Epiphany
January 18, 2016

Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 8:1-10

And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen’, lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground…. So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. Nehemiah 8:5-6, 8

Can you remember one of those Aha! moments when you realized that you were on a wrong path in some area of your life? It might have been the moment that you realized what you wanted for your child would never be what they wanted for themselves. It might have been when your credit cards became maxed out, you lost your home, your car was repossessed, and you had nowhere else to go to meet your basic needs much less feed your spending frenzy. It might have been when the doctor said if you do not stop drinking or eating all the wrong things or not exercising you are going to die much sooner than later. It might have been when your obstinacy at using your cell phone while driving killed someone. Continuing to follow one wrong path grows into following many wrong paths that spirals into total slavery to outside forces.

This not only happens to individuals; it happens to nations. It happened to Israel. While the prophets saw it coming and the people had ample warning, they could not turn around and they marched themselves straight in to exile and slavery. Years later, they got a second change and were returned to their homeland to make a new start. Our scripture today is Ezra’s sermon to them as they start the rebuilding of the kingdom of Israel.

Those same prophets are speaking to us today as we individually and collectively walk down wrong paths. There is probably nothing that has captured the USA’s epidemic of greed better than the court case that attempted to prove a young man was not guilty of a crime because he suffered from something the legal team called Affluenza. It seems to be spreading among our politicians. We want to have our cake and eat it too.

There is a better way, the way of Christ. There has never been a more important time than now for us to dust off and re-apply not only the laws of love but the way of love Jesus lived.

Prayer: Lord, we see the need to repent, help us turn our eyes to you and follow you on your path to the abundant life for all. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.