SETTING THE CONTEXT OF THE UNFOLDING DRAMA:
Our sermon series entitled, “The Unfolding Drama,” understands that the Bible shares an overarching story of God’s relationship with humanity that helps us to understand the actions of God throughout history. In the beginning God created a universe, an earth, life of all kinds and pronounced it all good. In fact God pronounced that humanity, the final creation, was created in the image of God and we were very good. We entitled the opening drama, “Original Blessing.” The premise being that in all God seeks to do in our lives, God does it to be a blessing to all God created in love. But, as the drama unfolds we see that humanity does not always listen to the teachings of God, and we lose our way. Whether it is losing paradise in Eden to how we treat those in our family, we make decisions that cause us to lose life, and the original blessing God intended it to be.

The second act of the drama showed that the people of God had been enslaved by another nation. Instead of blessing between people we find one group using another for their own gain and well-being. The slaves cry out to God for help and God hears and sends Moses to free them and to take them to a new place called “The Promised Land.” Even the exodus to this new land does not go smoothly, but as they travel God gives them the teachings they need to make their lives a blessing in this land. Again, many do not heed these teachings and we see the consequences yet again. Generation later, the country splits into two nations, Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Nancy’s (my) famous chart last week showed the generations of kings who lead these nations and how most were unfaithful. God, through the prophets, the people called the word of God in scripture, pleaded with the people to turn back to God and God’s ways so they could experience God’s original hope of blessing for all people created in God’s image, but they do not. In fact, they allow their faith life and communal lives to be shaped by the surrounding cultures rather than they helping people understand the steadfast love of God that leads to life.

Finally God sees that the chosen people who he hoped would transform creation have totally lost their way and both Israel and Judah are captured by foreign nations. Judah was captured by Babylon and the upper echelon of its leadership was taken to Babylon naming this time in their history, “The Babylonian Exile.” About 50 years later, Babylon is captured by the Persians and their king Cyrus returns the Hebrew people to Judah. The story begins today about 100 years after this return. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah record the story of rebuilding Jerusalem under this foreign occupation. The Bible is not compiled chronologically by date, but grouped by style of writings. For this reason Ezra and Nehemiah appear about a third of the way into the Testament, but chronologically they tell the final scene of the story recorded in the Old Testament.

Read scriptures: Ezra 1:1-4; Psalm 19:7-11; Matthew 22:34-40

THE MESSAGE:
If you were asked to describe an American, how would you do it? We are a diverse collection of every ethnic makeup of the world. We used to call ourselves a melting pot, which implied we all become something similar, but now I hear us described as a garden salad. A country with many colors, shapes, tastes and textures. So who are we? Are we a people who believe the words on the base of the Statue of Liberty which say, “Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses.” Are we one nation under God with liberty and justice for all? Maybe our bond is, we have a Constitution that seeks to protect us all, even in the midst of our diversity, especially the rights of the minority. “We believe that all people are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, among these being Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.” What makes us who we are in the midst of the rainbow of people we live with in our nation?

Trying to define themselves as a people is exactly what the Hebrew people are facing as they return from their exile. Things had changes dramatically from their calling as God’s people. What had originally defined them? First there was the land. They had received this “Promised Land” from God. There was also the Temple built by Solomon, which the people believed was the seat where God was present on earth. But this had been destroyed when Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians. Even though a new Temple has been rebuilt by the time of Ezra, it is not the same. The original Temple had been connected to the palace showing the leadership of God over the nation, it now stands alone. The prophets and writings refer now to the Temple as a house of prayer, rather than it standing for God’s active leadership over the nation. One scholar states, “Israel left their land as a nation and returned as a church.” Ezra, when he returns, is very concerned because he sees that the remnant, those who did not get taken into captivity, have inter-married with foreigners, had children with them and have now lost the purity of their race. The only thing that the Hebrew people still had that was part of their original identity as a people was the Torah, what is often defined as, “The Law.” Elizabeth Achtemeir, biblical scholar, says that sadly the people misused even this as they struggled to find identity. They transformed teachings that were designed to be a guide to living life, to show how they may be a blessing to others, and turned them into a list of religious dos and don’t’s to be obedient to and which alienated them and secluded them from the people around them.

Let’s take a look at the Torah, the first five books in the Old Testament, what some now call the First Testament and see what the original intent of God is in this earlier part of the drama when God gives the people Torah. The first thing is to recognize that these books are full of stories as well as teachings and commandments and even the original covenants with God. In fact Torah is better translated “the teachings” and even more literally as someone pointing their finger and saying, “Go this way.” The Torah is what teaches the people how to walk in their new life and how to be in blessing relationships with each other as well as those they meet in other lands. And as we can see in the Psalms, Torah is seen as a precious gift from God. “The Torah of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. It is to be desired more than gold and is sweeter than honey.” It is not an accident that the passage I quoted in the first sermon entitled “Original Blessing” comes from the final chapters of Deuteronomy, the last book of Torah which prepares them to enter into the Promised land. “Today, I set before you blessings and curses, life and death. Choose life.” It is in Torah that the people find the directions for life and living life as blessed people in the Promised Land.

