Our Strength, God's Joy

Unless something dramatic happens, this is my last sermon at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas.It has been my honor and privilege to serve by God's grace this part of the Body of Christ. This sermon was heard on Sunday January 27, 2013.



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

Psalm 19

1 Corinthians 12:12-31a

Luke 4:14-21

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen.

The Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah are wonderful historical pieces that just don’t get the attention that the prophetic books get in our weekly scripture readings. When the Church uses a series of readings that runs three years, we get only 150-some opportunities to read from the entire canon of the Old Testament. With such a large and glorious amount of material something’s going to get the short shrift, in this case it’s Ezra and Nehemiah.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are our main source of information about Israel’s return from the Babylonian exile. It’s the narrative of the transition between the first and second temples.[1] It’s a story about the return of the people and the restoration of what makes them who they are.

It’s the story of fealty to their faith and their forefathers. When rebuilding the altar and the Temple they were erected precisely on their former sites. After the completion of the altar, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles anticipating the joyful dedication of the Temple. Then came the equally joyful observation of Passover a few months later. Of course no building plan goes as scheduled; delays in the completion of the Temple were blamed on the actions of the people of the land who persistently opposed the work in Jerusalem.

The book of Nehemiah includes of a first-person narrative, traditionally called the Nehemiah Memoir, recounting his role in constructing the walls of Jerusalem, along with the social problems caused by an expanding population. There was crime, sabotage, and other issues to be handled.

So today we assemble with the nation of Israel. Ezra has been told to bring the book of the Law of Moses which the Lord has given to Israel. He read it at the Water Gate from early morning until midday to both the men and the women and everyone was attentive to the reading. Then Ezra stood, and all the people stood and Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God and all the people said, “Amen, Amen.” They lifted their hands and bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Why did they worship with their faces to the ground? Scripture lets us wonder. Scripture doesn’t tell us why. It does say that the people weren’t bored to death. In fact scripture tells us they “listened attentively to the Book of the Law.” So why?

The book of Kings tells us about another reading of the Law of Moses that had an impact on the listener. The books of Judges and Kings and Chronicles show us the effects of cycles of leaders who were faithful and unfaithful to the Law. In 2Kings 22 we receive the glorious story of Good King Josiah. This story tells us of a time just before the Babylonian Exile when King Josiah began restoring the temple.

During the restoration, Hilkiah the high priest found the Book of the Law. It was taken to Josiah who heard the words of the Law, probably for the first time ever in its entirety  When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes. Hear the words of 2Kings:

 “Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

One possible explanation about why the people in Nehemiah’s time bowed their heads mourning and weeping is that they felt the same conviction Josiah felt that day. Bookending the exile was the reading of the Law. While it is definitely true on the front end it could well have been true on the back end, those who heard the Law were convicted by it. Without a savior, those words of conviction are damning. This is as true now as it was then. Without redemption there is no living under the law without harsh conviction.

So what I’m saying is that while we won’t know for sure, it would be within Israel’s experience to hear the Law then weep, mourn, and even rent their clothes because they know that those who came before them have not lived up to the Law’s requirements. If it’s good enough for Josiah, it’s good for the Hebrew children.

But then something happened, Nehemiah, Ezra, and all of the Levites said to them, “This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” Nehemiah further implored them to “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Today is a day of celebration because it is the day of the Lord. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. It is not for anything Israel has done or left undone, it is because the day is holy to the Lord. Their leaders implored them, “This day is sacred, this day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.”

There is only one way they could even hope to rejoice instead of mourn, and that is in the presence of the glory of the Lord, for the joy of the Lord is their strength.

Friends, I now implore you, “This day is sacred, this day is holy to the Lord our God. Do not mourn or weep” for the joy of the Lord is our strength. Our strength is not lodged in where we live or how powerful we are. Our strength is not in our nation or our state. Our strength is not in our jobs or careers. Our strength is not in all of the things our society holds so dear. The only source of our strength is the God’s joy.

For all those folks who want to wield the sword of God, vengeance belongs to the Lord. God’s vengeance is not our strength. “God hates…” whatever isn’t any source of strength. The Lord’s joy is our strength.

