"The Joy of the Lord"
Sermon Presented January 21, 2007
Nehemiah 8:1-12
What brings you joy? Is it a reunion with a dear friend or relative? Or maybe it's a special holiday like Christmas or your birthday, a vacation to a place filled with pleasant memories, a great concert, play or painting, or a quiet night at home in front of the fireplace that brings you the greatest joy! The author of our text says that the hearing of God's word as read from the scrolls and then interpreted, brought the people of Israel to tears - and then to joy!
When we hear this, we wonder how deprived of joyful events these people must have been to put that much importance on hearing God's word. The tears must have been the result of guilt feelings over past sins! Joy at hearing the Law would not be my idea of a joyful event. I doubt if I would ever feel joyful about hearing the ancient laws of Israel read - no matter how long it had been since hearing them!
Let's look at our text. The time is the fifth century BCE - following the return of the Israelites to Jerusalem. The walls of the city have been rebuilt. Ezra is the priest who is entreated by the people to read from God's holy texts. Hear these words of joy found in Nehemiah 8:1-12.
Here we can see the power of the written Word of God. The text shows a crucial moment in the history of God's dealing with Israel - a moment when the Spirit speaks through the words on a scroll - touching and changing human hearts. It's a milestone in understanding the authority of the written Word as it is read and interpreted. Interpretation is undoubtedly needed because Ezra's text is in Hebrew and the people only understand Aramaic. But what happens here is more than a translation. This may be the beginning of the tradition of the Targum in Jewish history where the Aramaic rendition is more concerned with giving the meaning of the original Hebrew than with translating its exact words. This is the birth of the sermon! And what's more, the people asked for it!
One thing you may not have noticed when you heard the text read is that the audience was made up of everyone who was old enough to understand! Women and older children listened with the men. This is monumental! They all heard the word of God together. Together they enjoyed several days of festivities and rededication ceremonies. Tears may have come because this was an inclusive occasion!
The first time I visited Wornall Road Baptist Church in Kansas City, communion was served by both men and women. This was the first church where I had celebrated communion with women deacons serving communion, and it made a profound impression on me. It brought tears to my eyes.
Now if scripture has never moved you to tears you probably find the returnees' response a bit excessive and perhaps would rather focus your thoughts on Ezra's admonition, "Don't grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." But the strength Ezra refers to here is for those who are weak or faint with emotion. These aren't fainthearted people or people easily discouraged, because they undertook the massive task of coming to Jerusalem to rebuild a city in shambles. Now, hearing the word of God in the midst of the reality before them, stirs up a well of emotions - hope, joy, love, resolve, and faith. They hear God's word and feel God's presence in a radically new way. They see the possibility of new beginnings just when they most need the strength to press on.
This text is a pivotal text for a community of faith that, having experienced brokenness, decides to search for its own healing. The people begin by coming together and calling forth a leader who will faithfully read and interpret their sacred texts and traditions. They see a need and take the initiative. However, they first need to grieve what they have lost. After years of silence from hearing the word, they need to let the tears flow.
Now, imagine that even though you love the Scriptures, you don't have a Bible - have never owned a Bible - and haven't heard the words of scripture read for many years. Then one day you hear someone begin to read: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…." "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son…." "Come unto me you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." How would you respond?
I once heard Tony Campolo, a retired American Baptist college professor, author and speaker preach at a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship meeting. He told of being invited to preach the graveside service of a young man who died of AIDS. (This was in the early 80's.) Many ministers refused to conduct the service, and Campolo was a last resort.
After the service was over, no one moved. Finally he asked if there was anything else he could do for them, to which one by one these gay men, who no longer felt welcome in their home churches, began to request meaningful scripture they had heard as children. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.'" (John 11:25) "God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." (Rev. 21:4) The men continued to request God's words of comfort. Like the people of Israel, they wanted to hear God's word.
At funerals and memorial services, I have noticed that most families want words of comfort and hope from scripture. Often it is these words that stir the emotions, rather than the prepared words of the minister. "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also."
Ezra tells the people that this is a feast day and a day of joy, so stop grieving and start celebrating! Share your joy and your food in community. Move from tears to celebration!
There is a fine line between crying and laughter. After grief has been expressed, joy can surface, as we often see when the family and friends of the deceased gather after a funeral service to share their remembrances. That is what happened in Jerusalem.
Ezra's reading of God's word was the beginning of a revival with lasting results. It was the beginning of a movement back to God with a genuine desire to follow God's ways. God's people didn't hear a manipulative sermon designed to play on their emotions, but a reading and interpretation of God's word that reached into the depths of their souls and changed their lives.
Some believe that all stirred emotions are the result of the Holy Spirit's activity. That's not true. Our emotions can be manipulated by unprincipled speakers. Telling a moving story doesn't need to be manipulative, but it can be. What happened that day in Jerusalem was God speaking to people with open hearts and minds, and the people experiencing both grief and great joy.
Ezra and Nehemiah exhibited a radical commitment to follow God's leading. The Holy Spirit worked through that commitment to stir up a hunger for God's word in the people. Then the people requested to hear a reading of the holy texts. God acted powerfully when the time was right.
Some people don't want to think about their faith or theology. They may read scripture, but are satisfied to go through life with an elementary understanding of the holy texts. "Let's not have any interpretations that disagree with what I already believe, because I have all of the truth." When we don't study scripture, we become comfortable because we aren't confronted by the convicting word of God. We aren't challenged to follow the way of discipleship. We aren't presented with opportunities to change our way of living. We shed no tears, nor do we have a desire to change.
As Christians, we believe that we are living in God's kingdom now, and on a journey to wholeness. In the world, our state of mind is often dependent on our circumstances. We are satisfied and prideful when things go well, and we are in despair when crises hit. We come to wholeness as we engage with God through Scripture in order to know God and ourselves better.
The people of Jerusalem caught God's vision. They rejoiced because they understood what was being read. When Jesus read Scripture in the temple, the people there got it, too and were amazed. We find hope when we hear and understand the good news. The joy of the Lord is the strength that keeps us going.
God tells us: "Rise and shine! Stop weeping and put a smile on your face. This is a holy day, a day of feasting and rejoicing, because the joy of the Lord is your strength."
