Wait for the Final Reel

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Nehemiah 13 Listen: (5:57), Read: Revelation 22 Listen: (3:59)

Links for Wednesday’s readings:

Read: Genesis 1 Listen: (4:55), Read: John 1 Listen: (6:18)

Scripture Focus: Nehemiah 13.6-11

6 But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission 7 and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. 8 I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. 9 I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.

10 I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. 11 So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.

Revelation 22.12-13

12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

“If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.”

— Orson Welles

Reflection: Wait for the Final Reel

By John Tillman

A calendar year is an arbitrary measurement, like a reel of a film. Before digital projection took over, a thousand-foot-long reel would hold about eleven minutes of film. Projectionists changed reels continuously to show complete films.

How is the story of this year ending for you? Whether it’s bad or good…it’s not really the end. It’s just one reel.

In 1986, Saturday Night Live imagined a new reel to end the Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life. After the happy moment of the community coming together and George’s business being saved, they continued the story in a darker direction. Uncle Billy remembers where he lost the money. They discover “Old Man Potter” deposited it. They rush out, find Potter, and beat him to death.

The sketch wrapped up a loose thread from the original in a darkly funny way. However, it illustrates that, depending on where you end it, a story can go from bright and hopeful, showing the best of humanity, to dark and ugly, showing the worst. George’s story would also be very different if it ended at the bridge, before Clarence interfered in his suicide attempt.

Biblical stories change too, depending on when you stop reading. Nehemiah chapter 12 has a perfect happy ending. The hero accomplishes his purpose. Enemies are shamed. Jerusalem is restored. But there’s another reel. Corruption creeps back in—literally. The greedy villain who dogged Nehemiah through the whole story moves into the Temple! Nehemiah throws Tobiah out, but that wasn’t the end. Nehemiah ends by repeatedly calling on God’s mercy.

There’s much to celebrate in Nehemiah, but it’s not a simple, happy story about good leadership or a template for legalistic enforcement of religious laws. 400 years later, Jesus cleansed the Temple of corrupt and greedy robbers and confronted legalistic systems Nehemiah enforced.

Nehemiah is just a reel out of a film we are all in—struggling against sin and crying out for mercy. The story isn’t over when we kick villains out or when they crawl back to power. In this world, corruption consistently creeps back in.

When we fail or when we win, it’s just the rise and fall of a thrilling tale. In the final reel, the real hero returns. Our story ends with Jesus’ ultimate victory.

Where you end a story, changes what kind of story it is. Wait for the final reel.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

Happy are they whom you choose and draw to your courts to dwell there! They will be satisfied by the beauty of your house, by the holiness of your temple. — Psalm 65.4

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

Read more about It’s Not Over When It’s Over

Can we save falling things? Perhaps. But failing that, we can rise from destruction…endure to the end. All will fall down. We will stand up.

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Now Jerusalem and Not-Yet Jerusalem

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Nehemiah 12 Listen: (6:30), Read: Revelation 21 Listen: (4:34)

Scripture Focus: Revelation 21.1, 22-27

1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Nehemiah 12.43

43 And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.

Reflection: Now Jerusalem and Not-Yet Jerusalem

By John Tillman

Nehemiah describes his Jerusalem rising from the rubble and John describes New Jerusalem descending from Heaven.

At first, Nehemiah’s task seems only to provide a wall for practical protection and safety of the citizens. God’s people were exiled in pagan empires but were given a safe and secure homeland again.

But Nehemiah saw a grander mission, more expansive than his mandate to build a physical wall. For this reason he also rebuilt the infrastructure, staff, and resources for the city’s spiritual health and welfare. The priests, musicians, choirs, and leaders were all part of his restoration plan. The worship of God and the purity and glory of his covenant with his people were at the center of Nehemiah’s true mission. And the joy of their worship poured out through the walls of the city, echoing far away.

The New Jerusalem descends after the destruction of judgment. God’s faithful people were suffering in kingdoms controlled by Satan but are now safe and secure. God makes his home with them. The city is the centerpiece of God’s remaking of the broken world. All kingdoms and people are brought under Christ’s benevolent grace.

