-A reflection on Ezra 3,
when the Israelite captives were faced with the uncertainty of rebuilding their
lives
And
when the third month had come, and the children of the United States realized
that the coronavirus was in their midst, the people ceased their gathering
together. All the governors, after
consulting with their learned men, sent out decrees to all their land, closing
the schools, and the social places; even the churches of God became empty. And fear had come upon many people because
the routines were disrupted and the March Madness would no longer distract them
form their own inner madness. And
furthermore, the stock market was shaken in a tumult, sometimes up and sometimes
down, and the prospect of losing one’s retirement loomed in their minds.
And
yet, there were creative and stalwart people in the land, people who remembered
the stories their grandparents had told them of other difficult times; tales of
how hard work and creative problem-solving coupled with resolute faith in God
and compassion for others had carried them through things like the Great
Depression and the World Wars and other pandemics. And some of them remembered even older
stories, when times were even harder.
These creative and stalwart people, armed with confidence in the problem-solving
skills God had given them, and confident in the power of what can happen when
friends and neighbors get together to share and help each other, these people
set their sights on new routines. They
developed new ideas for bringing structure and a sense of security and purpose
for themselves and those around them.
They
discovered that although the invisible virus was able to change so much in
their lives and create so much unknown and fear – that some things could not be
changed. For one thing, spring was upon
them! Glorious spring with the birds
singing in the morning! And the
woodpeckers looking for insects in the trees!
And the flowers thrusting up from the ground! It was found that none of these things was
the virus able to destroy. And it was
also found that the things that were taken away uncovered new things underneath
that had always been there but were now more needed and easier to see and
appreciate; things like the value of being with family and saying hello to a
neighbor and how much we need each other to support our emotional selves and
our ability to do the necessary work of life. It
clarified how thankful they were for their schools and their jobs and their
churches, for the teachers and their work; and remined them that it was a
special gift to be able to even have these things to go to, because now they
knew what it was like not to have them.
But
all of this was still hard, and there were times of weeping with loud voices,
and times of shouting aloud for joy – for there were things taken away and new
things given. Many uncertainties could
not be taken away, and even death need to be faced in some cases. Yet in it all, God was present and speaking
quietly to those who would listen; and many old stories were told, many songs
were sung – and in time, new life emerged.
