The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY
Can you imagine hundreds or thousands of people being eager to stand outside, in a public square, all day, to listen to a group of rabbis explain God's laws? It's very hard for us to imagine. First of all, we Americans are accustomed to being comfortable. We don't stand much, unless it's absolutely necessary. We prefer to sit, and if we have our "druthers," we prefer a comfortably padded seat to do our sitting in. Many of us habitually sit in a recliner, or put our feet up, or sprawl comfortably on a sofa. And then, we can't imagine getting all excited about having a long list of laws read to us and explained to us in detail. And, of course, we certainly wouldn't hold still for doing this all day long, with no hot dog stands or water coolers around! No, we Americans like our comfort too much, and maybe that is part of the reason for the state of American society today...we just plain don't get all that excited about God's Law.
However, the situation was very different for the people Nehemiah was writing about. Nehemiah and the priest Ezra had led a group of Jewish people back to Jerusalem. They had been living in Persia, which we now call Iran, for many years. Some of them had been captured by Persian armies at the time Persia defeated and destroyed Jerusalem. Others, the younger ones, had been born in captivity. Nehemiah had gotten permission from the king of Persia to lead a group back to Jerusalem, and in addition, he had gotten permission to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, beginning with the walls and the Temple. The king even gave him letters to make sure that the occupying army and occupying government officials would give Nehemiah's people the necessary building supplies and even provide animals for sacrifice in the Temple, sacrifices to ask God to bless the king who had allowed the people to return to Jerusalem. That was very generous for a conquering ruler to do!
Now, the Jewish people had been living in Persia for quite a long time. Many of them had drifted away from the Jewish religion, because they had no Temple where they could make sacrifices and offer worship to God. Also, there were not many priests from the Temple in Persia, so many of the people who had been captured, and many of their children, grew up without any religious leadership or teaching.
Well, Nehemiah led the people who were returning to Jerusalem on the long walk back to Israel. When they got there, the government officials that were ruling Israel did not want to give them building supplies or animals for sacrifice, but Nehemiah showed them the king's letter, so they grudgingly provided what was needed. But then there was another problem. Wandering shepherds had come into the city while most of the Jews were away in Persia, and had claimed much of the land and some of the buildings. They were not happy about being forced to leave the city. They wanted to keep the land and buildings they had taken, even though the proper owners had come back. So they sabotaged the rebuilding of the city walls and the Temple, by shooting arrows at the builders, by trying to trick the people who were working to rebuild, and by trying to trap and kill Nehemiah and the other leaders. For this reason, Nehemiah had the building crews begin with the wall around the city. Once the wall was finished, they could defend themselves more easily while they worked at rebuilding the Temple.
After what seemed like a long time, the walls were finished and a new Temple had been built. People who remembered the beautiful old Temple cried when they saw the plain little Temple that was all they were able to build at first. But at least they had a Temple, and could begin to worship God again according to their traditions. But now Ezra discovered that almost nobody remembered the rules for sacrifice and the other laws God had given them. So he called an assembly of all the people, and they stood in the square in front of the Temple all day while Ezra read the Law to them and the rabbis went among them to explain it in detail to small groups. A few remembered how it was in Jerusalem in the old days; for most of them, it was a new experience, and many people fell in love with God and the Law when they heard it read and explained. Finally, Ezra dismissed the people and told them to celebrate, because now they were home in the land God had given them, and were free again to worship God according to his law. And so they had a great celebration!
It is part of Jewish belief, and also part of Christian theology, that God reveals himself through his law and his interaction with his people, as told in the Bible. If you go to a Jewish synagogue, you will see a cabinet at the front of the room, and it is closed and covered with a drapery. In that cabinet are the scrolls on which the Scriptures are copied. Most of the longer books are on one scroll each, but some of the shorter ones share a scroll. The scrolls are copied very carefully, with prayer before and during the copying, and they are checked over and over again to be sure the copying is accurately done. When the copying is done, each scroll is "dressed" in a velvet covering, with fine gold and silver embroidery on it. Each scroll is given a gold or silver "crown" which is put on the top of the scroll. At a service, when the cabinet is opened, everyone rises, in respect for the presence of the Lord in his holy word. The reader must not touch the parchment of the scroll; a silver pointer shaped like a hand is used to keep the place while the reader chants the Word of God to the people. After the Scripture reading, the scroll is carefully dressed again in its velvet wrapper and crowned again, and put back in the ark , which is what they call the cabinet where the scrolls are kept. Only then may the people sit down again.
Christian theology teaches us that God is revealed to us through his holy word, the Scriptures. That is why we are taught to be quiet and attentive in church. Scripture is one of the main ways we receive God's epiphany , or proclamation and revelation of himself...who he is, and what our relationship to him should be. This is why our churches tell us to read and study our Bible. This is why we teach children about God through Bible or Sunday School, and through worship at church and at home. Reading the Bible is always part of worship.
Now, if you knew that the President was coming to town, you would not mind standing on the street corner waiting to see him, would you? That is basically why the people stood in the square in Jerusalem while Ezra read the Law to them, and the rabbis explained it. They were honoring God's presence among them, just as we honor the President by waiting for his car to come by in a motorcade.
Jesus read from the Scriptures in the synagogue in Nazareth, his home town. He read from the book of Isaiah, which as we all know tells us much about the coming of the Messiah. When he finished reading, it was time for him to preach about what he had just read, and his sermon was very short: Today, this prophecy has come true for you, here and now! Of course this is plainly an epiphany of Jesus. He told the people himself that he was the Messiah, the one Isaiah had prophesied about, the one God had promised to send. And their reaction was to accuse him of blasphemy, of claiming to be from God, and so they tried to rush him outside of town to throw him off the cliff. The penalty for blasphemy was death, and they felt that Jesus' claim deserved death. And, of course, that was the main complaint against him a few years later when he was crucified.
Today we have read about two very important epiphanies of God among us. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, tells us that epiphanies are not just among us, but that we are part of God's epiphany, ourselves! The different gifts and skills that God gives us are all part of the gifts of God to the Church. They are part of the way God shows himself through the Church, the Body of Christ, to the world. So, when we use the gifts God has given us, we are proclaiming God's love and also proclaiming that we are members of the Body of Christ. When Mother cooks a delicious supper, or a worker does a good job at work, or someone takes the time and trouble to sit down and listen to and help a person in trouble, they are proclaiming and revealing God to the world. When we teach, or even simply live according to God's laws and give a good example to others, we are revealing to the world how God loves us and acts through us.
As you read your Bible each day, remember to look for the epiphanies of God. As you go through your daily routines, be alert to notice the ways God is showing himself to you...through nature, through his Scriptures, and through other people. We are all surrounded by epiphanies, and we are expected to be epiphanies, ourselves, for others. That's a big assignment. No wonder the Church feels we need several weeks each year to study and understand what God wants us to do! Amen.
