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Sunday November 9, 2009 "Laying the Foundation" Ezra 3: 10-13 |
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Location: Blogs Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons |
 | | Posted by: Brad Miller | 11/11/2008 10:27 AM | The Book of Ezra picks up where the Book of Chronicles ends: with an account of the return to Jerusalem of the exiles in Babylon. Ezra and it’s companion book, Nehemiah, tell the story of what happened during those confusing times.
Make no mistake about it, they were most certainly confusing times. The leadership of Jerusalem had been carried away to Babylon years before. They had found a new life in Babylon. It was not a horrible exile, a punitive imprisoning exile, but it was exile nonetheless. They were away from their home, away from their holiest temple, away from the center of their religious and their civic life.
Then, in the edict of Cyrus of Persia, conqueror of Babylon, they were told to go home. Told to rebuild the city, rebuild the temple, rebuild their lives. Let’s be clear: this was the idea of Cyrus, their enemy, who reported that this edict was conveyed to him as God’s will. Cyrus didn’t just let them go. He helped them get home. He didn’t just say, “do what you will.” He encouraged them to rebuild. And his encouragement went far beyond a good pat on the back: Cyrus had in his possession the vessels and other artifacts that Nebuchadnezzar had plundered from the temple in Jerusalem, and turned them over to the overseer of Jerusalem to be used in furnishing the new temple. Scripture tells us there were 5400 artifacts of gold and silver given back to the Hebrew people. Cyrus also suggested a free will offering to help pay for the rebuilding and encouraged all under his dominion to participate, whether they were Israelites or not. And contribute they did. Thousands upon thousands of pieces of gold and silver, animals and other valuable gifts were given by the neighbors of the exiles.
How confusing might that have been? If you were one of the returning exiles, do you think you would wonder just what the hidden agenda was? Would Cyrus really allow this to happen, or would there be conditions, caveats, expectations? Would their neighbors expect something in return?
And what if you were an exile who was not unhappy in Babylon? What if your life was okay? How hard would life be when you returned to a city in ruins? How much work would it take to renew a city that had lay fallow from lack of direction?
Oh, the edict of Cyrus was an amazing thing, alright. As much as they might have dreamed of returning home, many of the exiles might not have fully understood how difficult that return might be.
But return they did, some 42,000 strong. They started to settle in. They began the process of rebuilding a culture. Seven months after the return, the people gathered at the Temple site to celebrate together, to rebuild the temple so that they might truly follow the law of Moses with burnt offerings and festival celebrations on the holiest of holy sites. And while they were there, they gathered up an offering and gave it to the workers who would have the task of rebuilding Solomon’s temple. They paid for Cedar trees to be brought from Lebanon with oil provided by King Cyrus.
Two years later, the rebuilding of the temple was nearly finished.
For centuries, near east tradition has held that the laying of the foundation was a special day. In some cultures it was celebrated with drink and festivals, in some with more religious overtones. It is in fact, a tradition that still has some traction today. Have you ever been to a ceremony where they laid the cornerstone to a building? I remember seeing them lay the cornerstone of the foundation of the church I grew up in. Inside they placed items of interest in the early 1960’s. A Good News Bible, church bulletins, a church directory, messages from folks in the congregation, and the like. The idea was that this foundation was built not just as a physical base of support, but as a connection to the people who would worship there. In this way, the physical foundation became a part of the spiritual foundation of the congregation.
So it was in ancient Jerusalem on the day when they laid the foundation for the new temple. The temple priests in their ornate vestments surrounded the site. Trumpeters were at the ready. The Levitical priests stood poised with cymbals. The people gathered around and at the appointed time the trumpeters played and the cymbalists danced and the priests sang praises to the God who had returned them home. Praises originally written by King David.
And at that moment, the people responded with a mighty shout, for, as the scripture tells us, “The foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.”
Can you imagine? Returned home after years in exile, and now, the most holy site in your world, a site plundered and destroyed by pagan enemies, the site of God’s holy presence, was once again a reality.
Ezra tells us that the shout for joy was intermingled with the weeping of many. Who can blame them? They, and their ancestors, had been through horrific pain and sorrow. They wept for the memory of those who would not see this day. They wept in sorrow for all the destruction they had experienced. They wept at the remembrance of the original temple. They wept with joy at their opportunity to come together and celebrate the past with a sacred offering for the future.
Most of us have never been in exile like the Hebrew people were. Most of us have never felt the forced separation from our home and our faith traditions. But all of us have had times when we felt disconnected from our God and from God’s people. All of us have had times when God felt far way. All of us have loved ones that we are now separated from and that we miss terribly. Parents, friends, mentors that had a huge impact on who we are, where we are, and where we are going. And all of us, at times, have struggled with the proper way to honor their memory.
This is where our story intersects with the returning exiles in Jerusalem so many years ago. The temple was rebuilt for the purposes of continuing the sacred worship that had been interrupted. But it was also built as a connection to the past, a memorial to those who had laid the original foundation of the temple, those who laid the foundations of the faith traditions to which the Hebrews clung, those upon whose shoulders they stood as they moved into their hopeful future.