The differences in Nehemiah’s and John’s Jerusalems are more striking than the similarities. The New Jerusalem has foundations and walls and nothing unclean will enter, however its gates never close. The city, instead of protecting itself from attack, projects blessings, pouring out living water, light, and glory. All will walk by the light the city provides, be healed by the leaves of the tree of life at its center, and worship God who dwells within it.

The worship of God and the purity and glory of his new covenant with his people is at the center of the New Jerusalem. When we are there the joy of our worship will pour out through the walls of the city, echoing far away.

Nehemiah lived in Now-Jerusalem and pointed to Not-Yet-Jerusalem. So do we. We point to the not-yet by tackling Nehemiah-inspired tasks that hint at the New Jerusalem. As embassies and ambassadors of New Jerusalem, let us bind up the broken, rebuild the destroyed, restore the degraded, and rededicate the defiled. Let those far off learn the songs of the coming city through our actions “far as the curse is found.”

Music:Joy to the World” lyrics by Issac Watts, video by Reawaken Hymns.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. — Psalm 85.9

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

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Jesus’ Family Tree — Joy of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Nehemiah 2 Listen: (3:42)
Read: Revelation 11 Listen: (3:24)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Read: Nehemiah 3 Listen: (5:43), Read: Revelation 12 Listen: (2:58)
Read: Nehemiah 4 Listen: (3:38), Read: Revelation 13 Listen: (3:20)

Scripture Focus: Matthew 1:1, 17

1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham

17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Nehemiah 2:3-5

3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”

4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

Reflection: Jesus’ Family Tree — Joy of Advent

By Jon Polk

You may have never read the first seventeen verses of Matthew 1. You should, after all, it’s Jesus’ family tree. If you pay attention, you might even recognize a few names.

So go ahead. Here it is. I’ll wait.

In the old King James, Matthew 1 is the “begat” section. So-and-so begat so-and-so and one hard to pronounce name begat another funny sounding name. It’s the passage to be feared if called upon to read aloud in church.

Ancient genealogies were written with a purpose in mind. Names can obviously refer to a specific person, but they can also reference a family name. The phrase “the son of” can mean literally “direct offspring of” or it can mean more generally “descendent of.”

Matthew carefully shapes Jesus’ ancestry with a goal in mind. Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham and outlines three sets of fourteen generations: Abraham to David, David to the Babylonian exile, and the exile to the Messiah.

Do the math and this equals six sets of seven generations, making Jesus the beginning of the seventh. Seven is a biblical number representing completion. Therefore, Jesus inaugurates the fulfillment of God’s plan for the world.

As expected, there are prominent names in Jesus’ lineage that anyone would love to have in their family tree: Abraham, faithful father of many nations; Judah, the royal tribe through which the Messiah would come; David, a man after God’s own heart; and Zerubbabel, who led exiles back from Babylonian captivity.

Not a bad pedigree.

But wait, there’s more!

Surprisingly, there are a few scoundrels on the list as well: Jacob, who tricked his father out of the family blessing; Rehoboam, son of Solomon who brought about the divided kingdom; and even David, who committed adultery and murder.

Everyone has a few stories in their family history that they would like to keep secret. Even Jesus.

And you thought there were interesting characters in your family?

As we draw near to the holiday break, maybe you’re dreading interactions with your crazy uncle or your weirdo cousin. Perhaps there is tension between members of your extended family. You might be preparing to tread lightly if certain topics come up in conversation.

Somehow there is an odd comfort in knowing that even Jesus’ earthly family history was less than perfect. So go easy on your family this year. Allow the grace of God to saturate every conversation, every interaction.

Because you never know, to someone else, you may be the weirdo cousin.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading

Now his mother and his brothers arrived, and standing outside, sent in a message asking for him. A crowd was sitting round him at the time the message was passed to him, “Look, your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you.” He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers? Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.” — Mark 3.31-35

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

Read more about Bathsheba’s Story — Love of Advent

These are the matriarchs of Jesus: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. This is Bathsheba’s story.

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What About Those Shepherds? — Joy of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Nehemiah 1 Listen: (2:06)
Read: Revelation 10 Listen: (1:59)

Scripture Focus: Luke 2:13-20

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Nehemiah 1:8-9

8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’”

Reflection: What about those Shepherds? — Joy of Advent

By Jon Polk

In Luke’s nativity narrative, an unlikely group of shepherds takes center stage. These poor guys are out in the middle of the night, minding their own business, doing what shepherds do night after night, guarding against wild animals and thieves.

