The exiles, including the
lay reader's nightmare list of names in the omitted verses, have returned from
captivity to begin the slow process of rebuilding Jerusalem which includes
reestablishing the rituals of the faith community. Outside the gate the preachers
preach and the people respond with liturgy, Amen, Amen, lifting hands and
bowing down. But when the ritual reading is explained and the people understand
they begin to weep and wail and mourn. They weep because they know who they are
in the light of the law and how they have grieved the One who brought them out
of exile. They weep because they are afraid that God knows what they know. But
there is another lesson to learn and if they had seen it coming they would have
laughed out loud and shouted alleluia. God is not grieved. God is not angry.
God is not weeping. This is God’s day of rejoicing and it is because of them.
Surprise! So dry your eyes and wash your face. Break out the bubbly and forget
your diet for a day for you are the joy of the Lord and that is your strength.
That is a good lesson for us as well. As long as we think of the joy of the
Lord as an emotion we have or can get we will inevitably end up weakened and
weeping. But since the joy of the Lord is the Lord's joy over us it is constant
and can never be diminished or depleted and therein lies our strength. In God’s
joy we endure. In God’s joy we persevere. In God’s joy we hope. And yes, in
God’s joy we rejoice. The only thing to do with that kind of strength is to
share with those who have nothing prepared because, of course, that is
what God has done for us.
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