall by the garage, and as it flowed around the end of the retaining wall, it washed a hole into the edge of the yard.  I decided, now that we have finally entered into a stretch of dry weather, to fix the hole, which meant the need to build another retaining wall, so I could fill the hole with dirt.

     

Here is one of the bricks I am using.  It’s not a large hole, so I only need 18 of these landscaping bricks.  Sounds easy, doesn’t it?  Well, for someone like me, who is not very good at building, it is not. I have spent a lot of time trying to get the bricks level – level from side to side and level from front to back.  I also need to cut one of these bricks in half, so I can lay them in a staggered format.  I’m a bit worried about trying to cut one in half, as I fear I will shatter it.

     

All this to say, I find it remarkable that Nehemiah – the Old Testament prophet we’ve been studying for four weeks – was able to lead a group of workers to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. It wasn’t just rebuilding the wall of a city that had been destroyed, although that was a challenge in and of itself. For Nehemiah, the challenges were far greater than simply rebuilding the wall.  Nehemiah had, for one, very few resources on hand.  Not only was he short of resources, he also faced serious opposition.  Some of the neighbors were not happy about the prospect of Jerusalem being restored to its former status, so they threatened attack.  The workers, then, did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other(Nehemiah 4:17).  But those were not the only challenges.  As we will see in a moment, when I read this morning’s Scripture passage, Nehemiah faced further challenges, challenges of intimidation, false accusations, and threats against his life.  In spite of those challenges, the wall was rebuilt in 52 days.  52 days!  I may still be working on my little brick retaining wall in 52 days!

     

How do you face a challenge, especially one that was as complicated as was Nehemiah’s?  One brick at a time.  When we encounter a difficult stretch in life, we remind ourselves to move forward one day at a time, or even one step at a time.  Tackling a formidable task is best done one small step at a time, or as in Nehemiah’s case, One Brick At a Time.

     

Follow along as I read from Nehemiah 6:1-11, 13, 15-16 – 

¹When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it…

² Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.”  But they were scheming to harm me; 

³ so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” 

⁴ Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.

⁵ Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter 

⁶ in which was written: “It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king 

⁷ and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together.”

⁸ I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.”

⁹ They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”

¹⁰ One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.”

¹¹ But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” 

¹³ He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me.

¹⁵ So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.

¹⁶ When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

An interesting fact about a brick, is this – a brick can make a wall, but that wall can communicate more than one purpose.  A wall can communicate a message that is either positive or negative.  As a positive message, a wall can serve as a means of security and protection.  A wall can, for instance, protect a city from a flood, or provide a home for a family, keeping them safe from the elements.  But a wall can also communicate a negative meaning, such as exclusion – you are not welcome here.  You are not wanted.  You are not like us.  

     

Let’s take a look at what Nehemiah encountered in rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, and we will see how his encounters carried both positive and negative messages.

1.  Fear.

     

Although we generally consider fear to be negative, that is not always so.  We want, for example, our young children to have a healthy fear of a hot stove top, or a busy street.  Instilling in them a healthy fear provides a measure of protection against what can cause harm.  

     

But fear can be very negative as well.  Throughout history, people have found that trafficking in fear can be one of the most effective weapons in the playbook of power, and it is still used that way today. People who are in power, or desire power, play upon the fear of the other, that is, those who are different from us.  They portray those who are different as a threat to our security or to our way of life. 

     

In verse 9 Nehemiah says they were all trying to frighten us.  The opponents of Nehemiah believed they could frighten and intimidate him, but they were wrong.  Nehemiah called them out, saying nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.  What Nehemiah knew was this – people who traffic in fear, and who seek to use fear against others, are themselves afraid.  They know that when people are no longer afraid, their source of power will quickly disintegrate.  Those of my generation, for instance, could scarcely believe how quickly and suddenly the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall fell.  I remember, as a very young student, the drills at school that were designed to prepare us for a nuclear attack.  Even at a young age, it seemed absurd to me that a school desk could protect me against a nuclear attack, but I do remember the very palpable sense of fear.  Fear was used by the Soviet leaders against those under their rule, but when people did stand up, when they decided they were no longer going to live in fear, everything changed.  And how quickly it changed.  All of us, as we watched the events unfold on television, could scarcely believe the pace at which such power suddenly crumbled.  When the fear passed away, so did the totalitarianism.  

