Minister Maria Wilson stood in for Pastor Josh yesterday. She shared a word about a universal human experience: losing our way.
She preached from the Book of Nehemiah, in which the Jewish-Persian official after which the book is named was delivered news that Jewish people upon return to Jerusalem after exile to Babylon were in great trouble. "The wall of Jerusalem is broken down," came the report, "and its gates have been burned with fire." Nehemiah was distraught.
'When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said: “Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.' (Nehemiah 1:4-7)
As Minister Maria explained, the Jews needed to re-establish a culture of faith and obedience to God.
Their first step was to admit there was a problem. The Bible teaches that God allowed the Babylonians to conquer the Kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem, its holy capitol, because the Jewish people had forgotten the Lord their God. That Babylon had fallen to Persia, and the new king was allowing Jews to return to Jerusalem, did not mean all was well. The destruction of the wall and the temple symbolized the destruction of Israel's relationship with God.
The second step was to make a plan. The prophet Ezra and the politician Nehemiah together led the people to repent of their sins and to rebuild. Their challenge was to believe that there was no better place to put their trust than in the Lord, to no longer trust in their own ways. This meant, for example, the nobles would have to give up ownership of their fellow Jews' land, and stop charging them interest on grain. They let go of their greed because they finally understood; to move forward without a commitment to return to the guidance of the Law was to ensure their own failure and ruin.
The third step was to follow through. The Jews built in the face of constant threat from neighboring Samaritans, Arabs, Ammonites and others who believed Nehemiah was planning a revolt against Persian rule. Without an understanding that re-establishing the physical integrity of Jerusalem symbolized its spiritual integrity; without trusting in God to defend them as he had their ancestors time and time again; they would surely have allowed the pressure to break their spirits. Jerusalem would have remained a ruin, a lamentable reminder of a glorious past. Instead, it again became the center of the Jewish world, and the place where Jesus Christ would one day defeat the power of sin and death for us all.
Admission, planning, follow-through. This was how the exiled Jews, upon their return to Jerusalem, were able to rebuild the wall in just 52 days.
Minister Maria said she has had to admit many times in her life that she has lost her way. Many times, she has had to ask God to help her re-establish her faith, the foundation that makes the works he wants to do in her possible.
She shared a story about a day when she was driving along and saw a woman she recognized on the side of the road. The woman was clearly high and did not know what to do or where to go. Maria admitted she did not want to stop. It was raining. She was driving a new car. She confessed to thinking what many of us would: I don't want to mess up this new car. She clearly needs a lot of help. This could take hours. I don't want to pick her up.
Maria explained that had she never admitted her need for God, had she not again and again made a plan to submit to the will of the Holy Spirit even when she didn't want to, she would not have followed through. She would not have turned around, picked up the woman, struggled to communicate with her and eventually get her where she needed to go.
"I don't know why God had me do that," Minister Maria said, "but I think one day, when that woman looks back on this, she'll remember me and she will know."
Today, we know that had Nehemiah not risked his career and even his life supporting Ezra's work re-establishing the faith of the people, and re-establishing the integrity of Jerusalem, there would have been no stage on which the passion of the Christ would play out.
Re-establishing our faith, brothers and sisters, is not merely about growing closer to God. It is about aligning ourselves with the will of God. It is about participating in building his kingdom in ways we might never fully understand.
It is about preparing - again - for the coming of our Lord.
Thank you for sharing the word with us, Minister Maria!
