Aware of Sin, Blessed with Grace
Nehemiah 8:1-12
Let’s get right to the point: People who stand firm in faith know two things. First, they know a deep sense of failure in their relationship with God and others. We know our sin. For most of us, we don’t have to be reminded. It’s there every day, every time we look in the mirror, every time we feel the sting of past mistakes. But people who stand firm in faith also understand that they can’t get stuck in that deep sense of failure. Remaining in failure land leads to lives that topple like a house of cards. People who stand firm in faith must journey on toward forgiveness. This is the second thing we must come to know as deeply as our sin – that we’re forgiven.
Our last look at Nehemiah has the people gathered together during the seventh month. Whenever the people gather in the seventh month, there is an implicit understanding that worship and celebration are just around the corner. The seventh month[1] is one of the most important months, in terms of the religious calendar of ancient Israel.[2] When we gather here on Sunday morning, there hopefully is no confusion about what we’re doing – we’re here to worship. For ancient Israel, the seventh month was like Sunday – the time to worship God.
I want you to notice in this gathering who takes the lead – it’s the people. The people gathered and they are the ones who tell Ezra the priest to bring them the Torah.[3] The people are the ones who essentially are asking for every preacher’s dream – the all-morning sermon that Ezra delivered.[4] Those who have grumbled, and taken advantage of one another, are now searching for meaning and healing in their lives.
We’ve been talking about standing firm in faith all month. The beginning of this passage reminds us that standing firm in faith is the responsibility of us all. Leaders can’t do it for you or drag you into it. The motivation must come from each of us.
A few years ago when we started walking down to the front for communion, do you know the primary reason I like us to do this? I think we’re saying something very important theologically when we get up and physically move toward the Table. We are making a move toward God with an expectation of something happening. So, in a few moments, we’ll once again invite you to make a move toward God.
The other thing to notice from this text today is the reaction of the people when they hear the Torah being read – they weep and mourn.[5] Why? I think the people are grieving because of a sense of loss and shame. They heard the stories of Promised Land and the forming of the covenant community. They heard poems of great faith.
But these people also knew their own history of ignoring the voice of God which led to captivity. They were well aware of their wobbly and weak-kneed faith. They are justified in being depressed but they forgot one thing: the grace of God. The grace of God called them to remember they are the covenant community. By the grace of God, they are forgiven. If these people stay stuck in remembering their sin, they’ll be defeated. Repentance is healthy only if it leads to remembrance of being forgiven. And so Ezra and Nehemiah point the people toward their covenant status. The people are to celebrate! Throw a party! Eat the fat and drink the sweet wine!
Those who stand firm in faith celebrate that they are the forgiven through Christ. Let us now come to the table as the forgiven and celebrate our covenant status through Jesus.
Amen.