2.  Words

     

As hard as this brick is, and as damaging as it can be, our words can be more damaging. We all have used the limerick sticks and stones can break my bones, but names (and words) can never hurt me.  But that is a great fallacy.  Words do hurt.  Words do cause pain.

     

Nehemiah’s opponents used words of falsehoods, innuendo, and insinuation against him. They accused him of insurrection, saying that he was going to proclaim himself king and had even secured prophets to proclaim him as the rightful ruler.  Verses 6 and 7 tell us of these accusations –It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: “There is a king in Judah!”

     

Here is how falsehoods, insinuation, and innuendo do their work – they are sometimes very open and blunt, but more often they are used in a more insidious fashion, in order to give the person using those words a shield to hide behind.  Used in such a way, the words become, as the expression goes, a dog whistle.  The one who speaks the harmful and destructive words knows their intended audience will understand what is meant, but the one who speaks the words can deny their actual meaning, claiming to be misunderstood – Oh no.  That’s not what I meant.  You’ve misunderstood me.  You’ve taken my words out of context.  But that is not true.  

     

Speaking of words, some of the words most discussed recently, not only in our own society but around the world, are the wordsBlack Lives Matter.  Last Sunday, a number of us joined in the march through Shelbyville. A number of people from our church joined with hundreds of others in the march.  Many of the signs carried were ones that proclaimed Black Lives Matter.  To some, those words are controversial, but what is controversial about saying Black Lives Matter, especially when their lives continue to be devalued and their lives continue to be lost in senseless acts of violence? Some people will counter by saying that all lives matter.  Of course all lives matter, but it is very important to note that saying the words Black Lives Matterdoes not mean that other lives do not matter.  Insisting we say all lives matteris what we call a zero-sum game, which is the belief that lifting up one person or one group means another person or another group must be diminished in the process.  This is not at all true, however.  We are in an historical moment when we must say Black Lives Matter, and here is why – when African-Americans have, over the generations, been forced to endure slavery, a Supreme Court decision that said they could not be citizens, discrimination enshrined in the legal system, when lynchings were used against them as an act of terror – including in our own city and our own county – when they were prohibited from voting, when they were told you cannot go here andyou cannot go there, when they could not run for an office, when they could not have certain jobs, and on and on we could go, then it becomes necessary to say those lives matter, because the legacy of those words – and actions – have been so destructive.  So yes, Black Lives Matter.

3.  Sanctuary.

     

In verse 10, it is recommended that Nehemiah, for his own safety, go into the sanctuary and hide.  In response, Nehemiah says, should a man like me run away?  Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life?  I will not go!

     

It would be understandable had Nehemiah sought safety and security in the sanctuary.  The invitation to do so makes a lot of sense, after all.  Stay here, where it’s safe.  Let things blow over.  Don’t worry about those people out there.  They can manage on their own.  You stay here, Nehemiah, where you will be safe.  Sure, the people could manage; but should they have to? They needed Nehemiah.  He was their leader, and what would have happened if he had chosen to leave them on their own while he sought his own safety and security?

     

A sanctuary is, by way of definition, a place of safety and security.  Declaring sanctuarymeans to proclaim a particular place as a haven for those who are seeking safety and security.  But the word sanctuarycan also carry a dual meaning.  A sanctuary can be a place of safety and security from threats, but it can also become a place in which to hide.  Used in such a way, a sanctuary becomes a place to hide from the challenges of the world, the problems of the world, and the rapid and often unsettling changes of the world.  We do not come here, to this sanctuary, in order to hide from what is happening in the world.  Instead, we come to worship God and to prepare ourselves for going out into the world to fulfill God’s calling.  Nehemiah wasn’t being careless, or reckless, by refusing to enter into the sanctuary. No, Nehemiah knew that his place was out in the world, engaging the world and all of its problems and brokenness, not hiding out in a sanctuary.  In our present historical moment, we cannot afford to hide in a sanctuary.  The community needs our engagement, even when that engagement is very difficult.

