The Mingled Prayers of Exiles :: Epiphany

  • January 3, 2020
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Ezra 3.11-13
And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away. 

Reflection: The Mingled Prayers of Exiles :: Epiphany
By John Tillman

To begin anything rightly, we must begin in prayer. 

As we approach the first Sunday of the new year and the culmination of Epiphany on Monday, we humbly join in prayer that our hearts will be moved to return to the Lord and serve him this year. 

Joy and Sorrow Mingled in A Prayer for Exiles
Lord, your servant Ezra tells us that as the assembly of exiles gathered, reestablishing worship and devotion toward you, there were whoops and shouts of excitement mixed with weeping and wailing. 

Lord, we pray today as the exiles prayed, with mingled sorrow and joy.

We weep for losses, sins, error, and struggle. 
We shout for mercy, comfort, redemption, and aid.
The entwined sounds of joy and weeping are the sounds of the gospel. 

We confess the pain and loss of the past and the joy and grace revealed and manifested to us in the Holy Spirit, our comforter and advocate sent by the power of Christ’s prayer on our behalf. (John 14.26)

The exiles prayed, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever.” (Ezra 3.11)

As they did they were echoing this repeated theme from many psalms of prayer and worship. We echo those psalms today…

We thank you, Lord, that your anger lasts only a moment and that, though we may weep through the night, the morning is coming when we will rejoice. (Psalm 30.5)

We thank you for the blessing of telling our redemption story—of being homeless, hungry, and hopeless—until you delivered us from our distress. (Psalm 107.1-6)

We thank you for bringing us into a spacious place in your presence.
Mortal harm and danger may come upon us, but no suffering removes your presence from us.
We abandon hope in princes, kings, or human power, taking refuge only in you, Lord. (Psalm 118.1-9)

You, oh Lord, look kindly on the lowly and distance yourself from the lofty in spirit.
As we humble ourselves, draw close to us.
May we, in danger and trouble, sense your preserving and comforting right hand, Jesus, the arm of the Lord which is not too short to save us. (Psalm 138.6-8)

May we establish today, as the exiles did, a foundation of faith built only on the rock of Christ Jesus.
May our cries of mingled joy and sorrow ring out far into our world, telling our culture the story of the gospel and revealing to them the glorious grace of Christ.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Hearken to my voice, O Lord, when I call; have mercy on me and answer me.
You speak in my heart ans say, “Seek my face.” Your face, Lord, will I seek.
Hide not your face from me, nor turn away your servant in displeasure. — Psalm 27.10-12

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Ezra 3 (Listen -3:01) 
Acts 3 (Listen -3:33)

This Weekend’s Readings
Ezra 4 (Listen -4:27) Acts 4 (Listen -5:15)
Ezra 5 (Listen -3:02) Acts 5 (Listen -6:49)

Read more about A Different Kind of Exile
In this world, we are cast out. In the renewed world we will be brought in. May that day come soon. And may we bring many following behind us.

A Different Kind of Exile

Read more about In Denial in Exile
For the sake of God’s name they were exiled. But also for the sake of God’s name, he promised to restore them.

In Denial in Exile

Hearts God Moves :: Epiphany

  • January 2, 2020
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: Ezra 1.5
…Everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem

Reflection: Hearts God Moves :: Epiphany
By John Tillman

In our reading plan, Ezra and Acts fill the early days of our even years. These accounts show what it looks like when God starts something new and renews what has been destroyed.

In both books we will see what it looks like when God begins to move in the hearts of people.
In both books we will watch as God’s relationship with his people is restored.
In both books we will see God build a community of worshipers, followed by a place of worship.

Ezra’s account concerns the Temple of Jerusalem. The Temple was the place that the Lord loved, in the city that the Lord chose to bear his name. The Temple was the place that God said would never be without his presence and where he would always hear the prayers of anyone who sought him. It was defiled, abused, and ultimately destroyed by human sin and human actions. It was robbed, reviled, and ripped apart stone by stone. 

In Ezra we will see God’s work to, stone by stone, reconstruct the Temple of Jerusalem to bear his name.  

Luke’s account in Acts concerns the church—called by Paul the body of Christ and by Peter a Temple of living stones. Jesus was God’s beloved Son, upon whom the Spirit was given without limit. In perfect unity with God the Father and the Holy Spirit, he demonstrated God’s love for his people. Innocent and righteous, Christ became for us human sin and was killed by human actions. He was betrayed, reviled, and crucified having his bones pulled apart joint by joint. 

In Acts we will see, God’s Holy Spirit coming to dwell not in a Temple built by human hands, but in individual human hearts. We will see these people become the living stones of a new Temple, God’s Church, the members of the Body of Christ. Stone by stone, part by part, we will see God construct a place from which his Spirit will never depart and to which all people are called to worship Jesus Christ.

During Epiphany, we celebrate the light of Christ being revealed to the nations. One of the gifts of Christ is that we become a part of Epiphany—Christ’s manifestation—as we fulfill our role in the body of Christ and take our place as living stones in his Temple.

May God move in our hearts, as in the hearts of the returning exiles, making his dwelling place with us and shining brightly through us in the coming year.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Sing to the Lord and bless his Name; proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations and his wonders among all peoples.
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; he is more to be feared than all gods. — Psalm 96.2-4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Ezra 2 (Listen -5:25) 
Acts 2 (Listen -6:35)

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Read more about Sight for the Blind :: Epiphany
To appreciate the Epiphany of Christ—literally the manifestation or appearing—we must be healed of our blindness.

Sight for the Blind :: Epiphany

Read more about The Radical Procedure of the Gospel
May our hearts be made sensitive enough to feel his breath, hear his voice, and move as he directs.

The Radical Procedure of the Gospel