Epiphany 3 2025

May I speak in the name of God, Creating, Redeeming, Transforming. Amen

Today’s reading from the prophet Nehemiah is a wonderful narrative that tells of a community who gather together, seeking to hear God’s word and to understand it, and who take its message deep into their hearts and act upon it. It exemplifies beautifully the links between riches we gain through studying scripture with others; being part of a worshipping, praying, engaged community; and the effect that has on how we live and witness to God. Essentially today’s reading is a beautiful illustration of community renewal.

The earlier chapters of the book of Nehemiah have been almost like ‘memoirs’ of the prophet. Jerusalem, destroyed by the Babylonians, remains in ruins, and Nehemiah weeps for Jerusalem. He pleads with King Artaxerxes, to allow him to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of the city, which he does, and, as we heard today, he rebuilds so much more than physical structures.

Today’s reading is no longer Nehemiah’s ‘memoirs’ but rather this and the following 5 chapters, tell of life-changing community renewal. During the years of Jerusalem’s ruin, the people of Israel have been dispersed. They have lost their wider community, have, to some extent, lost touch with their ancestry, their collective story; the history and practices of the people of Israel; and the laws of Moses.

Today’s passage tells of a remarkable event - men and women and all who can understand have gathered , and Ezra spends several hours reading aloud the book of Moses’ law - the first 5 books of our Old Testament - and helping the people to understand the scriptures. There’s an indication, though, that Ezra was not the only one doing this in this place with this crowd.

We learn that Nehemiah, the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe and the Levites who were the teachers of the people, are all present at this gathering, and are all engaged in opening up the Scriptures to the crowd of people, and that they speak, as it were, with one voice.

The response of the gathered people is described in wonderful detail -
They stand up
They shout ‘Amen! Amen!’
They lift their hands
They bow their heads
They put their faces to the ground – all in worship of God.
And then, having worshipped God, and having had the Word of God opened up amongst them, they weep.
They weep.

This physical response is so striking, expressing their deep-felt remorse, a response which becomes, we find out, life changing. The change which begins as their understanding grows, causes great discomfort and disturbance, and they weep.

Tears can express many different emotions. We can weep tears of sadness, of anger, of joy, of amusement, of frustration, of remorse. Tears are a physical response to our deepest emotional experiences. They are seldom comfortable, but tears are important, for they are an indication to us that something deep within us has been touched. This people, gathered to hear their holy Scriptures, from which they have been separated during the years of their exile from Jerusalem, are deeply moved as Ezra opens the Scriptures up for them, and they weep.

But our story from Nehemiah does not end there, and nor do the responsive actions of the people. Ezra, Nehemiah and the other teachers are not scared by the emotional response. They recognise that God’s Spirit is moving in this place and within these people, and that this day is a day in which the people’s community of faith is to be renewed. And recognising this, Ezra speaks to them again:

‘This day is holy to the Lord your God. Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine, and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord, and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength’

I absolutely love this verse! Ezra recognises that God’s Spirit is moving in these people, and offers reassurance and encouragement, and instruction to keep them trusting and safe. If this was his only teaching to these people, his life would be one of great leadership as he tells them: Recognise God; Go out from here to the world; Look after yourselves physically – eat well; Share the good things that you have with those who have not; Remember that God is your strength.

When I was teaching literacy in primary school, I used to teach about types of writing that used ‘bossy’ verbs – imperative verbs at the beginning of sentences that told the reader what to do. These were typically in recipes, or instructions, with words like ’take’ ‘measure’ ‘stir’ ‘pour’ - bossy verbs!

This verse is full of bossy verbs! The people are told to Go out; Eat well; Drink good things; Send this good food and drink to those who have not. They are not told to smile! But, they are told not to wallow in feelings of shame that might accompany their realisation that they had forgotten the law of Moses. Rather use this energy, this reconnection with God, to lead you into the ways of God that are about life in all its fulness.

This drew me to reflect on our liturgy at Evensong, and in particular the Confession and Absolution which begin the service. Together, the people express their remorse ‘We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep, We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, We have offended against thy holy laws,’ and ask God’s forgiveness ‘But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us miserable offenders; Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults, Restore thou them that are penitent, According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesu our Lord’.

In my early days here in the Cathedral, I really struggled with this liturgy. Having worked for many years with children from families in an Area of Multiple Deprivation, I was painfully aware of a legacy of unhealthy guilt and self-deprecation, that did not lead to life in all its fulness, but to self-destructive patterns of behaviour that hurt the people themselves, and many around them. I was concerned that the church spent too much time telling us all that we were, as one preacher I heard of on the west coast put it, ‘bad dogs’ who should crawl back to God in shame, our tail between our legs, and pray endlessly for God’s forgiveness.

But actually, having prayed Evensong regularly for the past 2 and a half years, I now recognise something incredibly powerful in this corporate expression of regret for our failings, and the Absolution that then reminds us of some stunning truths about God. Because the absolution that follows assures us that God, ‘desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that they may turn from their wickedness and live’ and he ‘pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel’. This liturgy is a vital, formidable expression of forgiveness, forgiveness that draws the forgiven into vibrant life. And in our Evensong service, this is offered collectively to the people who are gathered together to turn to God.

The ‘bossy verbs’ in this passage – go, eat, drink, send – they are all about life! These people have reconnected with God, with God’s teachings, with one another, and immediately, they are told to take the joy and richness they have found to those who have not; verse 10 ‘Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine, and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared’. God’s generosity, joy, mercy and new life, exceeds all limit, reason and expectation; it fills every need, and offers life to all.

Amen! Amen!