Word of God, Word of Joy - A sermon for Epiphany 3

Epiphany 3

January 27, 2013

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10

If you were to watch any television programs or read any news articles about the City of Detroit in recent years, you would hear that the city is a mess.  The city itself is teetering on bankruptcy from years of bad politics and people leaving the city in droves.  There are neighborhoods where fires break out and no one seems to care because the homes affected are all abandoned and dilapidated.  In fact, if you were to drive through some neighborhoods in Detroit, you might wonder why all of a sudden you were in a ghost town when you intended to travel to the home of Motown, the Motor City.  One journalist from Time Magazine has even said that if you were to look at the city, you would think that a natural disaster had hit on the scale of Hurricane Katrina.  But in the midst of the abandoned homes and businesses and the general state of disrepair of the city, there is a glimmer of hope….a renaissance of sorts is occurring in Detroit.  Young adults who grew up in this area are returning to the city bringing their art, their music, their culinary skills, and their passion to see one of the greatest cities in America make a comeback.

This is the image that I have when I think of the state of the city of Jerusalem when Nehemiah, Ezra and their people return from exile.  Nehemiah was granted permission to go on this journey by King Atraxerxes of Persia after he learned that the walls of the city of Jerusalem had been destroyed and the city had been torn apart.  Nehemiah was working as the King’s cupbearer at the time and when news of the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem came, he knew he had to do something.  Nehemiah had probably never lived in Jerusalem, but it was still home.  It was the place that God had given to Nehemiah’s ancestors…and Nehemiah felt called to return to the Holy city and rebuild it.  And rebuild they did.  When he received permission from the King to go to Jerusalem, Nehemiah assembled a traveling party and after the 500 mile journey from Susa, in what is now Iran, to Jerusalem, Nehemiah led the people in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and in the restoration of the gates around the city.  This project was completed in 52 days, even in the midst of some interference from enemies who lived around Jerusalem.

But rebuilding the city wasn’t enough, Nehemiah also felt that the people needed assistance to get back on the straight and narrow in the eyes of God.  He saw how the people had strayed from the laws of Moses and had disobeyed God’s commandments and so he assisted the priest Ezra in setting up a revival of sorts.

On the first day of the 7^th month, which is now Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, the people of Jerusalem gathered together by the Water Gate, which was one of the places where there were no restrictions on who could be there…men, women, children, those who were ritually unclean could all be in this place together.  The people had made a request that Ezra bring with him the book of the law of Moses.  And so, for about six hours, Ezra read from the Torah while the Levites circulated through the crowd and helped the people to understand what was being spoken to them from scripture.  The people listened intently for those six hours, and many of them began to weep and become distressed.  We don’t know exactly what part of the law was read in those six hours, but it was something that really hit home with the people who were gathered together that day.  In the reading of the law, there was a realization of just how far separated the people were from God. 

But in the midst of their despair, Ezra won’t have any of the sadness.  It is a time of renewal and rebuilding…a time of reconnecting with God.  It is not a time to mourn or be distressed, for there is so much going on around them that is new.  Instead it is time for them to rejoice because of the renewal and rebuilding and reconnection with God.  So go, eat the fat, drink sweet wine and celebrate that God is giving us a chance at something new.  And we see this in the reading of the Torah, God’s gift to the people. 

In the Torah we find God’s word…yes in the Torah there are laws…but also contained within the Torah are the stories of God’s promises to the people and how God has made good on those promises.  We hear the stories of Abraham and Noah, of Joseph and of Moses, how God was faithful to the promises that God made. But even more than that, we hear in the Torah of God’s faithfulness to the people and willingness to give second chances even when the people were unfaithful.  Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the one tree that they were told not to touch, but God remained faithful and protected them.  Cain killed his brother out of jealousy and God remained faithful and protected him from retribution.  The people in the wilderness turned to a golden calf, but God remained faithful. Much like when a child disobeys a parent, there have been consequences when we have disobeyed God…but God has remained faithful and loving…so much so that God brought his word into our realm and made it flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. 

In Jesus we see God’s word and God’s faithfulness in action…giving sight to the blind, setting the captives free, healing the lame…and giving of himself in our places so that we could have a clean slate and the chance to live in a reconnected and renewed relationship with our God. And throughout it all, God has never tried to force us to follow orders or demanded that we do anything to receive God’s love…instead God gives and gives and gives, waiting for us to make up our own minds as to how to respond.    

When we hear the words “the law” in relation to scripture, particularly in the first five books of the bible which make up the Torah, it’s easy to think only of the things that we should and should not do…and when we screw up on one of those items, it can be easy for guilt to set in.  But the word of God contained in the law of Moses, which was fulfilled in the Word made flesh, are words of promise and of renewal.  There are reminders that God rejoices in God’s creation.  There are reminders that our God makes good on his promises.  And there is joy which comes from the Lord.  A joy which gives us strength in the midst of distressing and despairing times.  A joy which inspires us to live lives as God’s children.  A joy which gives us the passion to renew, rebuild, and reconnect relationships with God and one another. 

