The resources we have in Christ Nehemiah 8: 1 - 3, 5 - 6, 8 - 10 Last week we read from Isaiah how God would provide abundant resources for the people as they returned from exile. Today we pick up the story of the return from exile after the people were settled in their towns. The physical environment had been resourced (which is a story in its own right); it is now time for the spiritual foundations of the community to be re-constructed. Luke 4: 14 - 21 Last week we read from John‟s Gospel about the marvellous provision by Jesus at the wedding of Cana which speaks of the generosity of God to us all. This week we read from Luke and understand that as we rely on God to resource us so did Jesus. As Jesus began his public ministry he could not do it by himself. The resource he relied on was the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12: 12 – 18, 27 The same Holy Spirit that empowered the ministry of Christ continues to resource the Church, the Body of Christ. Lectionery Rdgs all round the resources we have in Christ – especially appropriate as we head into a new year: First we’re going to think a little about why we need resources at all Secondly we’re going to check out what each of our three readings have to say to us about resources Do you ever wonder how you’re going to manage? How are you going to manage at work? How are you going to manage the family crisis? How are you going to cope with ongoing health issues? How are you going to cope with this or that? When circumstances – our circumstances - threaten to Become unmanageable and get out of control, we humans commonly experience anxiety. Of course a certain amount of stress provides stimulus and prevents boredom.
A good challenge – a manageable one that stretches us just the right amount is the kind of challenge that we can easily understand as an opportunity. But too large a challenge Or too much stress or too much change is another story. This begs the question of how much is too much? What’s the tip-over point? From a human perspective, it depends very much on the individual. Some of us are remarkably robust characters who seem to manage almost anything. Others of us seem to crumple at the first sign of trouble. Personality comes into it. Character and emotional and spiritual maturity are factors. Family background and learned life skills make their contribution. But let‟s expand the question of how we‟re going to manage. Let‟s add the question of support and resources. What difference does it make if the question is not just “How will I manage?” BUT: “How will I manage by myself?” That‟s a different question, That‟s the question that can stop us sleeping, or threaten to overwhelm. Some of us are occasionally overwhelmed not just by the size of the challenge but by the expectation that we must manage by ourselves. Nightmares usually feature the lone self being chased, the isolated individual up against the dark forces. I both dread and welcome such nightmares. I dread them because they are truly terrifying. And I welcome them because they offer clarity.
Nightmares help us to confront of our fears. Only when we identify our fears can we address them and begin to open ourselves to the help we need to overcome them. Where do we find the help we need? Today‟s lectionary readings point us to some of the significant resources available to us. Part of the human condition that alienates us from a full embrace of life is that part of us that expects ourselves not only to manage everything, but to manage it superbly by ourselves. Do you realise that that is unbiblical? When we pride ourselves on managing alone we alienate ourselves from God‟s purposes for us. To fully embrace life requires an acceptance of help – from other people and from God. That doesn‟t mean that we‟re expected to be dependent wimps. Nor that we are expected to be irresponsible. What it means is that life is lived to its fullest when we live as working members of an inter-dependent web of relationship. Giving and receiving. Humbly acknowledging our weakness. Gladly offering our strength. Always grateful that the over-all management of creation, the church and our lives is in God‟s hands. There‟s a story of a man and a woman in a supermarket carpark. The woman was unloading her trolley and packing the boot of the car all the while muttering to herself, “I’m never going to make it. I can’t manage. I’m just not managing. I’m not managing.
