HOME FOR CHRISTMAS - PART 3
NOT HOME YET
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Ezra 1:1-4, 3:1-4, 10-13, Luke 2:25-27
They praised and gave thanks to the Lord, singing responsively, “He is good, his graciousness for Israel lasts forever.”
All of the people shouted with praise to the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s house had been laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and heads of families, who had seen the first house, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this house, although many others shouted loudly with joy.
Ezra 3:11-12
The temple has been rebuilt. The city walls are under construction. Jerusalem is being restored. God’s people have come home.
And yet as they gather to dedicate the temple we read that the older priests and heads of the families who had seen the first temple wept aloud. No matter how much they tried to make it look like home, it would never be quite the same again. Their weeping reminds us that we are not home yet. God has made a highway in the desert and God has restored the people in Jerusalem, but God’s presence has not fully indwelt the Holy Place.
It is easy from our perspective to overlook such things because we know what God is up to. We understand that the highway in the wilderness does not stop at the temple, but continues all the way through the cross and the resurrection to the wide open gates of New Jerusalem where there is no need of a temple because God’s glory dwells directly among the people. But for Advent to truly take a hold of us and transform our lives, we must not get ahead of ourselves or ahead of the story.
For the people returning home from exile, the temple was everything. It would have been so easy for them to say, “Let us first rebuild our homes. We have to take care of our families.” Or perhaps they should have focused first on building the wall to defend their city from enemies as they rebuilt, but the editors of our scriptures were intentional about putting Ezra before Nehemiah to make the point that the Temple must come before the wall. It is interesting in verse 3, that when the people feared an attack from their neighbors, their first act was to set up the altar on it’s foundations. They didn’t even have a temple yet. But they knew that God was their first line of defense as they rebuilt. The most important thing from the beginning was to re-establish a means to stay connected with God and for them, that required a place to bring sacrifices.
Home was never about building the temple or the wall. Home was about being fully present with God in the place God had given them. This is why the altar was so important and why they continued to give generously until the temple was completed, even as they faced countless other threats from their surrounding enemies.
They knew the temple would never be the same. They knew they were not home yet. But maybe, just maybe, they were beginning to realize the most important truth there is about home:
Home is not only the place we lay our head.
Home is not only the place our family is fed.
Home is not only the place we find our rest.
Home is any place God’s presence has blessed.
When it feels like we are not yet home, let us set up our altars and remember that no matter where we are, we can be home in the presence of God.