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As I was approaching the end of our previous series of messages – those based on the Exodus of the Hebrew people from Egypt and their subsequent wandering through the wilderness – I had already chosen to move to the story of Nehemiah for the next series of messages. As I sketched out ideas for the messages, I wanted to use elements from Nehemiah’s story that resonated with our current situation and the many challenges we face at this very unusual juncture in history.
One of the first parts of the story I decided to use is the text I will read momentarily, which is the story of the people working to rebuild the wall around the city of Jerusalem while at the same time protecting themselves from the threats coming from their neighbors. The title of this morning’s message – As If Things Weren’t Bad Enough– came to me as I thought about the situation in which the people found themselves. The city of Jerusalem was in ruins. The temple had been destroyed. Their homes and businesses were gone. As they began the difficult task of rebuilding, they found themselves under threat from their neighbors, who were fearful of the kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem once again arising to power. The threat required them to work with a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other. Reading that passage, the phrase as if things weren’t bad enoughcame to mind.
Listen as I read that portion of the story, from Nehemiah 4:1-3, 6-17 –
1When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews,
2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “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?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”
6 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.
7 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the people of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry.
8 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.
9 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.
10 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”
11 Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”
12 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”
13 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.
14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
15 When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work.
16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah
17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other.
As bad as things were for the people, it became even worse. In chapter 5 we read of many of the people coming to Nehemiah to ask for help. The people were already suffering greatly, as they tried to rebuild their lives. Their efforts were made much more complicated because they were not only under threat by the neighboring kingdoms, they were being taken advantage of their own people. The people were already poor, and to survive, they were forced to borrow money at exorbitant interest rates. They had to mortgage their property and their homes to pay their taxes. Some had sold their own family members into slavery in order to survive. The suffering of the people brought them to Nehemiah, pleading for help and relief. Nehemiah, thankfully, heard their cries understood their pain, and took action.
Listen to that portion of the story, from Nehemiah 5:1-5 –
1Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews.
2 Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.”
3 Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.”
4 Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.
5 Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.”
When I began assembling my thoughts for this message, I was thinking of the pandemic, as I have throughout these past twelve weeks. In the last several days, however, I began to think more about the situation in our own country, as protests over the death of George Floyd have sprung up in cities throughout our country, and as they have turned violent, many of our cities are in flames. There is some irony in the fact that today is also the day of Pentecost, the birthday of the church. The symbol of Pentecost is a flame, as Acts tells us that on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended, the people saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them(Acts 2:3). Now the flames have captured our cities, and we are burning literally and symbolically. Where do we now go?
I want to offer three words this morning in response to what is taking place. As I offer them, I realize and admit that I do so as a person who has never suffered from injustice and as one who has benefitted from the systems of our society. I cannot put myself in the place of those who are suffering or have suffered, but I can respond, and wish to do so this morning.
The three words that I offer this morning are listen, understand, and peace.
1. Listen
Nehemiah 5:1-2 tell us that the poor and the suffering came to Nehemiah and raised a great outcry. They told Nehemiah of the ways they were suffering, how they could not afford to feed their families, how they were being taken advantage of economically, and that some of their family members had become slaves. And the heartbreak of those tragedies was that it was not coming from the hands of their enemies, but from their own people. As the people cried out to Nehemiah they told that it was their own flesh and blood inflicting the suffering upon them. The people raised a great outcry. They wanted to be sure that Nehemiah heard them tell of their suffering. They raised their voices to the point that they could not be ignored.
Almost three millennia later, not much has changed. Suffering and injustice continues, as does the tendency of societies to turn a deaf ear to the suffering that also continues. We must listen to one another, and we must especially listen to those who suffer injustice, to those who suffer from hunger, to those who suffer from need, to those who suffer from violence, and to those who suffer in any other way.
We are so separated in our society that it becomes difficult to listen. No one in my house is suffering. No one in my neighborhood seems to be suffering. But I cannot assume that means there is no suffering. And my distance from suffering cannot mean I can remain isolated from and uncaring about its effects upon others.
Those who came to Nehemiah said they were suffering at the hands of their own flesh and blood. We must remember that we are of one flesh and blood; we are one flesh and blood with those who suffer and with those who inflict the suffering. Genesis affirms that God created humanity in his image (so God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them– Genesis 1:27). All people bear the image of God, not just some. God did not create inferior images of himself. God did not create images of himself to be treated differently or with disdain or indifference. God created everyone, whether rich or poor, powerful or powerless, white or black, and any other identity as the same – equal, beloved, and of value. That we have turned against our own flesh and blood, inflicting suffering upon them, is one of humanity’s greatest affronts to God.