     

I had a seminary professor, Dr. Gerald Borchert, who offered some of the best advice I have ever received.  Dr. Borchert was my professor for several classes, but on one particular day, in my 3^rdyear Greek class, we gathered for class after lunch.  As often happened in seminary, the class veered away from Greek to discussion about various issues in the life of ministry. While I don’t remember what prompted the discussion, I vividly remember Dr. Borchert saying, if you’re going to get crucified over an issue or a cause, make sure it is on a cross and not a toothpick.  There are too many people getting crucified on toothpicks.  And remember, you only get crucified once.  I think that is great advice.  There are some hills that are not worth dying on. Some causes and some issues are not so important.  But some are, and one of those issues that rises to the level of great importance is the willingness to use a sanctuary in the proper way.  A sanctuary is a place of worship and a place to lead people to engage their communities with the love of God.  A sanctuary is not a place to hide from the world or escape from its problems.  When a church wants to use a sanctuary as a hiding place, resisting that urge is a cause worth fighting.  Nehemiah refused to hide away in the sanctuary of the temple and refused to leave his people. Even with the threat of death hanging over him, Nehemiah continued his work.  The threats did not keep him from his work; in fact, they made him more committed to his work.

4.  Prayer.

     

In verse 9 Nehemiah says I prayed, “now strengthen my hands.”  Over the years, my prayers have changed, in terms of my requests.  I still make requests of God on behalf of other people. I pray for my family and make requests of God on their behalf.  I pray for each of you, and make requests of God on your behalf.  For myself, however, my prayers have changed, particularly in what I request of God.  Now, my prayers for myself, in terms of requests, have narrowed quite a bit.  One of my few requests, for myself, is very similar to that of Nehemiah – Lord, give me strength.  What I want from God, for myself, is to have the strength to do what I am called to do, and to be who God wants me to be.

     

Several years ago, when there was some controversy over the offering of thoughts and prayersafter a tragedy, I grew frustrated with the way in which some people believed that to offer thoughts and prayersmeant nothing else was going to be done. It was, unfortunately, another example of the either/or kind of thinking that is so prevalent in our society.  To offer our thoughts and prayersdoes not at all mean no other action will be taken.  In fact, our thoughts and prayersare very often what motivates us to take action.  For Nehemiah, his prayer for strength was not a request made in isolation from real life, but one that was made to help him move more effectively into the issues and the needs of his day.  If your prayers do not move us to action, they are not very good prayers.

     

Prayer was the source of Nehemiah’s strength.  It was prayer that moved Nehemiah to conquer his fears and the fears of the people. It was prayer that enabled Nehemiah to stand against those who made false accusations against him.  It was prayer that led Nehemiah to turn away from his own safety and security in order to lead the people to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and to rebuild their lives.  

     

Let us be people of prayer as well.  Let us pray for the continued strength to manage in this world that has changed so much in the past three months.  Let us pray for the strength we need in this time of social upheaval, the strength that we need to challenge what needs to be challenged and changed.  It won’t happen overnight, just as it didn’t happen overnight with Nehemiah and that wall.  It was one brick at a time.  I know it had to be difficult and frustrating at times.  The bricks were heavy, and the work was hard, but they kept at it.  One brick at a time, day after day, and week after week, until they accomplished their work.

     

We will rebuild life one brick at a time.  Life may not be the same, and some things should not be the same, but we will hope and pray, and continue to rebuild life.