We, too, seek to honor those who laid the foundation in our lives, and in this place where we gather today. We remember our forebears much like the Hebrews, with great joy that we have the chance to honor them. At the same time, our joy can be tinged with a great sadness that they are no longer with us. And, like the Hebrews, there are times when the shouts of joy and the weeping that accompanies the sadness of separation become intermingled and indistinguishable.
On the day when this congregation celebrates All Saints Day and our Stewardship emphasis, two purposes dovetail nicely together: our celebration and remembrance of those who have come before us, and our desire to continue their good work into the future. It is an awesome responsibility on both counts. And on both counts, we can learn from the returning exiles of Jerusalem.
The decision was made to rebuild the temple. Inherent that decision was to honor God by continuing the faith traditions of the past and promote the faith practices of the people. And the people did it together.
Let me say that again: they did it together. In the past, the building of the temple, or any other building important to the faith or civic life of the Hebrew people, was overseen by the chief priests, funded by the King. The powerful were in charge. The powerful dictated what was to be done and how it was to be done.
But this, this was different. The powerful had fallen on hard times. The monarchy was not the monarchy of King David, but was much diminished in it’s scope and power. The chief priests did not command the loyalty of the people in much the same way because the people had learned to do things on their own in exile. They had continued their worship in the absence of dictatorial direction and oversight. No, this rebuilding project was a group effort. The Ezra account of the preparations lists on and on the many and varied people who were involved. A free will offering was taken. The chief priests Jeshua and Zerubbabel are named as participants in the process, two more individuals among equals. They are not even identified as priests, which says volumes about this effort. They are part of community banding together to do what needs to be done. Each contributing what they could.
Why were they doing these things? Because of an overwhelming sense of gratitude to God, and to those who had been instrumental in the original temple and the practice of their faith. In fact, the whole idea of rebuilding at all is to maintain a continuity with the past while offering the salvation that is found in the presence of Yahweh in the holy of holies.
Does this sound familiar?
This church, this community was built with the specific intent of spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to the citizens of North Atlanta. This congregation was formed and this community formed 60 years ago through the combined efforts of a small group of people wishing to share with their neighbors.
It was with great sacrifice that 10 years after the initial founding, the first foundation of this building was laid by a group of folks who worked together, cooperatively and tirelessly to continue and expand the ministry of Brookhaven Chrisitan Church.
20 years ago and seven years ago, the expansion was again undertaken and the building and the ministry and the community continued to grow.
Year after year, season after season, members and friends of this congregation have stepped up and made sure that the ministry that was begun in a little house on Colonial Drive in 1948 has continued, has expanded, has thrived.
Once again, we are asked to consider how we can assure that that ministry continues to thrive. It is clear to many of us that a large part of why we do this is to honor those who came first and to maintain a continuity to our past, while serving the present day. It’s not because they always got it right that we strive for the continuity, but because their example of sacrifice and love has led us here, today. When we forget about those who have come before us, we dishonor them and run the risk of entering into an incredibly arrogant exercise in self-importance.
Our job is to take the examples of the past and step out in faith, just like they did, and grow this ministry, make it even more vital and vibrant than ever before. We can do that in the most important way possible: by serving God’s purposes through our time, our talent, our devotion, our prayers, our gifts, by paying attention to the core of our faith and working to make that available to all.
As we think about those who have gone before us, we rejoice, and then we break down and weep. Or it may be the other way around. But as we move forward, our joy and sorrow will be forever colored by great gratitude at the power of their witness and love. It is all mixed together: joy, sorrow, gratitude all undergirded by our absolute certainty of God’s presence.
Within that jumble of emotions, we give thanks for those who came before us and we renew our commitment to serving Christ’s church today, here… now, more than ever… together.
Today I ask you to join me in honoring those who laid our foundation by renewing our commitment to building on that foundation so that those who come after us will hear the Good News as strongly as we have. Renewing our commitment to grow through prayer and study that our actions might reflect God’s love in all we do.
Renewing our commitment to the care and nurturing of those who seek God’s presence. Renewing our commitment to giving of ourselves, all of ourselves so that an unstable world might know the stability of what it means to be part of a community rooted in Christ’s example and bolstered by a community rooted in Christ’s love.
The ancient Hebrews understood the importance of where they came from. It was a large part of who they were. It was a huge part of what they had to offer.
Today we honor the strength and faith of those who came before us and we take to time to pause and reflect the importance of that strength and faith in our lives today.
It is a large part of who we are.
It is a huge part of what we have to offer.
Today we shout with joy.
Today we weep with gratitude.
All because the foundation has been laid. Thanks be to God.
Let us pray: Lord, in the midst of our busy lives, help us to remember. Lord, as we live our lives, help us to honor. Lord, in all that we do, say and give, help us to love. It is in your holy name that we pray. Amen.
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