Sermon - Nehemiah

The story we begin with tonight is the story of a cupbearer who goes before the King and asks a tremendous favor. We are reminded of the cupbearer from last week's sermon on the wedding at Cana. The man who faithfully trusted Jesus enough to reach into the dirty water of the ceremonial cleaning basins and to bring the head of the banquet the finest cup of wine ever tasted.

Tonight we look at another cupbearer who we should model our lives after.

We don't know much about Nehemiah. We really don't know much about the timeline of his life or the events that surrounded him. His story takes place some 400 years before the birth of Christ, in a time of great uncertainty for the Jewish peoples. While their years of Babylonian captivity have ended, they are scattered throughout the various countries and are working to re-establish their cities and daily lives.

Kvitka Cysik never made it to Ukraine. She was well known for her pop songs and popular commercial jingles, but she was proudest of her collections of Ukrainian folk songs. Kvitka worked to build up and preserve the Ukrainian culture during the time of Soviet suppression. As the daughter of immigrants, she loved Ukraine and the Ukrainian language and culture. She didn't record music in Ukrainian language to make money or to increase her fame in America, she did it out of a love for her homeland. It is sad that she died before having the chance to visit Ukraine. Her folk songs are still played on the radio here, and although fewer and fewer Americans would know this American singer, Ukrainians are often quite proud of her. 

Nehemiah had made a good life for himself in the capital city of Susa. He was the cupbearer for King Artaxerxes. In the Gospel story from last week, we see Mary pushing around the cupbearer a bit and we see his tremendous faith in Jesus. However, the cupbearer in this historical setting was a well respected person. His job was not glamorous, he had to try wine before the King to make sure no one was trying to poison him and - ultimately - his job was to bring wine to the king as a servant ... it's not the best job in the world. But it was a position of respect and a position that brought him into close contact with the King. Nehemiah had a good life in the capital city of susa. But he longed for his homeland, and he loved his people and his city and it broke his heart to hear that it lay unprotected and in ruins. Nehemiah knew he had to do something to preserve and protect his homeland.

It seems from the story that Nehemiah and King Artaxerxes had a friendship of sorts. The King recognizes when Nehemiah is sad and says that Nehemiah had never been sad before, and the king genuinely wants to make him feel better. We have lost the position of cupbearer to history, but I think we all could think of some professor or businessman who is completely dependent on his or her secretary. A book I read once on getting things done in the business world recommended forgetting the birthday of the powerful businessman that you need favors from - because sending him a birthday card makes it seem like you are sucking up just to earn a favor - but instead you should learn the date of his secretary's birthday and send her flowers each year. That is the way to get the favor you need out of the powerful and important person. It sometimes seems that these people in rather powerless jobs are really the ones who pull all the strings, doesn't it?

And we find Nehemiah, the cupbearer to the King, a faithful and devout man scattered by the history of his people claiming God's promise of a return and a fulfillment of prophesy. Out of a love for his homeland, he will do whatever it takes to make things better. And Nehemiah earns the King's blessing and returns to build the walls back up.

And the stories of Ezra and Nehemiah are intertwined in some way that scholars don't fully understand, but at some point the temple has been rebuilt, the walls are reconstructed, and worship begins. It is in this worship that Ezra reads a book of Law to the people. In the tumult of exile and diaspora, these laws have been more or less lost to the people, and when Ezra reads them they weep and they mourn. There are many theories about which scroll he read to them. Some believe he read all of the Torah, or a book of the bible completely lost to us, while others believe he read the book of Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy is one of my favorite Old Testament books, and it's a clear and concise summation of the big picture. We're going to read from the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy, In all probability, these words or words very similar to these were read to the people that day. (Read vs 1-15)

And the people wept after hearing these words. They hadn't lived up to the commandments. They had failed to raise their children in the way of the Lord. These simple commands, to share your faith as you rise and as you walk and as you go to sleep - to do each of these things while sharing your faith with your children - they hadn't done that. They had joined the religions of the different cities they lived in and they had married people with different gods and had accepted those other gods. I can't help feeling that these people wept because they had felt let down by God, and in their anger they had stopped following God's commandments. And I know, in my own heart, the number of times in the days after the accident that I felt I was talking to the ceiling and nothing more. I think we as a community understand this great sense of loss and these deep feeling of hurt and betrayal.

And we look around at Pilgrims and there are faces we haven't seen in some months and their abscense doesn't really surprise us. We pray for them and pray that they continue to connect with God and pray that they know that we are here and praying for them and that we love them and welcome them back anytime. But deep down we understand why some people might not be with us each week.

But, we move forward. We read and we believe the great goodness and faithfulness of our God. We cling to these promises and we pray and work for a better future.

You know, I never really gave the book of Nehemiah a chance. Much of the book is lists of names and numbers, and without context it's a pretty boring story. One summer at camp we presented this story seven different times in seven different ways. We told the story of Humpty Dumpty and Good Knight Nehemiah who put him back together again, and we told this story through the lens of Jurassic Park. We had a great time, and it really helped me fall in love with this story. And now, as we face the challenges that we face, I am glad that God gave me that summer to learn this story and to love it.

Because Nehemiah was a simple man - he was a servant of the King, but more importantly he was a servant of the King of Kings. He led the charge to rebuild the walls of the city, and he helped the people restore their faith and their service to God. And as we sit here together this night in a rented space that isn't big enough and doesn't feel like home, I think we feel and understand some of the sadness that Nehemiah felt.

But, like Nehemiah, we choose to move forward into God's vision for us and we choose to rebuild. Nehemiah asks the King to give him all the documents he needs to pass safely and to begin reconstruction - and Valodya, who has been working non-stop for six months doing the same for us for our new student center on Gregorenko is certainly asking God for the same thing right now!

Tonight we are going to build little banks together. We want you to fill these banks over the next couple of months. Yes, certainly there is a need for money and an expectation that we will all share some small part of that financial need - but more importantly, we want you to fill these boxes with written prayers and dreams about the new space and where God is leading us. Put a few coins or Hryvnia in when you can, but every day sit and write out a short prayer or some new idea of where God could take us.

Sometime this spring we will invite everyone to bring these back and we will celebrate together the dreams that God has for us, the prayers that we have for the student center, and the ways that we can be an answer to those prayers.

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When the people wept at their shame of not fully keeping the law, Ezra and Nehemiah comforted them and told them not to weep. Instead, they explained that this day was holy - it was a time to celebrate and to worship. “Go home and prepare a feast, holiday food and drink; and share it with those who don’t have anything: This day is holy to God. Don’t be grieved. The joy of God is your strength!”

May we be a people who celebrate all that God has provided for us, a people who look to the future of what God has for us, and a people who build that future with God.

In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Amen.