Hearing the Word of the Lord Anew—Lectionary (RCL) Reading for Epiphany 3C (Nehemiah 8)

Nehemiah 8:1-10 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

8 ¹ All the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. ² Accordingly, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. ³ He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand, and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. ⁴ Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose, and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. ⁵ 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. ⁶ 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 worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. ⁷ Also the Levites Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. ⁸ So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

⁹ And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord, and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

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                The previous Sunday the first reading, as determined by the Revised Common Lectionary, came from Isaiah 62. This was a word addressed to a post-exilic community by a prophet scholars call Third Isaiah. In that reading we heard God speak to Jerusalem as a groom speaks to a bride, declaring God’s love for the bride whom God had redeemed. On the Third Sunday of Epiphany, a season of divine revelation, the First Reading comes from Nehemiah 8. The lectionary omits verses 4 and 7. This decision is understandable since both verses provide a list of persons who stood with Ezra the Scribe as he delivered a message to the people of Jerusalem. While it might be best to omit them in the public reading of scripture, I’ve included the entire passage here.

                The reading for the day comes from one of two narratives that describe what took place in Jerusalem during the period of Persian rule. Both Ezra and Nehemiah may have been contemporaries, but that is unclear. One of the figures, Nehemiah, is a political leader, while the other, Ezra is a religious leader. In the reading for the day, the focus is on Ezra. It appears that he was active in Jerusalem during the reign of the Persian king Artaxerxes (mid-sixth century BCE). Although this reading comes from the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah is not present in the story. Instead, it is Ezra who takes center stage. This is the only reading from Nehemiah that appears in the Revised Common Lectionary, and Nehemiah is only briefly mentioned in verse 9, noting that he is the governor of Judea. This reading from Nehemiah 8 is paired with the story of Jesus’ appearance in the synagogue at Nazareth, where Jesus reads from the Scriptures and begins to expound on it. In our reading from Nehemiah, Ezra reads from scripture and interprets it for the people.

                Since the focus here is on Ezra’s role in reading from scripture to the people, while he, along with Nehemiah, and the Levites, teach the people the meaning of the Word of the Lord, it is fitting that the reading from the Psalms comes from Psalm 19. That reading declares:

The law of the Lord is perfect,
    reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
    making wise the simple;
⁸ the precepts of the Lord are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
    enlightening the eyes; . . . (Ps. 19:7-8)

Yes, the law of the Lord (Torah) is perfect.

                Our reading for the Third Sunday after Epiphany describes a gathering of the people of Israel at the Water Gate. It is, according to the narrative, during the seventh month, when the exiles had settled into their towns (Neh. 7:73b), that the people requested that Ezra bring the Torah (Book of the Law of Moses) and read it to them. Ezra complies with their request. He brought the Torah (or a portion of it as the Law of Moses includes the first five books of the Old Testament) before the people and began to read from it. It’s important to note who attended the reading of Scripture. The narrator tells us that both men and women were present so that everyone who could hear with understanding was there.

                Since we’re hearing this reading during Epiphany, it is appropriate to think in terms of this being a revelatory moment. It is a moment when the people who have returned from exile, together with those who had remained in the region, both men and women, desired to hear a word from God. It’s not that Ezra called them together so he could offer a sermon. They asked him to bring a word to them so they could know what God had in store for them. They initiated the event. We’re told that he read from the Torah from early in the morning to midday, “and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law” (Neh. 8:3). It was a very long service, but the people were attentive to the reading. They stayed focused because they wanted to understand the scriptures. This is a good word, I believe, for modern Christians. We needn’t stand out in the sun for hours on end listening to a read of Scripture, but being attentive to the Word is a good thing. Perhaps more Scripture in worship would be a good thing (effectively interpreted, of course), along with, more adult Bible study opportunities!

                Verse 4, which the lectionary omits, tells us that Ezra used a wooden platform for this event. It also tells us who stood with him. While these names might be meaningless to us, as Kathleen O’Connor points out, for Jewish readers, the lists in verses 4 and 7, “have immense importance, because they name witnesses and supporters of Ezra present at the reading” [Feasting on the Word, p. 269]. When we pick things back up in verse 5, it is as if the narration has restarted. The narrator tells us that when Ezra—standing on a platform so everyone could see and hear him—opened the book of the Law, the people stood up. Why did they stand up? Could it be a sign of respect for the word being read? In some Christian traditions, the people stand when the Gospel is read as a sign of respect for the Gospel.

                When Ezra began to read the Word of God (book of the Law), he first prayed (blessed Yahweh, “the great God,” and the people responded with two Amens, while lifting their hands. Then, they bowed their heads so that they faced the ground. Since the Torah describes the covenant God made with the people, this act of worship on the part of the people serves as a reaffirmation of the covenant relationship between God and the people. In verse 7, which the lectionary omits, we’re given the names of people, including Levites, who assisted Ezra in interpreting/teaching the message found in the law. In other words, after Ezra read, his ministry partners taught bible studies. Then in verse 8, the reading continues with the narrator telling us that as the teachers read the Law and interpreted it, the people understood the message of the scripture reading. As a sidebar here, I think this is another reminder to those who think the Bible is easy to understand, that it does help to have trained interpreters to help people understand. One of the big issues of our day is that the overwhelming percentage of people in the pews are biblically illiterate. It takes more than a fifteen-minute sermon or even a forty-five-minute one (in other words, I’m not impressed by long-winded preachers who claim to teach the Bible verse by verse but ignore context and critical tools) to help overcome this illiteracy.

                    When we come to verse 9, Ezra is joined on the platform by the governor, Nehemiah. You might say that this is the moment that the government gives its approval to the priestly efforts. He joined Ezra, now identified as a priest and scribe, along with the Levites taught the people. As to who is speaking at this moment is uncertain. It appears that this is a joint effort, but perhaps we should read the message that comes next being a word from the governor. Thus, Nehemiah declares to the people: “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” Nehemiah gave them this message because the people began to weep as they heard this word from God. In other words, now that they had heard a word from the Lord it was time to celebrate. That they could hear the reading of Scripture, something that perhaps had not been available to them for many years, in their own city was reason to celebrate. The instructions continue: “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord, and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Yes, celebrate because “the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Might we hear in this reading a reminder that the worship of God is life-giving? It’s not entertainment, it is an opportunity to be connected to God. Might we hear in this reading a reminder that both Word and Sacrament are necessary if we are to be connected to God and the people of God? W. Carter Lester offers this word worth pondering as we consider this reading from Nehemiah 8:

When we gather together as God’s people, when we are conscious of coming into the presence of the living and holy God, when we center our worship on God’s Word, when we offer all of ourselves to God, we cannot help but be changed over time. We gather to give glory to God and to have God make a difference in us so that we can be sent to make a difference in God’s world.  [Feasting on the Word, p. 270].

 The people gathered and experienced the presence of God, which was transformative. Might this be true of us as well as we gather as the people of God to worship.