So what does the Torah say? How does it show life to the people? Let me turn to the passage from Matthew you heard this morning. In this passage we hear Jesus respond to a question from one of the Temple lawyers, or scribes. This is the group who put together the 613 laws or dos and don’ts the Hebrew people now follow in Jesus’ day. Jesus is asked which commandment in the law, the Torah, is the greatest. And Jesus responds with what we Christians call the “Great Commandment, “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” And,” You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.” This is not an original teaching of Jesus, but simply a reiteration of Torah. In fact, Jesus says, the most important part of the Torah. The first part of the commandment is from Deuteronomy and the second part is from Leviticus. But the key part of this verse for me is Jesus’ words, “Upon these two commandments hang all the law and prophets.” Upon these two teachings must everything else be built in your faith walk with God.

Torah, these teachings are what the prophets were continuously trying to bring the people back to when they have erred or when they have turned from God. When they did not choose life. The prophets’ are referred to in scripture as, “The Word Of God.” And the job of the prophet was not to predict the future but to return people to the covenant and to the blessings found in Torah. One of the most famous of quotes showing this is found in the Book of Micah, the 6th chapter the 8th verse. “What does the Lord require of you but to seek justice, love kindness and to walk humbly with God?” Again, justice in scripture is not a list of legalisms, but a way of living life. Justice is practiced by helping the poor and the oppressed, those who are not experiencing fully the blessings of life. The Prophet Isaiah says in 1:17, “Seek justice, undo oppression, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Justice is seen in remembering that you were once a stranger in a strange land, and people helped you. Welcome the stranger into your midst.” But now, Ezra is having the people who are not of Jewish ancestry cast away even if they are spouses and children because they are strangers from foreign lands.

Rabbi Abraham Heschel wrote a two volume work simply entitled, “The Prophets.” Heschel says that the words justice and righteousness are often coupled to describe God. Justice refers to God’s action, which we see is now always towards helping the poor and oppressed and righteousness refers to God’s character. It is God’s character that reflects a burning compassion for the oppressed. It is God’s character that always directs God’s action and works of justice. Heschel goes on to say that the reason God is concerned about injustice is not because a rule or a law has been broken, but because a life of a child of God has been diminished. So Torah is a reflection of God’s character of compassion for all of God’s children. In Genesis we find the “Original Blessing” that all humanity is “created in the image of God.” It is why Achtemeir says that sadly, when the people returned from exile, they lost even this. Instead of returning to the teachings that built relationships of blessing, they sought to protect themselves and became isolated from the world God has entrusted to them as the children of God.

So what does this all have to say to us today? How does this scene of the unfolding drama help us to understand our story in relation to God? How does it define us as Christian? As a nation? It reminds us of who we are called to be, and what God asks of us as we shape our character. We, too, are asked to become people of compassion. Jesus, himself, in the Gospel of Luke says, “Be compassionate as God is compassionate.” We are a nation of laws, and laws are important for they set the parameters for how we live together as people. But, I hear Jesus saying, “We need to make sure our laws reflect our character, and not let our laws shape our character as a nation and a people.” If we have laws that do not reflect a commitment to the poor and the oppressed then maybe we need to change them. If we see laws that diminish the lives of others then maybe we need to pass new ones.

William Willimon and Stanley Hauerwaus wrote a book entitled Resident Aliens. They claim that the church, we who gather in faith, are an oasis in the midst of life. That seems a little exclusive at first, for it may seem we create an island of separation for ourselves from the world and people around us. In fact, they continue, many people claim that the church and faith is a place we go to escape from the reality of life. But, they say, it is just the opposite. Church and worship is a place we come to discover what is real, to practice living it together so when we leave we have honed our skills and understandings of God’s hopes and desires for creation that we can live them in the midst of others. Our oasis is not a way of being separated, but to discover what is real, not so we can keep it to ourselves, but so we can share it with others. We come seeking identity so we can know how to live as a blessing to others.

In their quest to redefine themselves and find their own peace of mind in a solid identity, the Hebrew people became exclusive forgetting their original call from God to be a people of blessing and new life. Instead of elevating others, they isolated themselves even diminishing the value and the importance of those around them. So how did God finally respond? Next week we see the coming of Jesus. And how does Jesus describe his coming? To once again restore Torah, the gift greater than gold and sweeter than honey. Jesus says, “I came not to do away with the Torah, but so it might be fulfilled.” Jesus comes to unite God’s justice and righteousness yet again in the midst of life. The drama continues...

Sermon delived by Rev. George Cushman on March 26, 2006.