Why I preach...a confession

In May, my mentor, Jerry, is retiring.  I met him shortly before I began my seminary journey in 2005 and have been grateful for everything he has taught me in the past 7.5 years that I have known him (amazing how time flies!).  But there is one thing that he said to me once that will stick with me more than anything else.  And it has to do with preaching.

If I recall correctly, in the fall of 2009 I was lamenting a preaching issue I was having and was looking for the best way to address it.  When I brought the issue to him, he told me that as preachers, we can only do half the work.  The Holy Spirit takes care of the rest.  Assuming that we do more than half the work is egotistical and doesn't rely on God's grace.

He is right.  And each time I sit down to write a sermon, I do my best to remind myself of this. 

As a preacher, I need God's grace and the Holy Spirit's presence in order to do what I do.  Because not every sermon is going to be as polished as I would like it to be. Not every week is going to allow for the optimal amount of preparation that I was taught is necessary.  Sometimes, I'm just as confused by the scripture texts as everyone else...sometimes more so after I've taken notes on the text, worked with the Greek (this doesn't always happen), and read the commentaries.  Sometimes, I get so frustrated waiting on the Spirit to nudge me in the direction that I'm supposed to go that I have to walk away for at least 24 hours before I can approach the text again.

So why preach?  I don't preach for me.  I don't preach because it puts me in the spotlight.  I don't preach to make people happy...sometimes we need to be made to feel uncomfortable if we're really going to get what God is saying.  Sometimes the Gospel is downright offensive. If the Gospel was all warm and fuzzy, and never offensive, the religious leaders wouldn't have wanted Jesus dead.  Jesus didn't come to make us feel better, Jesus came to wake us up to the reality of God in the world, especially in the places that we tend to ignore.   That being said, I do not preach to offend.  Instead, I preach the reality of God in the world...and sometimes the reality of God is messy simply because it is real. 

But this doesn't answer the question of why I DO preach.  I preach because I know and have experienced God's Good News in the world and I want to share that with others.  I preach because God's grace has met me where I am, flawed and imperfect and growing.  I preach because, no matter the circumstances, the Holy Spirit comes through each and every time.  I preach because the Holy Spirit won't let me get away with not preaching.  I preach because I know that the Holy Spirit is at work in the Word of God and in the Sacraments. 

In the end, God's work is going to get done despite and in spite of anything I do or say.  Each time I step into the pulpit, I pray for God's abundant grace.  And each time I step down from the pulpit, I am grateful to know that God has taken over and done amazing things...even though my part wasn't perfect.

Looking back on 2012, a health goals progress report

Last year, I set some health goals for myself. 

#1 - Plan out menus and stick to them.
#2- Only buy what's on my grocery list.
#3- Actually eat the fruit and vegetables that I buy.
#4 - Take my vitamins
#5 - Exercise

I started out really well.  I had some folks step up as accountability partners who kept me moving and I was on the right path.  Then I fell off the wagon, as often happens when things get busy around Lent/Easter...but was still doing better than I was before I set the health goals.  In June, I started working with a trainer and was doing amazing. I lost some weight, my "circumference" (for lack of a better term" were going down...if I remember right, I lost 1 inch off my thighs and .75 inches from my waist...I was doing amazing.

Then came the big fat positive in early August...Look out world! The Kiefer's are gonna be parents...

Since then, my health goals have been focused on keeping myself healthy while growing a healthy baby.  I still work with my trainer, but with a focus on keeping my body from getting out of whack posture wise and keeping myself strong while my tummy gets bigger and bigger.  My goal to actually eat the fruit and veggies I buy has been super easy to keep, they've been my big cravings...especially apples and pineapple...and tomatoes (I actually paid $3 for 1 beautiful, pink, heirloom tomato I found at the Merc the other week...totally worth every penny, if you ask me).  I've also been a faithful pre-natal vitamin taker...and water and milk drinker.

Here's where it's harder: I will admit (forgive me Manon!) that I don't exercise as many days a week as I should...on the days I don't, I sleep instead because that's what my body is telling me to do.  Also, grocery shopping in the midst of food cravings is tough! But I've figured out that if I go right after I've had a meal or a good snack, I stick to my list a lot better than I do if I'm hungry (hungry is hard enough in the grocery store...pregnancy hormones AND hungry = lost cause).  I also do a lot better at sticking to my list when I'm by myself...my husband enables my cravings.  Last week he bought "the baby" some Little Debbie Swiss Rolls (Tip: "it's for the baby" is code for things we want).  I've mandated he come with me from now on, though, because bending over to retrieve things from the shopping cart is becoming increasingly difficult (and apparently, some grocery store cashiers have little patience for slow retrieval of items at the bottom of the cart...long story).   

One addition: Pray more.  This happened naturally.  I'm not necessarily one who sets aside a certain amount of time to pray, but I do pray constantly throughout the day, depending on what's going on.  But since I started feeling jellybean move around, I've spent more quiet time marveling in my little acrobat/tae kwon do superstar/yoga master (depending on the day) and praying. It's become our daily ritual, and I love it.  

The moral of the story is this -  Life sends us on little detours, but in them we can still accomplish our goals.  I may not have reached my ideal weight...and it may take a bit to get there after Jellybean arrives...but I've decided to care less about that and more about staying as healthy as I can.  In the end, that's the most important thing.