This week, my husband and I borrowed a steam cleaner from his dad and we spent the past few days cleaning our carpets. They get a regular vacuuming, but never a deep cleaning like the one they just received.
I got to thinking during that last hymn – take time to be holy – that if I just changed a word it could have been our theme song this week – take time to be clean.
This morning, I woke up and because just yesterday we did all of the upstairs carpets in the main living areas, it was very strange to walk out and see nothing there. Our dining room table was in the middle of the kitchen along with some chairs. Everything else had been stuffed into our spare bedroom – end tables, chairs, bookshelves, you name it.
If the carpet is dry – tonight but probably tomorrow, we will begin the work of putting everything back into place.
In a much bigger way, that is what is happening in our reading from Nehemiah this morning.
Ezra and Nehemiah came before the people to say that it was time to put their lives back together.
For the past generations, everything had been in disarray – like our couch standing on its side by the front door – because the people had been living in exile in Babylon. They were away from their homes and the countryside that they loved and everything familiar.
But when Cyrus of the Persians conquered Babylon – he allowed all of the Jews to return home. And so Ezra the priest, and Nehemiah who became governor led the way.
They knew that rebuilding and putting every piece of their lives back together was the first priority. As Rev. Timothy Schehr describes it,
Nehemiah’s plan was to reconstruct the walls of the city of Jerusalem. That would give them a sense of security. Ezra’s plan was to rebuild the faith of the people. He understood that a right relationship with God was the only true source for security. / Ezra also understood that God’s law was the foundation for any spiritual rebuilding.
So they start this whole project by getting all the people together and reading the scriptures. From early in the morning until noon, God’s law was read aloud to the people. And as they took the time to listen to God’s promises and God’s desires for their lives together – the people began to weep as they realized how unfaithful they had been.
But instead of lamenting along with the people – Ezra and Nehemiah instead urge the people to celebrate. Because this is a day of new beginnings – this is their chance to let go of the past and to actually put into practice the word of God that they have heard.
From time to time in our lives – we need a fresh start and a new beginning. I know that while I wasn’t looking forward to doing the cleaning we did this weekend, it sure feels good to have it done now.
And our spiritual lives need a bit of scrubbing and spit and polish at times too. A chance to step back and really hear God’s word for our lives with new ears and a fresh new commitment to live it out.
When we hear the scriptures, we are reminded of who we are supposed to be. In the gospel of Luke this morning – Jesus enters the synagogue and he too – reads scripture. As he reads from Isaiah, we find out a little more about who Jesus is and what his church (all of us) will be and do.
“He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
We are called to do all of these things – because we were meant to be a blessing. We are called to be the hands and feet of Christ in this world bringing hope to the poor and setting the oppressed free and healing those who are sick.
This morning in Sunday School – we talked about being blessed to be a blessing. And we talked about the fact that a big part of that blessing has to do with money. I have never had a great relationship with money. As a young woman I had far too easy access to credit and at that time not a care in the world. Today, I still carry with me some of the debt that came along with plane tickets to visit family and friends and eating out and shopping.
But I don’t think I ever really thought about money as a spiritual issue until I really spent some time in the scriptures.
I found out that there are over 800 verses in scripture that talk about money. Over 800!!! Why does God care so much about our money and what we do with it? Because we are blessed to be a blessing.
The word of God, for the people of God… thanks be to God.
Photo by David Siqueira
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