June 7, 2020 Nehemiah: Rebuilding Life - Living Together

Video of the service in which this sermon was preached can be watched here -

https://vimeo.com/426830519?fbclid=IwAR1-3WWkenWpG-2xXUYalo3lRIKRoIURG79fnJ_HljurPWouQNMwDq6NMrE

And here - 

https://www.facebook.com/david.p.charlton.9/videos/10163708706545298

Whenever I teach about the history of Disciples churches, I like to point out a huge irony of the movement that led to our churches.  A huge irony.  Did I say a huge irony?  If you are not familiar with the history of the Disciples churches, one of the central tenants of the movement that led to our churches was the desire to bring unity. As the leaders of that movement observed the large number of denominations in early America, they desired to bring churches together, in a spirit of unity, around the basic Christianity of the early church. How is it, then, that a movement dedicated to uniting churches, a movement committed to reducing the divisions among churches, managed to birth not just one, not just two, but three new groups of churches?  Even with a slogan of in essentials unity, opinions liberty, and in all things love, it was impossible to live together in theological unity.

     

It is hard to live together.  It is hard to find unity.  It is hard to find agreement.  It is hard to get along.  In the past months, as many people have been home from work and school – and spending more time together than normal under one roof – many have discovered that even among a group of people who love each other deeply, it is hard to live together. I have officiated many weddings over the course of my ministry.  Speaking with couples as they prepare for their marriages, and talking with them through the challenges of their marriages, it has struck me on more than one occasion that even when two people love each other so much that they pledge their lives to one another, as they pledge to sacrifice for one another, and even as they pledge to give up their lives for one another if necessary, getting along and living together is not always easy.  So how easy is it going to be to get along with our neighbors, our coworkers, and with strangers?

     

Why is it so hard to live together?  Why is it so hard to get along? 

     

Because, simply put, it just is.  People have a tendency to do what they want to do, even when it irritates or enrages others.  When I was young, my mom said on more than one occasion that your rights end where my nose begins.  If only it were that simple, but it’s not.  There are many noses bumping into the rights of others, and vice versa.

     

It is difficult to get along and to live together, in part, because every person has a unique set of experiences, beliefs, points of view, and perspectives that shape not only how they see the world, but how they relate to the world, and to others.  That lens, through which we see all things in life, is different for each person, and that difference brings about the conflict that makes it difficult to get along.  But do we have to agree in order to live together in some level of harmony and unity?  No, of course not.  How do we, however, live together in some acceptable level of calm and peace while maintaining and respecting our differences, differences that can indeed be very great?

     

That’s what we will consider this morning.  We are continuing to make our way through the book of Nehemiah, and this morning we come to a passage that I referenced last week.

Nehemiah 5:6-13 –   

⁶ When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. 

⁷ I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them 

⁸ and said: “As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.

⁹ So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? 

¹⁰ I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! 

¹¹ Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”

¹² “We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”  Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. 

¹³ I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied!”  At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

     

Let’s talk about some of what we find in this passage, as they teach us about how we can live together.

1.  Understand How to Use Conflict In A Positive Manner.

     

According to one writer, conflict and the inability to get along might be a part of our biology.  Claiming that we are 98 percent emotional and about two percent rational, this writer believes that conflict causes our emotional selves to override our rational selves. (https://www.mediate.com/articles/noll9.cfm).

     

Maybe, maybe not.  While I’m not ready to fully agree with that assertion – and certainly not his percentages – I do agree that conflict generally does not make us more rational. When we become engaged in conflict, rationality does tend to be tossed aside.  Most of us, though, dislike conflict to the point we will avoid it whenever possible. Although some people seem to thrive on conflict, most people do not like it and would be happy to see it disappear forever from their lives.  Conflict, however, is not going away.  Understanding that conflict is not going away, how do we learn to live together, in spite of the conflict?  

     

First, understand that conflict is a natural part of being human.  History is, basically, the story of human conflict. From Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16) until today, the story of humanity is the story of the inability to live together in peace, justice, and fairness.  In fact, it might surprise you to know that a good deal of the New Testament exists precisely because of conflict.  Reading through the letters of Paul, particularly, it is obvious those letters were written in response to the conflicts occurring in some of the earliest churches and between some of the followers of Jesus.  As Paul writes in I Corinthians 11:18, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you.  The divisions in the church at Corinth prompted Paul to write about how the church is like a physical body, with church unity and health being defined as all the parts of the body working together for a common goal.  The next passage he writes is one of the most famous and beloved of all the Bible – I Corinthians 13.  Imagine, some of the greatest words about love ever written were born out of conflict!

