1 00:00:00,970 --> 00:00:02,770 Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from 2 00:00:02,770 --> 00:00:04,570 God, our Father and our Lord and Savior 3 00:00:04,570 --> 00:00:07,470 Jesus Christ, to which we can all say, 4 00:00:08,630 --> 00:00:13,030 Amen. Our text is from Nehemiah, just 5 00:00:13,030 --> 00:00:13,430 read. 6 00:00:16,130 --> 00:00:20,070 Now as we are thinking about Nehemiah, I 7 00:00:20,070 --> 00:00:22,130 am thinking that in the pericope system, 8 00:00:22,830 --> 00:00:25,330 when you're a pastor in the parish, this 9 00:00:25,330 --> 00:00:27,570 might be one of those texts that just 10 00:00:27,570 --> 00:00:33,070 slips by. Because you could go with the 11 00:00:33,070 --> 00:00:35,330 gospel, or you could go with the epistle, 12 00:00:35,330 --> 00:00:36,800 or you could go with Nehemiah. 13 00:00:39,330 --> 00:00:43,030 Nehemiah poses some challenges because we 14 00:00:43,030 --> 00:00:45,030 cut some parts out of the Nehemiah text. 15 00:00:45,630 --> 00:00:48,730 But in other cases, it's helpful to know 16 00:00:48,730 --> 00:00:50,570 what those parts are, but in this case, 17 00:00:51,270 --> 00:00:54,230 not that helpful because they are just 18 00:00:54,230 --> 00:00:56,230 long lists of names of people who are 19 00:00:56,230 --> 00:01:00,770 participating in what's going on. So 20 00:01:00,770 --> 00:01:02,770 unlike some other texts where it's a few 21 00:01:02,770 --> 00:01:04,670 verses, a few verses, a few verses, and 22 00:01:04,670 --> 00:01:06,230 the other thing is actually quite 23 00:01:06,230 --> 00:01:08,430 important. In this case, the important 24 00:01:08,430 --> 00:01:09,870 stuff is actually there. 25 00:01:12,830 --> 00:01:16,100 And yet it is a problematic text because 26 00:01:16,100 --> 00:01:21,470 Nehemiah tells us they heard the word of 27 00:01:21,470 --> 00:01:24,500 God, and they started weeping, and 28 00:01:24,500 --> 00:01:27,930 wailing, and gnashing their teeth. It 29 00:01:27,930 --> 00:01:29,570 doesn't sound very Lutheran. 30 00:01:35,500 --> 00:01:38,600 And then the priest went around, and I 31 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,270 don't know if our counseling people are 32 00:01:40,270 --> 00:01:42,200 here, but I'm sure they wouldn't advise 33 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,330 you to do this. They went around to the 34 00:01:44,330 --> 00:01:45,870 people and said, you know you're in a bad 35 00:01:45,870 --> 00:01:46,930 mood, but just rejoice. 36 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:50,300 Feel better. 37 00:01:53,570 --> 00:01:55,600 I don't think that's a good counseling 38 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:56,200 technique. 39 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,330 So there's got to be stuff missing. I mean 40 00:02:02,330 --> 00:02:04,170 how did the people get from being weeping 41 00:02:04,170 --> 00:02:06,870 and wailing to rejoicing? This is a holy 42 00:02:06,870 --> 00:02:09,400 day. We're supposed to celebrate. Go eat 43 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,330 some food. Feel better. That's Lutheran. 44 00:02:17,270 --> 00:02:19,400 These people had faced a lot of hardship. 