21 Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might deny ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and cavalry to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king that the hand of our God is gracious to all who seek him, but his power and his wrath are against all who forsake him. 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. (Ezra 8:21-23,NRSV)
I’m guessing that no one reading this has already thought, “I love this Ezra text for Christmas!” But stick with me for a few moments, and perhaps you will see why I think it is an appropriate text for us to think about during the season of Advent leading up to Christmas and the birth of Jesus.
Ezra and his crew are headed to Jerusalem as the long captivity in Babylon is beginning to play itself out. He has important work to do in Jerusalem. Despite the dangers that exist, the Persians didn’t offer protection to Ezra for the journey, even though Ezra is carrying with him all kinds of contributions they have made to the effort.
I’m drawn to Ezra’s phrase, “I was ashamed to ask the king . . .” If you start reading in Ezra 7, you quickly discover that these ancient Jews had made great claims about the God of Israel and city where His temple had once stood and had been restored and dedicated again to be the house of God. Listen to these words from Ezra 6:14, 15: “So the elders of the Jews built and prospered, through the prophesying of the prophet Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished their building by command of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia; and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.” (NRSV)
Ezra determines that he and his fellow sojourners should “fast and petition our God” rather than ask the king – and, “He (God) listened to our entreaty.” They started out their journey with great confidence about the outcome of the trip.
Moral of the story: If we are going to brag about God, we ought to live like we believe it.
Fast forward from somewhere around 450 B.C. to Advent in A.D. 2023. We will spend much of the next four or so weeks “bragging about Jesus.” No complaint there – we have lots to brag about. If where we worship happens to follow the Christian calendar, our focus, in order, will be hope, peace, joy, and love on the Sundays of Advent. I don’t think I can think of four words more appropriate for or more needed by our world right now than those four: hope, peace, joy, and love.
But, as I think the Ezra story implies, if we are going to brag about God/Jesus/Spirit – we ought to live like we believe what we are bragging about. That’s hard. In some contexts it may be dangerous. It likely will never be “the easy way out.”
It wasn’t the easy way out for Ezra – not all the locals in “the province Beyond the River” were thrilled that the Jews were finally coming back to Jerusalem. Slowly but surely, the city is being restored, the Temple is back in operation, the walls and gates are being restored, and a kind of rebirth of faith for the descendants of Abraham who have been in exile for decades is happening.
Yet . . . “I was ashamed to ask the king.” Notice the last clause of 8:23: “He listened to our entreaty.” That seems to have been said before the trip was completed – and reflects the kind of confidence we ought to have when we use words like hope, peace, joy, and love.
Let’s brag more about God and the gift of His Son Jesus this year than ever before – and let’s do our best to live in a way that demonstrates we believe it. Like was true for Ezra and his group, we likely need to fast and humble ourselves before God in order to achieve that goal.
Have a confident season of Advent as we come to the day we celebrate the gift of all gifts.
Image by Felix Mittermeier from Pixabay
Wye Huxford 