     

Second, it is important to remember that conflict often points to an unresolved problem. As a fever tells us there is a problem in the body, conflict tells us there is a problem in a relationship, an organization, a church, or a society.  That conflict could be something as simple as a difference of opinion, which can be worked out in short order, or a much deeper issue that threatens the well-being and even the future of a relationship, organization, church, or society.

     

Third, how we approach conflict will dictate how successful we are at working out a solution.  If the parties involved in the conflict see the others as nothing more than adversaries to be defeated, it is certain the conflict will not be resolved and will end in bitterness and hurt.  There are those who use conflict to their advantage, almost as a weapon against others.  Knowing most people do not like conflict and would rather shy away from it, they manipulate and use conflict to accomplish their own goals.

     

Fourth, to ignore or to avoid conflict is to acquiesce to what needs to change.  It is very rare that change – particularly needed change – ever takes place without conflict.  Social change, in particular, involves a great deal of conflict, because some people will always benefit from the way things are – the status quo – and will resist change.  Confronting what needs to change means there will be conflict.  If we fear conflict to the point that we will not speak against or act against what needs to change in the world, we are failing in one of our most basic callings as followers of Jesus.

     

Speaking of Jesus, have you ever noticed how conflict swirled around him?  That is because Jesus was never afraid to confront what needed to be changed.  In fact, Jesus often instigated conflict, and did so in order to bring about change.  At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus spoke in the synagogue in Nazareth.  He first read from the book of Isaiah, sayingthe Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor(Luke 4:18-18). In sharing those words, Jesus received a very favorable reaction – all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips 4:23). That’s a reaction every preacher would love to have!  But then it changes quite dramatically.  After Jesus levels criticism at his listeners, their reaction changed from one of praise to all the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.  They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built in order to throw him down the cliff(4:18-19). Thankfully, I only have to worry about people sleeping through my sermons; Jesus had people who wanted to kill him after he was finished preaching!  When he cleansed the temple, Jesus instigated a very large and intense conflict, and once again had people who wanted to kill him, as Matthew tells us, the chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him (Matthew 11:18).

     

Nehemiah, as we see in today’s Scripture reading, took the conflict straight to those who were creating difficulty for people.  In verse 6 Nehemiah says that he was very angry(verse 6). His anger at the injustices that were taking place drove him to confrontthe nobles and the officials(verse 7).  Nehemiah did not mince words as he laid his accusations of perpetuating injustices and hurtful policies at the feet of those individuals, plainly telling them, what you are doing is not right(verse 9).  In very plain, direct language, Nehemiah told those in power what they had done wrong and that their practices needed to cease immediately.  Not only did Nehemiah tell them they had acted wrongfully and needed to stop, but also told them to make amends, which was done.  Had Nehemiah remained quiet, seeking to avoid conflict, the injustices and wrongful policies would have remained in place.  Nehemiah used conflict in a positive way, as he advocated for much-needed changes.

2.  The Importance of Trust.

     

I have been fortunate over the years to receive a lot of great advice from people. Some of the best advice was from a person who once told me, when you are new in a church, it is very important to find out who the real leaders are.  Sometimes the leaders are the ones listed on a sheet of paper, but sometimes those are not the real leaders of the congregation.  To discover who the real leaders are, you must find out who it is that, when the church is about to make an important decision, the people want to hear speak.  Those are the real leaders, and they are the real leaders because they have the trust of the people.

     

Trust is one of the most important components of leadership.  Without the trust of people, a person can never be a true leader. John Maxwell says that if you think you’re leading, but no one is following, then you are only taking a walk.  If no one is following, it is most likely because they do not trust the person who is attempting to lead.

     

People trusted Nehemiah.  One of the reasons they trusted him is because he kept his word, even when it meant standing up against powerful people and powerful systems.  That is not easy to do, and standing up against powerful people and powerful systems, is when we learn which leaders are willing not only to talk the talk, but to walk the walk of leadership.  