45 00:02:19,770 --> 00:02:22,430 They had faced opposition to building this 46 00:02:22,430 --> 00:02:26,970 wall, and earlier, a generation earlier, 47 00:02:27,430 --> 00:02:29,030 opposition to building that temple, 48 00:02:30,430 --> 00:02:33,570 terrible, terrible things. They thought 49 00:02:33,570 --> 00:02:35,270 they had done okay, and then they built 50 00:02:35,270 --> 00:02:37,400 the wall, and they built it in record 51 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:41,930 time, and finally they could rest secure 52 00:02:41,930 --> 00:02:44,170 because those opposition people, those 53 00:02:44,170 --> 00:02:48,500 enemies were now outside the wall. 54 00:02:52,830 --> 00:02:56,170 They could keep them out. They could make 55 00:02:56,170 --> 00:02:58,230 sure that they didn't get in to interfere 56 00:02:58,230 --> 00:03:01,170 with their quiet society. 57 00:03:04,730 --> 00:03:07,370 And there's another possible reason why 58 00:03:07,370 --> 00:03:11,030 they were weeping. One day I went on a 59 00:03:11,030 --> 00:03:14,370 hike with my son, 10-mile hike, and he was 60 00:03:14,370 --> 00:03:18,870 like, I don't know, 10 years old. It was a 61 00:03:18,870 --> 00:03:20,900 good hike. We all had a good time. We both 62 00:03:20,900 --> 00:03:23,270 had a good time. We got back to the camp, 63 00:03:23,670 --> 00:03:24,970 and he just started weeping. 64 00:03:27,700 --> 00:03:32,530 But first, he spent about 20 minutes 65 00:03:32,530 --> 00:03:36,330 laughing. I was like, let's get him some 66 00:03:36,330 --> 00:03:38,500 food because he's going to crash. So we 67 00:03:38,500 --> 00:03:41,770 got him some food, and we put him to bed, 68 00:03:41,770 --> 00:03:45,600 and in the morning he was fine. Wanted to 69 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:48,270 go for another 10-mile hike the next day. 70 00:03:50,330 --> 00:03:53,930 But the fact of the matter is, sometimes 71 00:03:53,930 --> 00:03:57,700 when we work very hard, we're just 72 00:03:57,700 --> 00:03:58,030 exhausted. 73 00:04:02,070 --> 00:04:03,870 We're just exhausted. 74 00:04:06,130 --> 00:04:09,230 And these people might have been exhausted 75 00:04:09,230 --> 00:04:14,030 in this way, and finally felt that relief 76 00:04:14,030 --> 00:04:17,570 of being done, and now they hear the Word 77 00:04:17,570 --> 00:04:20,930 of God, and they know, because they 78 00:04:20,930 --> 00:04:23,430 haven't been hearing it, that they haven't 79 00:04:23,430 --> 00:04:26,770 been doing all of it. That there are 80 00:04:26,770 --> 00:04:28,630 things about it that are kind of scary. 81 00:04:30,270 --> 00:04:32,370 That there are penalties in there of death 82 00:04:32,370 --> 00:04:35,070 for things they had probably been doing. 83 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:37,330 If you read the Mosaic Law, the death 84 00:04:37,330 --> 00:04:39,430 penalty is there for lots of things. 85 00:04:42,370 --> 00:04:45,570 And it probably was not just the Ten 86 00:04:45,570 --> 00:04:47,300 Commandments they were reading. They were 87 00:04:47,300 --> 00:04:49,900 probably reading those other things in the 88 00:04:49,900 --> 00:04:53,970 code that are not so pleasant. 89 00:04:57,470 --> 00:04:59,330 And here are these people who think 90 00:04:59,330 --> 00:05:00,630 they're doing the right thing, and they're 91 00:05:00,630 --> 00:05:02,600 righteous people because they have come to 92 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:05,030 this city, and they have rebuilt Jerusalem 93 00:05:05,030 --> 00:05:08,370 after exile, and they are thinking, we're 94 00:05:08,370 --> 00:05:14,230 doing okay. And they're not. They're not 95 00:05:14,230 --> 00:05:15,130 doing okay. 96 00:05:18,030 --> 00:05:21,930 To paraphrase the book from the 70s, I'm 97 00:05:21,930 --> 00:05:24,030 not okay. You're not okay. 98 00:05:29,900 --> 00:05:31,500 Terrible, terrible stuff. 