This is a day of sadness for this congregation, this part of the body of Christ. Unless the Spirit moves in a mysterious way, this will be the last time we will worship together. This will be the last time I share the Word of the Lord with you in this space. Upon the recommendation of the Session, the congregation has spoken. Today the Session along with representatives of the Presbytery will decently and orderly put all of our ducks in a row.

I can’t and won’t scold anybody who gets misty today. There was some wailing in December. I would be wrong to scold anyone who cried that day or who cries today. If I did, I would be the first to face the scolding as my water works flowed as much as anybody’s.

And with that, I remind you, “This day is sacred, this day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” We shouldn’t mourn or weep because the joy of the Lord is our strength.

During one of my sermons I once heard someone cry out “That’s easy for you to say!” Well, it wasn’t so easy that day and it isn’t so easy today either. So often words of solace are heard for what they are, just words. There is little compassion, it’s replaced by empty words.

Some might think that when after our Confession of Sin I say “Friends, believe the Good News of the Gospel! In Jesus Christ you are forgiven!” these are just so many sounds conveying nothing. Nothing could be further from the truth. We come together and we confess that we have fallen short of our Christian vocation. We confess we have sinned against God first and against one another second. These are only empty words if we make them that way.

I proclaim our Assurance of Pardon joyfully because I truly believe the Good News of the Gospel that in Jesus Christ we are forgiven. But here’s something greater than anything I could imagine: Whether I believe or not, whether we believe or not, it’s still true, in Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

This is our Assurance of Pardon, not just that in an ancient translation of the book of Isaiah Jesus read the prophecy:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Our assurance lies in the truth that Jesus read this, sat down, and told all with ears to hear “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” It wasn’t a popular statement at the time, but popularity has never been a good barometer of truth. Our strength comes from the Lord's joy and our joy begins when we say Jesus is Lord. The Lord has anointed him to bring good news to the poor, to free the prisoners, to restore sight to the blind, and to free the oppressed.

The only way I can share with you these words from Ezra and Nehemiah, “This day is sacred, this day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” is by saying Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in our hearing by the words of Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus who is the Christ. In Christ and in Christ alone are we free. In Christ and in Christ alone do we receive life eternal which is the year of the Lord’s favor.

On October 3, 2010 I stood before you for the first time. My sermon was called “Oh, the Places We’ll Go.” It was based on Luke 17, the story of the mustard seed. This is how I ended that sermon:

“Oh, the Places You’ll Go” was the last book written, illustrated, and published by acclaimed children's author Dr. Seuss before his death in 1991. About life and its challenges and written in the style of classics such as “Green Eggs and Ham” and “The Cat in the Hat,” “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” is a popular gift for high school and college graduates every year because of its whimsical style and eye to the future. It is perhaps best known for the line, “Will you succeed? Yes, you will indeed. (98 3/4% guaranteed.)”

Oh, the places we’ll go. For Marie and I [sic] it is a joy and our distinct privilege to come together with you and share the mission of this part of the body of Christ. We come together with you in the sight of our Lord to do the work that we have all been called to do, and it is by [the Lord’s Supper] that we all come together to be nourished by the Lord our God. Do I know the shape and direction of that ministry today? Well, this I do know: That in the light of God, through discernment of the Holy Spirit, and in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, all I can say is, “Oh, the places we’ll go.” After all, it’s 98 3/4% guaranteed.

Together we will go into God’s good creation taking the Word with us. As our acolyte Brionna leads us, where a little girl with faith the size of a mustard seed leads, let us go boldly into the world. Let us all take the light of God into the world.

It has been our distinct privilege to come together with all of you and share the mission of this part of the body of Christ. We have been nourished remembering the waters of our baptism with the infants, children, and adults who got wetter than they expected in a Presbyterian Church. We have been nourished in the holy food that satisfies the soul by the bread and the cup of the Lord’s Supper. In that time ministry has taken shape, changed shape, and moves into one more shape before we all leave together.

Today, one more time we will leave together behind Brionna taking the light of the Lord into the world. Let us all take the light of God with us into the world. We can do this because in Christ, by Christ, and through Christ the Gospel of the Lord is fulfilled in our hearing.

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[1] “Ezra and Nehemiah (Books and Men),” Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Supplemental Volume, this reference from the electronic version.