     

Who do we trust today as leaders?  I find that to be a difficult question to answer.  Someone asked me not long ago to name a few individuals who had the trust of the people of our country.  Who came to my mind?  I’ll confess, I had to think for a while, and then it was still difficult to come up with one or two names.  We have grown untrusting.  We have so much cynicism towards our leaders.  Perhaps it is a reflection of our age of division, but I think it is almost impossible to find a level of trust in our country that would apply even to one or two people.

     

Leadership is tough, and it is tough on every level.  There are books about leadership, but there is no real manual for how to be a leader.  In recent weeks, I have read many Op-Eds and heard many commentators offer their opinions about “how to fix things.”  I do not doubt the genuineness of their beliefs, but I find myself reading and listening with a sense of amusement, as though leadership and “fixing things” were that easy.  It is not easy to lead and it is not easy to “fix things.”  There are so many competing agendas, mixed motives, clashing points of view, and many other factors that make it very difficult to “fix things.”

     

I wish we had more trust in our leaders, but I do not sense that it is there.  I believe we would all feel better, and be better off, if there was a greater level of trust toward our nation’s leaders, but trust is lacking.  Where are the Nehemiah’s of our age?  Who are the leaders to speak to the injustices of our time?  I believe that out of this difficult time will come a few leaders who will help to shape and mold our society into the kind of just and fair nation God would have us to be.  When they do rise up, it will be as a result of several things – vision, the ability to communicate, and, very importantly, the ability to earn the trust of people.

3. The Need to Create Unity.

     

Listen again to what Nehemiah said, and the reaction of the people – 

¹⁰ I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! 

¹¹ Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”

¹² “We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”  Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. 

¹³ I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied!”  At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

     

Wow. Wouldn’t it be great if a sense of unity in ending injustice and unfairness was that easy and accepted all the time!  But sadly, it is not.

     

One of the reasons is because unity is a tricky word.  Unity can mean, when used by some people, keep quiet. Don’t rock the boat.  Everything is fine the way it is.  For some, perhaps, but not for others.  Unity is important, but there can never be a true or just unity if it comes at the expense of equality and justice for all people.

     

I was invited to take part some years ago in a unity rally.  When an organizer of the rally called to invite me, I had a number of questions – what are you talking about when you use the word unity?  What is the purpose of the rally?  Is the purpose of the rally to work for unity, regardless of the difficulties involved, and regardless of how much it might cause resistance?  Or is unity a word being used to maintain order and the status quo?  Unity is not a generic word with no implications for how we live.  No, unity is a powerful word, and when we use it, we must be serious about what it asks of us. 

     

Often, when a terrible event of violence, bigotry, and hatred takes place in our society, our leaders often say this is not who we are.  I think that statement is made to bring a sense of unity, and I understand that impulse. I disagree, however, with that statement, because it iswho we are. I wish it were not who we are, but it is.  There are people in our community, in our state, in our nation, and in our world, who are willing to take advantage of others, who are willing to do violence to others, who are willing to make bigotry a part of everyday life, and to commit other hurtful actions.  Nehemiah saw this in his day as well.  He appealed to the better instincts of people, pushing them to be better and to do better.  

     

When we speak of living together, we must understand that living together means we have to take a hard look at what is happening in our community, our state, our nation, and our world.  We must be willing to look at what is happening, and then to change what is happening.  When Nehemiah spoke to the people of his day, he called out to the better part of people. To create unity among the exiles who had returned to rebuild their land and their lives, Nehemiah asked some of the people to undo what had benefitted them, and he did so because those benefits came at the expense of others.

     

I am grateful that we are open once again for worship.  It is not, of course, what we would like, but it is a start.  The discomforts of today, and the past three and a half months, have some important lessons for us.  We have felt a sense of displacement from our church for the past 12 weeks.  Imagine what it is like for those who feel a sense of displacement in their own country. The metal chairs are not comfortable, but let them remind us of the discomfort so many have experienced for so long.  The distance between those chairs is something we grieve, but let us grieve the distance that has grown between the people of our community, our state, our nation, and our world.

     

It is not easy to live together, but with God’s help, and with open and loving hearts, we can do so.