99 00:05:34,300 --> 00:05:37,430 But the leaders tell them, probably 100 00:05:37,430 --> 00:05:39,070 something like this, because we don't have 101 00:05:39,070 --> 00:05:45,300 it. Now you have heard, and we can get to 102 00:05:45,300 --> 00:05:47,530 work on rebuilding the real walls. 103 00:05:49,900 --> 00:05:55,330 The walls that have kept you from God can 104 00:05:55,330 --> 00:05:59,600 be torn down, and the walls that build 105 00:06:00,130 --> 00:06:02,430 that righteousness and peace inside, a 106 00:06:02,430 --> 00:06:05,100 city of peace inside yourselves. 107 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,430 Those are the things we can work on now. 108 00:06:10,430 --> 00:06:13,230 Now that you know the right teaching of 109 00:06:13,230 --> 00:06:13,970 the Lord. 110 00:06:16,730 --> 00:06:20,900 So rejoice. We get back to work tomorrow 111 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:26,170 on rebuilding the right things. Eat, 112 00:06:26,770 --> 00:06:30,770 drink, have the best wine, eat the fattest 113 00:06:30,770 --> 00:06:33,430 portions, enjoy your food. 114 00:06:36,070 --> 00:06:39,730 Today is a holiday. We should enjoy it. 115 00:06:44,370 --> 00:06:46,270 Now that's all speculation, because it's 116 00:06:46,270 --> 00:06:49,370 not in the text. But I don't know if it's 117 00:06:49,370 --> 00:06:50,270 unreasonable speculation. 118 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:01,270 Now what about us? Where should we be in 119 00:07:01,270 --> 00:07:04,230 this situation and from this line of 120 00:07:04,230 --> 00:07:07,770 perspective? Well, we are like those 121 00:07:07,770 --> 00:07:12,170 people busy with our daily tasks. We are 122 00:07:12,170 --> 00:07:14,230 building our own little cities, our own 123 00:07:14,230 --> 00:07:17,430 little walls. We are building our own 124 00:07:17,430 --> 00:07:21,000 little lives for ourselves, our families, 125 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,470 and others. And although the Word of God 126 00:07:24,470 --> 00:07:31,200 is often highly available to us, sometimes 127 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:33,400 we don't avail ourselves of it. 128 00:07:36,270 --> 00:07:39,570 I just got off sabbatical. Yay. 129 00:07:45,270 --> 00:07:47,570 And I have to say the best part of my 130 00:07:47,570 --> 00:07:49,470 sabbatical was the first part when I spent 131 00:07:49,470 --> 00:07:52,730 time walking around a lake just listening 132 00:07:52,730 --> 00:07:54,470 to the Word of God on my hearing aids, 133 00:07:54,570 --> 00:07:57,000 which I don't have in today, because my 134 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:58,500 phone hooks to my hearing aids and my 135 00:07:58,500 --> 00:08:00,770 hearing aids hooks to the, my phone hooks 136 00:08:00,770 --> 00:08:02,730 to the internet, and the internet has the 137 00:08:02,730 --> 00:08:04,900 Bible, and the Bible speaks through my 138 00:08:04,900 --> 00:08:09,130 hearing aids. I have to say that was 139 00:08:09,130 --> 00:08:12,430 better than reading Kant and Hegel. That 140 00:08:12,430 --> 00:08:14,800 was better than reading Spinoza for sure. 141 00:08:16,570 --> 00:08:18,030 That was better than reading a lot of 142 00:08:18,030 --> 00:08:19,930 people I had to read. It was really, 143 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:24,770 really nice to listen to it. And it was an 144 00:08:24,770 --> 00:08:26,370 incentive because, you know, like if you 145 00:08:26,370 --> 00:08:28,530 walk for the entire book of Genesis, maybe 146 00:08:28,530 --> 00:08:29,670 you lost a quarter pound. 