January 27, 2019 LIght-Filled Visions

January 27, 2019  Light-Filled Visions *Nehemiah 8.1-3,5-6,8-10, Luke 4.14-21 Pastor Jacqueline Hines

The book of Nehemiah records a time when Israel is coming back into their homeland after spending 70 years in captivity in Babylon, 900 miles away from home. Even today, we hear of underground thugs kidnapping people for ransom, servitude, or power trips. The Israelis were gone for 70 years. Three and a half generations in a foreign country changes a lot in a culture. They had been scattered and terrorized in ways that most of us could never imagine. They were traumatized, perhaps victimized, no doubt they were overcomers of the deepest inhumane situations. Thank God they had memories of food and fun, stories worth telling and retelling through the years like any family would.

Though they wished they had never had such an awful experience, they could not deny that they were still blessed with God’s strength to make it through. Like any other culture, they were fortified with natural gifts, unique gifts, spiritual gifts and talents that helped them continue their journey and survive in spite of their difficulties. [slide # 1 renovating team] They survived, they came back home, and they started from scratch to renovate the temple that had been vandalized and they rebuilt the walls that had gone into disrepair. It was like coming home after war or natural disaster, but it was still home, a place where God had blessed them to raise families and work and worship. It was bittersweet.

We can understand what it was like for these children of God. When we feel threatened or we run for our lives because of some danger, or become homeless for even part of a day due to financial worries, if we have been in a fire, a flood, an accident, some catastrophe or endured a health issue that turned our lives upside down, we, too, could have returned to God and been listening to Nehemiah read God’s word at the Watergate that day. [ slide # 2 Nehemiah reading]

We too may have cried tears of repentance for our bitter complaints against such a kind God, for secret sins, for daring to defy God when we have been taught to simply and gently and maturely bring our burdens to the Lord, and leave them there. We could have felt the sting of guilt for neglecting to teach and preach the word of God, for being too busy to help maintain the house of God. Any of us at one point or another could have found ourselves weeping at the Watergate as we remembered how far we had gotten away from all that God had for us. [slide # 3 man bowed on floor]

The Watergate was one of the 12 gates, which were more like walls that surrounded the temple. There were many gates of varying names and functions throughout the years – [slide # 4 Jerusalem gate]  the Watergate obviously was a place where water was brought in. Water was an even bigger deal in an ancient time when water sources were underdeveloped – much like our sister church in Kenya where John helped us to help them access water. In this area, we have a taste of the need for development. We hear from time to time when a well runs dry after so many years or a well’s water pump needs to be replaced and there is no source of water because the city water source is not yet developed here – and why should it since the city charges would probably be much greater than the maintenance of a well.

They were at the Watergate, but the Temple had twelve gates. There was the Horse Gate that led to the stables, the Fountain Gate near the pool of Siloam, and the Fish Gate. There was the gate named the Beautiful Gate where a lame man was made to walk again when Peter and John prayed for him in the book of Acts. There was the Dung Gate where animal waste, sewage and garbage were to go through. There was a Sheep Gate which was an inspection gate, also called Lion’s Gate, where soldiers were to enter and protect the city, even if it meant sacrificing their lives. The Lion’s gate was famous during the Six Day War when Israeli paratroopers took back the city in June of 1967. The Lion’s gate was an entry way to the Pools of Bethesda, the Via Dolorosa, and many markets.

There is also the Golden Gate also called the Gate of Mercy or the Eastern Gate, because God is said to enter our reality from the East, which is on our right. God comes from the right side, the holy side, the side of the righteous. The entrance to the golden gate is said to be blocked and some pilgrims believe God will open that gate and miraculously return.

Interestingly, I have often wondered if the Watergate Complex in Washington, DC got its name from the bible. I can’t trace it back to a Jewish person, but I did discover that the complex was initiated by Italians and part owned by the Vatican until 1969. So a religious connection might partly explain the name. [slide # 5 Watergate complex]

The DC Watergate complex included fancy office buildings, a hotel, restaurants, a spa, and apartment complex for the rich and famous who lived there like the Bloomingdale and Dole families, former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell, former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice.

It had been a long time since God’s chosen people were able to gather. No wonder they were crying like families cry when they find each other at the airport after a long separation, after war, or after the Holocaust as this picture shows. [slide # 6 reunion of siblings after Holocaust] In some sense gathering at the Water Gate was a family reunion, a bittersweet moment because they never wanted to be separated and taken from their homeland in the first place. They did not intend to forget about their God who had delivered them and loved them, pouring out blessings upon them while their captives were hating on them and using them. Things just happened; now they were sorry and ready to start fresh and obey the word of God.

Some may have started out with great fervor in their renewal of the covenant with God, like we do in the beginning of the year with our new year’s resolutions. By Valentine’s Day we are back to eating more potato chips and cookies than salad and paying a monthly fee not to go to the gym. Others no doubt were able to take God seriously and stay on track.

Life coaches have been known to train people to envision themselves in a positive light, to see themselves running toward a goal, winning instead of losing, succeeding instead of failing. [slide # 7 …dream it..] With God’s word before us, we can see ourselves as God sees us, beloved, precious, a fountain of care and compassion for the people and situations God places in our paths.

Seeing is believing! [slide # 8 word of God is powerful] Let this be the season we look at God’s word, prayerfully and conscientiously, interpreting with reason rather than rage using the model that John Wesley taught us – considering the scripture, but also taking into account cultural and religious traditions, reasoning, and experiences. Let this be the season that we envision God’s will and way so that we will be a part of God’s  kin-dom coming on earth as it is in Heaven. [slide # 9 …in the word is God’s Spirit]