Reflection - RRP

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/092319.cfm
Ezra 1:1-6
Luke8:16-18

A review of mid-eastern history during the period referenced in the Old Testament reading would reveal a list of rulers with hard to pronounce names, an ever changing roster of shifting collaborations and transient coalitions, and a miscellaneous group of kingdoms rising and falling in power. In reality, the politics of power and national self-interest was little different than what we’ve seen in more recent centuries, yet the events may appear to fly through history more rapidly than what we’re used to.

It was a mere half century before the time of King Cyrus that the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, had brought his power to Judah’s doorstep. The Northern Kingdom of Israel had fallen two centuries earlier. Now it was Judah’s turn. Different King and a different kingdom but Judah’s time had come. The prophets would understand the fall of the nation and the destruction of Jerusalem as an expected consequence flowing from the arrogance of the people before God, their conviction that they were essential to the creator and their carelessness in observance of the Covenant. The Babylonians would deport a large number from among the nation’s leadership, the vast majority of them going to the city of Babylon itself. There, the exiles lamented their condition.

“By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion.
On the willows there we hung up our lyres.
How shall we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?”
(Psalm 137:1-2, 4)

But in the trials of their exiled situation the people learned what they had not been able to assimilate when they were the independent nation of Judah.

“A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save.”
Psalm 33:16-17)

“Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no help.”
(Psalm 146:3)

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after;
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent, he will set me high upon a rock.”
(Psalm 27:3-5)

“Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield.
Yes, our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.”
(Psalm 33:20-21)

Through the years of exile, the lessons of faith and trust finally became firmly entrenched in the national psyche. Though a distorted understanding of the purpose of the law and impatience with the divine timeframe developed in the centuries that followed, their expectation that God would save endured. In the meantime, they would have almost a half century to incorporate the truths of the Covenant, reflect on the promises of God and pray for salvation from the evil fate which had befallen them. But the Lord’s answer to their period of repentance and prayer ultimately came, and it did so in an unexpected way.

King Cyrus, as far as we know, never came to know the God who had brought him to power; though, according to Ezra, he did recognize that a power greater than himself had given him rule over the kingdoms of the earth. Nevertheless, God knew Cyrus.

“Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and uncover the loins of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I clothe you, though you do not know me.” (Isaiah 45:1, 4-5)

We read the text and study the historical documents only to marvel at the love and careful planning of our God. Is not the reaction of the exiles totally inline with the wonders God has brought about for them?

“When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’" (Psalm 126:1-2)

The unfolding of this sequence of events is remarkable even for those who perceive the hand of God in the chronicles of history. But, while the outcome may seem assured from our centuries of hindsight, it is imperative that we remember all the good things the Lord is doing for us today.

“Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17)

Still, a caveat is in order. The people of the Covenant had become complacent in their faith. Even worse, they had become complacent with their self-centered interpretation of their relationship to God. It took more than forty years of reflection, repentance and prayer for them to allow the Spirit to make straight the way of the Lord in their own minds and hearts. Our lives, my life is/would be a lot easier with regular reflection, repentance and prayer for then I can continually rejoice: “The Lord has done great things for me; I am glad indeed.”