The Epiphany of the word

Sermon Notes, Epiphany 3, 2022 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. I want to reflect with you this morning on the Epiphany of the word. That is, the power of Holy Scripture to revel God to those who seek after him. I love the picture Nehemiah paints for us of a congregation come together for the express purpose of hearing the word of God. A congregation much like our own, doing many of the same things that we do when we come together to worship. Nehemiah describes this assembly as a unity. "And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate." St. Paul develops this image into language describing the church as one body. "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-and all were made to drink of one Spirit." For both Paul and Nehemiah, the coming together of God's people brings together disparate gifts and personalities to be reshaped into a new entity. Nehemiah tells how disparate they were. With an engineer's precision, he totals them up. Neh. 7:66-69. "The whole company numbered 42,360, besides their 7,337 menservants and maidservants; and they also had 245 men and women singers. There were also 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels and 6,720 donkeys." Even if we take away the animals we still have a great and varied collection of people who come together as one man. The transformation of the many to the one is central to the work of the church. Something happens when disparate people come together to worship. Their differences vanish and their unity is realized. It is not the reason they gather together, but it is a happy consequence of it. We may rightly attribute this transformation to the work of the Holy Spirit. But unless certain efforts are in place, the work of the Holy Spirit may be hindered or even quenched. Nehemiah lays out what needs to be done. "And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel." Here are the people of God demanding to hear the word of God. Not asking, not hoping, but demanding to hear the word of God. I have to wonder if we still have that same urgent need today? Do we come to church hoping to be filled? Praying that we might find a word to apply to our lives? That's not how Nehemiah's people came together. For them it was a matter of life and death. They needed to hear the word and they demanded that Ezra read it to them. It wasn't only their life's circumstances that demanded the word, it was the command of The Lord. His command to Israel is to hear. Deut 6:4,5. "Hear O Israel: the Lord our God , the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Hearing precedes loving. Our love of God, identified by our worship, is imperfect and incomplete unless we first hear the word. That's why the reading of scripture takes the prominent place it has place in our worship service. But as Jesus reminds us often, just because we have ears doesn't mean we hear. Imagine what it would be like if we all came to church on Sunday morning demanding to hear the word of God. Our ears would be open. Our hearts unlocked. Our worship transformed. Nehemiah writes that the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. They heard what was spoken. There is another level beyond hearing, and that is understanding. We may and should will ourselves to hear, but we may need help to understand. Nehemiah recognized that as well and set up a structure to help the people understand. His first line were the men of the tribe of Levi who were dedicated to instruct the people. "They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading." Picture the assembly of people having been attentive to Ezra's reading, now breaking into small study groups where leaders who have been trained in the word answer their questions and explain the parts they don't understand. Imagine again the excitement and joy that spreads across the assembly as the word comes into focus, first here, then there, and eventually everywhere. As your priest whose duty it is to speak the word, I find my greatest joy when someone comes up to me after the service to ask what I meant by this or that statement. God's word becomes the personal subject of our conversation. At one time we had an active Bible study presence here at St. Brendan's. Better than 50% of our members were active in Bible studies or home fellowships. We were severely impacted by Covid and still are. But the need to revive those groups and continue on the road to understanding is huge. The greatest gift you can give to your new priest, whomever that may be, is to be a people hungry for the word and eager for understanding. Nehemiah's people humbled themselves before the Lord when they heard his word. Ezra and the Levites instructed them in a proper response: celebration. "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." When the word is preached and understood, when the sacraments are faithfully administered, then God is present in our midst. How can our response be anything but joy? Centuries after Ezra opened the word of the Lord and read to the gathered assembly in Jerusalem, Jesus did much the same thing in his hometown of Nazareth. The parallels are worth noting. The people demanded that God's word be read in Jerusalem. Jesus is given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah to read. In both cases the impulse to read and the text comes from the collective voice of the people. Just as the Levites interpreted the word for their hearers, Jesus himself interprets the words of Isaiah. "And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." What a shocking pronouncement. Truly an Epiphany moment. The word that Israel longed to hear from their days in the desert exodus to the first century in Galilee were given life and breath. Their eyes, all their senses now could perceive what their ears heard. The word was made flesh and standing in front of them. The word would never be the same again, though it had not changed in any way. But from that moment forward the word has a presence in the person of Jesus Christ. We heard that word read today. Were we aware of the presence of Christ in every word that was spoken? He is the living embodiment of those words. He shines through them and we should feast on his presence with all the joy that Nehemiah's assembly feasted on the word read to them by Ezra. We do that in the Eucharist. Our service concludes with the feast that brings the whole cycle to completion: the word heard, the word understood, And the Word celebrated. That word sustains us in all that we do until we return again, demanding to feast on the Real Presence and be made one with him. In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.