I’m never going to manage.” Over and over. The man overheard decided she needed encouragement and so, in what he hoped was a „God-is-calling-you‟ type voice, he said: “All will be well. You will manage. You will manage.” The woman glared. She was angry. What did he know? She wasn’t managing and she wasn‟t going to manage. He could mind his own business. The ridiculous thing is that the woman was right. She wasn’t managing and she wasn‟t going to manage. The man got it wrong. By herself, with her present inadequate resources she was not managing and that wasn‟t going to change any time soon. There’s no point thinking that by changing the mantra from negative to positive that reality will thereby be changed. That’s just wishful thinking. When we are not managing we need help. We don’t need mantras. We need resources. We don’t need false words of hope and encouragement. We need support – Just like the servants at the Wedding of Cana needed wine. All of our lectionary readings this morning inform us that the necessary resources are available. In Nehemiah, the story is told of the people of Israel’s return from exile. Their physical environment had been decimated by their captors and on their return they were confronted with a huge task
of re-building. They did it together. Regrettably, there were, as there often are, those who hindered the building and so night watchmen were appointed to ensure that what was built during the day was not pulled down over night. The work of re-construction was a huge challenge, and it wasn‟t something that was achieved by any one individual. It was a community effort. Finally they made it and the priest Ezra gathered them together. There is a lot of historical fact that is missing from Nehemiah. A lot we cannot be sure of. We can‟t know for sure of who came first: Ezra or Nehemiah. We don‟t know exactly when the re-building was carried out. There‟s some historical haziness surrounding the reigning monarchs and some chronological confusion in the various biblical records. Nevertheless, we do know that the people resources and the building resources combined to successfully re-construct their homes and towns, and that a spiritual re-building also took place. Some of the Torah, or law, was read to a gathering of the people. We don‟t know which passage this was, but something from one of the first five books of our Old Testament. We don‟t know what it said. We do know that it required interpretation for understanding to be complete And we do know that as people understood they began to grieve but were stopped and told that this was not the time for grief because the day was holy to the Lord. The joy of the Lord was their strength.
I find this passage fascinating: We have to assume that somehow the people were brought to a new recognition of their dependence on God. Maybe they grieved over their past independence from God? Maybe they grieved over their self-imposed past alienation from the God who gave them life and purpose?
Were their tears, tears of regret, or tears of repentance? There’s so much we don’t know! We do know that this occasion was extremely important in the life of the community. It marked a new beginning spiritually. It marked a new acknowledgment that they couldn‟t manage by themselves – they needed God just as God knew they did. The other fascinating thing is that the priest interrupted their grief process, and told them they were not to mourn. Apparently, the important thing was not grief for the past but celebration of the present and future. It‟s not the most pc of pastoral care strategies! And it raises a question for us: Can we grieve for the right thing at the wrong time? Is there a time to allow ourselves to be told NOT to grieve but to depend on the Lord‟s strength for our joy? This passage highlights several resources on offer for when we can’t manage: Firstly, there are the scriptures which remind us that we are creatures of relatedness: We will live life fully when we allow relationships to flourish between us and God, between us and others, and us and the rest of creation.
It was never God‟s purpose that we would manage alone. Secondly, There are those who help us understand and interpret the scriptures: preachers are only one such resource. Here at St John‟s there are Home groups, there are small discussion groups, there‟s the library, there‟s Wine and theology and so on. Thirdly, there is the remarkable resource of the joy of the Lord. Grief weakens us, but with joy comes renewed strength. And if this occasion in the life of Israel is anything to go by, there are times for us to consciously put off grief and open ourselves to be filled with the joy of the LORD. The Gospel reading is equally fascinating. Jesus read from Isaiah and declared that his ministry was the fulfilment of the prophecy. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim release to the captives And so on.” Often when we read this we focus on the ministry that is prophesied and the coming of the kingdom that began with Jesus Christ. But today I want us to hear the beginning of the quotation in the mouth of Jesus: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me . . .” Jesus did not manage his remarkable mission by himself. One of the emphases of Luke‟s Gospel is the work of the Holy Spirit. And today we read that Jesus was anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
God in human flesh was as reliant on the help of the Spirit as we are. If we have trouble in humbling ourselves to admit that we can‟t manage by ourselves, remember this passage and know that in taking on the limitations of humanity Jesus humbled himself to the point of requiring help and saying so. As he was helped so can we be helped. It is Christ-like to admit need and receive help. And finally, in 1 Corinthians 12 we read that the same Holy Spirit that empowered the ministry of Christ continues to resource the Church the Body of Christ. And that body is made up of many membersyou and me and a multitude of others. God does not expect that you or I will manage 2007 by ourselves. Rather, God provides the resources we need and hopes that will we accept them: In summary, those resources include: 1 God‟s creation purposes of relatedness. 2 Scriptures that recall us to those purposes 3 The Spirit of God – the one who produces joy and strength - the one who graced the ministry of Christ - and the one who calls the Body of Christ into being and resources it 4 And last, but not least, each member of the Body of Christ is a dynamic resource to each other member. Don‟t expect to manage by yourself. Humble yourself to ask for help And be grateful when it is given. In that way, the joy of the Lord will surely be your strength.
Amen.