Neh 8: 1-3, 5-6, 8-10 - Rebuilding

Last week we looked at the end of the Book of Isaiah and how the prophet had to stand between God and the dejected people. This week’s scripture fasts forward. The people have made it to Jerusalem and have been working on rebuilding the city and its walls under the direction of Ezra and Nehemiah. The people are doing this not only because God has commanded them to, but because they see it as an act of worship, a way to show their devotion to God. Every time I read Ezra-Nehemiah, I cannot help but hear the words of the song “Beautiful City” from Godspell playing through my mind. “Out of the ruins and rubble, out of the smoke, out of the night of struggle, can we see the ray of hope.” and “Slowly but truly mending. Brick by brick. Heart by heart.” The people knew that the task before them was bigger then they could comprehend and that it would require all hands to join together, yet they united as an act of worship.

In today’s scripture passage we do not know exactly how much of the rebuilding they have completed, but they at least have the Water Gate constructed, and that there is still more left to build. The gates were important in ancient communities for they were seen as a place of judgment, where it would be decided who would be allowed to enter into the city walls and who would be turned away. It was here, at this place of judgment that Nehemiah stood and read the law of God, the first five books of the Torah. It took him almost half a day to read it all, but when he was finished the people cried out with joy and repentance and celebrated with a feast. 

How do you rebuild when everything seems to be destroyed? What is the next step after someone has interceded for you and you have come to claim your new name as the beloved of God? You worship the God who has renamed you. In fact this passage lays out for us what our worship should look like to. And has some difficult truths for us. 

We are told that Ezra read the law before men and women who could hear and understand it. Because this reading took place outside of the temple everyone could participate in its hearing. Worship needs to go out to the people. We often think about serving people outside of the walls of the church building, but what would it look like to worship outside of the church building, too? To let our very presence as a worshipping body outside of the building be an invitation for people to join us in praising God. The second summer I was an intern at my home church, the pastor decided that we were going to try something new. When it was warm outside on Saturday evenings we were invited to bring lawn chairs and gather in front of the church building to worship. We would set up sound equipment and proclaim the word of God through song and preaching in the neighborhood. After one or two times of exiting the building to worship, people from the neighborhood started looking forward to our times of praise and worship. They would sit on their front porch and join us. We were evangelizing to them, simply by taking our worship outside of the church building. 

We are also told that all gathered at the Water gate  and that the prophet brought the Word of God before all people. That the ears of all people were attentive to the law. The people were unified while hearing the word of God and worshipping. It as not about who liked what passage of scripture, or how the scripture was interpreted. It wasn’t about what music they wanted to hear or how they prayed. It was about gathering together in the sight of God and being touched by the Word. It was about the community hearing and interpreting and being together.

Some of the most powerful moments I have had in worship were ones where I knew without a doubt that it was not about me, or my taste in music or favorite scripture passages. In fact they were ones that took place outside of my own language, in Russian, with an interpreter stating to us what was being said. By setting myself aside I was able to concentrate on God and the community that had gathered to worship the Holy One. I could be fully present and transformed by the Holy Spirit. Another such Holy worship moment took place in Israel, as we sang a familiar hymn as a class in an old church building. As our voices blended together and reverberated off of the stone walls, we were reminded, without a doubt that we were truly unified in Christ. Praise God for such moments when we set our own likes and dislikes aside for the Glory of God!

Notice what was being read to the people. The law. The covenant that God made the chosen people. In fact, to this day the law is still read in the synagogues, and when they finish reading it once, they start the cycle over again. The reason that the law is read with such consistency, and the reason Nehemiah chose to read it here is because it is a joyful thing. As Christians we don’t celebrate the law, mostly because of statements the apostle Paul makes about the law in the book of Romans. However, what we miss is that Paul is not pushing aside the law. Rather he is saying is that the moral law needs to be rejected and replaced with Christ. The type of law that makes a person righteous simply by following rules, instead of relying on grace. What Paul is not saying is to to throw out the natural law, or those laws that make it so we can live together in authentic community and care for each other. But Nehemiah is neither focusing on the moral or natural law in and of itself, but on the God who made covenant with the people and gave the law. Notice what the people did when they heard the reading of the law. The wept and repented. And after they repented they rejoiced. Rejoiced in the grace that God is extending to them and the relationship they have with a God who loves them so deeply. Rejoiced in the blessings that had been showered upon them in community and food. When is the last time you rejoiced in the law that God has given us and the covenantal relationship that upholds it? 

When we gather together in worship we remember and praise the God of the covenant who calls us to love our neighbor and God with our entire being. And we praise God together. It is not about private worship or celebrating what we do on our own, but rather God working through us. Nehemiah even instructed the people to do the work of God together in their celebrating, inviting others who were not present to the feast of rejoicing. Giving to those who did not have. Worship is communal and invitational. It invites us to be holy people, set apart for God, by God’s grace. But holiness is not divorced from celebrating, for we are sharing in the gifts of God together. 

But above all, Nehemiah reminds us in the reading of the Torah that worship is about God. We cannot rebuild our lives on the foundation of faith in a living God who extends us grace daily if we simply say things about God. If we simply uphold the characteristics that we like about God. Worship centers on reading the Word of the Living God, who still speaks to us. Who still moves around us. Who cannot be contained in the pages of a book, but is experienced in life. In worship, we get the chance to experience this Living God, so we can leave this place and continue to seek the Divine presence. Continue to notice God moving through us in the world. It is this living God who transforms hearts and lives. Coming to worship is like a weekly renewal celebration, as we grow in community and with God. 

Brothers and Sisters, our worship stands as a testament to what we believe in. The value we place on the Word of the Living God and gathering together in community. The value of setting ourselves and our own desires aside for the work of the Kingdom of God. It is in worship that hearts can be rebuilt, if we truly give ourselves over to God. It is here that God can slowly start to rebuild shattered hearts and faith, as we celebrate the grace and work of God together. It is here that we can forever be transformed as we repent, proclaim amen, and feast together. For the glory of God! Amen, amen, amen!