147 00:08:35,530 --> 00:08:38,070 We become like this people because 148 00:08:38,070 --> 00:08:41,000 sometimes we don't listen. Sometimes we 149 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:42,870 hear the Word of God, but maybe like only 150 00:08:42,870 --> 00:08:45,400 in the classroom or maybe only in chapel. 151 00:08:49,370 --> 00:08:53,030 I'll give you a hint. God made translators 152 00:08:53,030 --> 00:08:56,900 for a reason. You need to listen to the 153 00:08:56,900 --> 00:08:58,670 Word of God in whatever language you can 154 00:08:58,670 --> 00:09:03,730 best handle as well. Now if you really are 155 00:09:03,730 --> 00:09:05,370 that good in Greek and Hebrew, go ahead, 156 00:09:05,500 --> 00:09:07,570 but you need devotional time in the Word, 157 00:09:08,230 --> 00:09:11,000 time when you are speaking to God and He 158 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,330 is speaking to you and you are listening 159 00:09:13,330 --> 00:09:18,200 and learning and acquiring, having nothing 160 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:20,900 to do with whatever class you're in. 161 00:09:23,670 --> 00:09:28,430 We need time for the Word of God. We need 162 00:09:28,430 --> 00:09:30,470 time to be able to proclaim those truths 163 00:09:30,470 --> 00:09:33,270 of Scripture to each other, not assuming 164 00:09:33,270 --> 00:09:35,770 the other guy is in good shape because I 165 00:09:35,770 --> 00:09:37,430 will tell you when I was at seminary, a 166 00:09:37,430 --> 00:09:41,070 lot of times I wasn't in good shape. I'm 167 00:09:41,070 --> 00:09:42,900 still at seminary, but it's sort of like 168 00:09:42,900 --> 00:09:45,030 switching from being an inmate to a warden 169 00:09:45,030 --> 00:09:49,270 or like a guard. You know, the inmates get 170 00:09:49,270 --> 00:09:50,970 out eventually, but the guards have to 171 00:09:50,970 --> 00:09:51,570 stay. 172 00:09:55,170 --> 00:09:58,000 And so we become exhausted by the 173 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:01,370 existential crises of this life. We 174 00:10:01,370 --> 00:10:03,970 neglect those walls that we need that are 175 00:10:03,970 --> 00:10:07,030 holding bad things out. We neglect those 176 00:10:07,030 --> 00:10:12,800 ways of growing, but that's still law. In 177 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:16,130 other ways, we're a little bit worse off 178 00:10:16,130 --> 00:10:19,130 than the people of His day because we 179 00:10:19,130 --> 00:10:21,070 simply soldier on. 180 00:10:23,970 --> 00:10:27,370 Sometimes we even resist opportunities to 181 00:10:27,370 --> 00:10:29,230 be fed by the Word. The Holy Spirit 182 00:10:29,230 --> 00:10:33,670 reminds us, read the Word, and we're like, 183 00:10:33,870 --> 00:10:37,630 I'm too busy. I know I'm guilty of that. 184 00:10:38,530 --> 00:10:40,570 And when we do hear the Word, when we do 185 00:10:40,570 --> 00:10:42,270 learn from the Scriptures the wonders of 186 00:10:42,270 --> 00:10:44,570 what God has done and continues to do for 187 00:10:44,570 --> 00:10:48,230 us, often we have a ho-hum response. 188 00:10:49,770 --> 00:10:51,170 Sometimes it's because we're Lutheran, 189 00:10:51,230 --> 00:10:54,200 we're not allowed an effusive response. 190 00:10:54,770 --> 00:10:57,230 But the fact of the matter is we don't 191 00:10:57,230 --> 00:11:00,570 weep, and we don't laugh. 