Nothing. Exciting. Ever. Happened.

As for career choices, they were the blue-collar of the blue-collar. We romanticize shepherds as if they stepped out of a Thomas Kinkade painting, but reality was harsh.

Shepherding was a despised occupation. They were considered shifty and untrustworthy, often grazing their flocks on other people’s lands. If Mike Rowe had been around in the first century, shepherding would have been featured on Dirty Jobs Israel.

Not only were they social outcasts, but the nature of their work kept them ceremonially unclean according to Jewish laws.

So when the angel showed up in the middle of the night with a big proclamation, they were dumbfounded by what they were hearing.

It was customary in the Roman Empire for the birth of an emperor to be heralded by poets and orators declaring peace and prosperity across the land. These angelic messengers, however, proclaimed not a new emperor, but one they called Savior, Messiah, and Lord.

This royal birth announcement came not to the secular or religious rulers of the day, but out in the fields to the poor and lowly, to the most common of common folk.

Jesus would later inaugurate his own ministry by quoting from the prophecy of Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners… (61:1)

Indeed, the good news was first announced to these poor shepherds, social outcasts of Jesus’ day.

There are many reasons to be unhappy at Christmastime. Financial difficulties, health issues, difficult job or family situations. It can be a dark and difficult world we live in. It’s not surprising that many people have difficulty with the holiday season.

Jesus came to bring hope, peace, and joy to the lowest of the low, the poorest of the poor, the saddest of the sad. Those shepherds remind us that no matter who we are or what we have experienced in this life, the good news is for us!

As the prophet Isaiah proclaimed, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light!” (9:2).

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. — Psalm 85.9

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

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Walls Unmade, Walls Restored

Scripture Focus: Nehemiah 12.43
43 And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. 

Joshua 8.6-10
6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” 7 And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

8 When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. 9 The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10 But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!”

Reflection: Walls Unmade, Walls Restored
By John Tillman

When the people of Israel came into the promised land from their sojourn in Egypt and forty years of desert wandering, their first act in the land was the destruction of a wall.

Except for the blowing of trumpets, they walked in grim silence around the wall of Jericho. The inhabitants of Jericho were terrified. On the seventh day of walking, the walls of Jericho were unmade. They collapsed along with any hope the city had for survival.

In Nehemiah, the Israelites are returning to the promised land. They have sojourned under the rule of foreign kings. They have wandered, geographically and spiritually. They have been leaderless and without a wall to protect them. After the physical labor of remaking the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah assigns the spiritual labor of dedicating all they had done to the Lord.

Nehemiah’s dedication ceremony has echoes of the march around Jericho. The people march, led by priests with trumpets. This time, however, they march on the wall not around it and they are not a silent, threatening army. They are a praise-filled glorious choir.

This was a solemn moment for the people because they, better than anyone, realized that the same God who had unmade the walls of Jericho had unmade the walls of Jerusalem. Without the blessing of God, any bulwark is mere boasting. Without God’s sustaining influence, any affluence is insufficient. Without his protection, any practical self-defense measure will fail.

In joy, they circled the city with praise. In reverence, they marched upon the wall God restored. Through prayer, they raised a greater line of defence than any stone wall.

As you end this year, where do you find yourself in this story? Perhaps you feel like you have been wandering in the wilderness? Perhaps circling a wall that needs to come down? Perhaps treading the top of a wall, praying it doesn’t collapse? Have some things you had faith in been unmade? Have you struggled at reconstructing your faith? 

In their ceremony, Nehemiah circled the wall one way and Ezra the other. Find your Ezra. Partner with them in accountability and responsibility. Spend some time circling yourself, your home, your relationships, your work with worship and prayer. Recommit yourself to the future and to relying not on your own cleverness or strength but on God. Rejoice in what God restores and let your rejoicing be heard.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to another.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or the land and the earth were born, from age to age you are God. — Psalm 90.1-2

Today’s Readings
Nehemiah 12 (Listen 6:30
Revelation 21 (Listen 4:34)

Today’s Readings
Nehemiah 13 (Listen 5:57Revelation 22 (Listen 3:59)
Genesis 1 (Listen 4:55John 1 (Listen 6:18)

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