We must listen to those who suffer. When we fail to listen to those who are hurting, those who are suffering, those who cry out and beg for help and for mercy, we fail to listen to the voice of God crying out from his children.
We have been where we are too many times over the years, and we find ourselves here again because, in part, of a failure to listen. Society has not listened to those who have spoken about the injustices and the sufferings they face every day. The hurt, the anguish, and the anger that is pouring out across our land comes, in part, because of a failure to listen. Perhaps we are afraid to listen. Perhaps we do not want to hear of the sufferings of others. Perhaps we want to deny the reality of that suffering. If we do not listen, however, that suffering will come to us and cry out to us, until we listen. Let us, then, be like Nehemiah, and listen to the cries of the people.
2. Understand
At church camp, one of the exercises we do with the kids is to take them to the rec field and line them up for a race. Before starting the race, however, we ask a series of questions. Depending on how you answer the questions, you might get to take a step or two forward or have to take a step or two backwards. Here is a sampling of those questions –
If you have health insurance take one step forward.
If you attended private school, take one step forward.
If your family ever had to move because they could not afford the rent, take one step back.
If you were told that you were beautiful, smart and capable by your parents, take one step forward.
If you saw members of your race, ethnic group, gender or sexual orientation portrayed on television in degrading roles, take one step back.
If you own a car take one step forward.
If you were ever offered a good job because of your association with a friend or family member, take one step forward.
If you were ever denied employment because of who you are, take one step back.
If you were paid less, treated less fairly because of who you are, take one step back.
If you ever inherited money or property, take one step forward.
If you were ever afraid of violence because of who you are, take one step back.
If you were generally able to avoid places that were dangerous, take one step forward.
When we do that exercise, it’s always interesting that the unfairness is not a surprise to the kids who take few, if any steps forward. Those kids are not surprised because they know how unfair and difficult life can be. It is, however, a surprise to the kids who get to move much further downfield, because they haven’t realized the advantages they have. The kids who get to take the extra steps downfield are uncomfortable with their advantage and will sometimes seek to justify their position. It is, certainly, a powerful and important learning experience.
It is easy for those of us who have benefitted from the systems under which we live to think we have benefitted because we are rewarded for our hard work, and to believe that those who have not benefitted have either not tried or have done something wrong. It is tempting to believe that if the system has not worked for someone, they must have done something wrong, but that is not the case. I’m not questioning anyone’s work ethic, but the system works for those of us who got to start further down the field than others. I have benefitted from the system, as have people who are like me. It is easy for me to believe that the system is fair and just because it has been fair and just for me. People like me find a friend in the system. Because it works for people like me, people like me tend to trust the system, defend it, and justify it.
It is easy for me to believe that I have achieved what I have achieved because I pulled myself up by my bootstraps. But no one – well, very few – pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Some of us are fortunate enough to have someone buy us nice boots, to help us put them on, and to help us to lace them up. Again, that is not to deny or question anyone’s work ethic. It is to simply say that it really makes a difference when you start life and move through life with advantages not enjoyed by everyone. Those of us who have been blessed in life must not look down upon others who do not enjoy those blessings, and we must certainly not blame them for the circumstances that life has handed to them.
Faith is often very different in expression in a poor community and a community that is affluent and blessed. For those who are poor, faith becomes a way to deal with the unfairness and injustices of life and the world. Faith becomes a lifeline. Faith becomes a reminder that God has not forgotten you and will one day bring justice and fairness to you. For those who are blessed, faith can be seen as a reward for our hard work and good lives. God gives us blessings because we have earned them. We don’t always consider, however, that those blessings could be a result of having a better station in life and being raised in a family that could afford a good education, quality medical care, and many other advantages. This is why expressions of faith, in a poor community, often take on a subversiveness that is not found in faith expressions in affluent communities. In a poor community, faith is quicker to challenge the way things are, while in affluent communities, it becomes a way of supporting and justifying the status quo. There is a reason why Martin Luther King, Jr. and Kevin Cosby (pastor of St. Stephen Baptist Church in Louisville) had, and have, ministries that look very different from Joel Osteen or Robert Schuller. The former had, and have, ministries shaped by communities suffering from the injustices of society, while the latter minister, and ministered, in affluent settings that greatly benefitted from the status quo. In a poor setting, change is badly needed, and faith fuels the efforts of change. In an affluent setting, the attitude can become why change what has been good to you?