192 00:11:03,700 --> 00:11:06,630 We have come to a place of complacency, 193 00:11:07,270 --> 00:11:10,770 sometimes to a dearth of repentance, to 194 00:11:10,770 --> 00:11:14,730 wrong priorities, and so much busyness 195 00:11:16,030 --> 00:11:18,430 that there is no room for the good stuff, 196 00:11:19,470 --> 00:11:23,430 the good news. So I'm going to make a 197 00:11:23,430 --> 00:11:28,630 suggestion to you. If you're obsessive 198 00:11:28,630 --> 00:11:33,930 -compulsive, fancy word for picky, about 199 00:11:33,930 --> 00:11:38,270 your grades, be a little less picky about 200 00:11:38,270 --> 00:11:41,070 that and be a little more picky about 201 00:11:41,070 --> 00:11:42,470 getting the Word of God. 202 00:11:45,370 --> 00:11:47,670 If you do the right work, the grade will 203 00:11:47,670 --> 00:11:50,870 come. If you obsess about the grade, you 204 00:11:50,870 --> 00:11:52,100 may never get there. 205 00:11:55,500 --> 00:11:57,530 But you need to be built, because this is 206 00:11:57,530 --> 00:11:59,270 good for you, you know, you get built up 207 00:11:59,270 --> 00:12:01,570 in the Word and it's there for you and 208 00:12:01,570 --> 00:12:05,470 it's reliable and it helps you out in your 209 00:12:05,470 --> 00:12:10,370 daily life, in your daily tasks. And it 210 00:12:10,370 --> 00:12:13,130 gives you wisdom so you can handle your 211 00:12:13,130 --> 00:12:14,530 strange professors. 212 00:12:18,630 --> 00:12:21,300 And so we must take the time for a deeper 213 00:12:21,300 --> 00:12:24,700 look, a deeper repentance of those things 214 00:12:24,700 --> 00:12:28,470 that get in the way of Scripture. We have 215 00:12:28,470 --> 00:12:31,100 to look at it in an unsophisticated and 216 00:12:31,100 --> 00:12:34,570 childlike way, and it's important to know 217 00:12:34,570 --> 00:12:36,830 that we are refreshed and blessed by that 218 00:12:36,830 --> 00:12:39,870 Word of God and become refreshed and 219 00:12:39,870 --> 00:12:42,370 sustained by our Lord and Savior because 220 00:12:42,370 --> 00:12:45,830 that Word does not return void and we are 221 00:12:45,830 --> 00:12:49,000 blessed to be those who hear it and 222 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:50,730 rejoice in it. 223 00:12:53,330 --> 00:12:55,430 And our Lord and Savior, who is that 224 00:12:55,430 --> 00:12:58,370 deeper Word, along with the Father and the 225 00:12:58,370 --> 00:13:01,970 Spirit, come to us with a Word that 226 00:13:01,970 --> 00:13:05,670 sustains the weary. We're early in the 227 00:13:05,670 --> 00:13:07,230 semester, you're not weary yet, but you 228 00:13:07,230 --> 00:13:11,270 will be. The Word that brings joy and 229 00:13:11,270 --> 00:13:14,470 hope, the Word of strength and peace in a 230 00:13:14,470 --> 00:13:18,630 world of chaos and turmoil. And we get to 231 00:13:18,630 --> 00:13:20,600 have that deeper Word, our Lord and 232 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,070 Savior, Jesus Christ, who through the Holy 233 00:13:24,070 --> 00:13:26,570 Scriptures talks to us about the sacrifice 234 00:13:26,570 --> 00:13:32,070 of His life and death for us. Through that 235 00:13:32,070 --> 00:13:34,230 great good news of His rising from the 236 00:13:34,230 --> 00:13:38,270 dead and that news that He lives and 237 00:13:38,270 --> 00:13:41,970 reigns to hear us and eventually take us 238 00:13:41,970 --> 00:13:45,170 to heaven to be with Him in everlasting 239 00:13:45,170 --> 00:13:49,570 righteousness, innocence, and blessedness 240 00:13:49,570 --> 00:13:55,230 forevermore. Amen. And now we have the 241 00:13:55,230 --> 00:13:56,570 peace of God that passes all 242 00:13:56,570 --> 00:13:58,330 understanding. Keep your hearts and minds 243 00:13:58,330 --> 00:14:00,670 in Christ Jesus. Amen.