What happens to the blessed, however, when tragedy strikes? Sometimes, those who are blessed will question their faith, asking why has this happened to me? What have I done to deserve this? Most likely, nothing. It is simply that we have experienced the unfairness of life, and we are not used to the harsh reality that life is unfair. Unfairness is what happens in life, and it comes to all of us at some point, whether we are rich or whether we are poor. This is why Job is such a powerful example to us, because he had done absolutely nothing wrong, but suffered greatly in life. His friends came to him, telling him that he must have done something wrong. Why would he be suffering, they asked, if he had done nothing wrong? Their way of thinking was that people get what they deserve – either good or bad. But that is not how life works. Good people become ill. Good people lose their jobs. Good people are victims of violence. And, conversely, evil people sometime prosper, and sometimes have blessed lives. The lepers healed by Jesus might have been very good people, but they contracted that dreaded disease. Likewise, there are good people who fall victim to Covid-19. They did nothing wrong; they somehow contracted a disease that does not discriminate between people.
Life is unfair, and the unfairness of life often comes about because the systems under which we live force people to live in suffering. The systems of life that govern our economy, our politics, and every other facet of life guarantee that there are winners and there are losers. When we point a finger of blame at those who suffer, and say well, it’s their fault. They should move out of that neighborhood. They should try harder. They should work harder, we fail to understand how life is stacked against them, and how hard it is to overcome the systems that hold people in poverty and other forms of suffering.
Those who were suffering in Nehemiah’s time had a right to cry out and to be angry. They had been taken advantage of. They were suffering because others had set up structures to take advantage of them. They were suffering because there were people who were willing to enrich themselves at their expense. Jesus, on more than one occasion, demonstrated his righteous angerabout the people and the systems that took advantage of others. Most famously, Jesus entered into the temple, turning over the tables of the moneychangers and driving them from them temple (13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!”– John 2:13-15). The people who were exchanging money, inspecting the sacrifices, and conducting other business in the temple were cheating people and taking advantage of them. Jesus was incensed by such actions, as he was at other times. Jesus never remained quiet about the injustices that were inflicted upon people.
3. Peace.
I am, in theory, a pacifist. I am a pacifist because I believe Jesus was, and if I believe Jesus was a pacifist then I believe I should be one as well. I say I am a pacifist in theorybecause the last time my pacifism was tested, some years ago, it turned out that I did not respond in a way that reflected my belief in pacifism. It wasn’t quite an eye for an eye, but it was a punch in the nose for a punch in the nose. I do not know how I would respond now, if my pacifism was tested, so I want to be careful not to give myself more credit for holding to a position I might not actually adhere to, so I say I am one in theory.
Jesus famously commanded us to turn the other cheek, to go the extra mile, and to love our enemies (Matthew 5:38-48 –
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect).
In saying this, Jesus was not glossing over or ignoring the suffering of people or the need for justice. Jesus never told people they ought to give into or acquiesce to their sufferings. Neither did Jesus say we should overlook or ignore the sufferings of others or the injustices of the world. There was a very good reason why Jesus was so loved by the common people and so disliked by those in power. It was because Jesus often gave scathing critiques of those in power because of the injustices they inflicted and because of their lack of compassion for those who lived on the margins of society and under those injustices and oppression.
But as much as Jesus stood up for justice and against injustice, he also advocated for peace. Jesus offered his famous words in the Sermon On the Mount about turning the other cheek,going the extra mile,and loving our enemiesbecause he knew the reality that violence only begets more violence and revenge only begets more revenge. It was the desire of Jesus to stop the cycle of violence and revenge.
I am sympathetic to the sufferings and injustices that people face. I believe in challenging the people and systems that perpetuate that suffering and those injustices. I believe that people ought to be treated equally. I believe in fairness, and I could go on and on. But I also believe that violence can never bring an end to suffering and injustice. Violence can never bring about equality. I believe in the nonviolent approach of Jesus, and I believe those who came after him – Martin Luther King, Jr., in particular – accomplished more by that approach than those who believe in, encourage, or practice violence.
There was much anger in the voices of those who came to Nehemiah, as there is much anger now, and justifiably so. But Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4:26 in your anger do not sin. When the anger that rightfully drives us to speak out against injustice turns to violence and destruction, that anger then loses its moral voice and justification.
The last three months of the coronavirus have been bad enough. As if they weren’t bad enough, we have now exploded into violence because of the injustice that continues for too many people. Nehemiah heard the cries of the people, and he acted upon them.
Let us hear the cries of those who are seeking justice.
Let us hear the anguish in those cries.
Let us listen to what people are trying to tell us.
Let us seek to understand their experience, and not diminish it.
Let us act upon the injustices and the sufferings that have hurt so
many people.
And let us do so as people of peace.
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