I wonder if you ever get the feeling that there\u2019s always something getting in the way. Somehow life has become one big obstacle course. Now obstacle races can be fun at a school sports day, and some people enjoy adventure racing over assault courses, but when life itself \u2013 work, family life, friendships, projects, become a relentless exercise in hitting brick walls, then it can wear us down. Over the last month or so we\u2019ve been reading the accounts of Ezra and Nehemiah leading the people of God in the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. This was not always a smooth process for them. Despite the worship, the working together, the concern for social justice, and being centered on God\u2019s word, things did not always go well. There were many obstacles, and these were often people who did not want to see them succeed. These people opposed the rebuilding, and had a variety of weapons at their disposal. One of them was writing letters to the King objecting \u2013 one of which we read part of this morning. <\/p>\n
In the short term this opposition succeeded. As we read on in chapter 4 of Ezra we find the King\u2019s response, which commands the building to stop. The chapter finishes with, \u201cThus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, we also know that the opposition failed in the long run \u2013 the Temple did get rebuilt, and so did the walls despite similar opposition and challenges that Nehemiah faced. So, how did they do it? What can we learn from their example about what we could do when we face obstacles, opposition, challenges, especially as we rebuild after Covid?<\/p>\n
The first thing that I\u2019d like to pick out comes at the beginning of the next chapter of Ezra. The people of God listened to the prophets. We read that Haggai and Zechariah prophesied to the people of God. We have accounts of what they said in the books named after them in the Old Testament. A good summary of it is found in Haggai 1:2-4:<\/p>\n
\u2018This is what the Lord Almighty says: \u201cThese people say, \u2018The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord\u2019s house.\u2019\u201d Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: \u201cIs it a time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses, while this house remains a ruin?\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n
Basically Haggai calls them out. The king\u2019s edict in the letter from chapter 4 had commanded all building on the city to stop, but they\u2019d still built their own houses \u2013 and made them very nice thank you \u2013 while the Temple was still in ruins. They\u2019d become comfortable, and perhaps were hiding behind the edict to give them an excuse not to get on with rebuilding the Temple. <\/p>\n
The second thing I\u2019d like to pick out is prayer. We don\u2019t see this so much in Ezra, but in Nehemiah, in the face of similar opposition to the rebuilding of the city wall, we read this, <\/p>\n
\u201cHear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, we might not be comfortable with the content of the prayer \u2013 it\u2019s not very \u201clove your enemies\u201d, but it is the first thing that Nehemiah does in the face of opposition. He turns to God and tells him how he feels, honestly. He knew that there\u2019s no point hiding true feelings from God \u2013 God knows the heart. <\/p>\n
This emphasis on prayer is picked up in Paul\u2019s letter to the Christians in Ephesus. \u201cpray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.\u201d says Paul. He doesn\u2019t leave any gaps or exceptions. All occasions. Every time. Whatever is going on. All kinds of prayers and requests \u2013 honest, cheeky, small, big, angry, sad, happy, – all kinds. <\/p>\n
The third aspect of dealing with opposition I want to focus on is the practical. The people got on with it. In Ezra 5, in verse 1 we get the prophetic kick up the backside, and in verse 2 we get, \u201cThen Zerubbabel and Joshua set to work to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem\u201d They got on with it. In Nehemiah, we read that as the people were rebuilding the city wall they organised guards on the low bits of the wall \u2013 half of the people guarded and half worked on the wall. Even those working had a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. They made practical plans and got on with it. <\/p>\n
So, that was their situation in rebuilding Jerusalem. They faced opposition but overcame it by listening to the prophets, praying, and taking practical steps.<\/p>\n
What about us, as we return and rebuild after Covid. I wonder what opposition or challenges we face? I don\u2019t think that people are writing nasty letters about us to the council complaining about us. So what do we face?<\/p>\n
There are two things that I think that I see, and that I\u2019d to explore a bit this morning. <\/p>\n
The first is the mental health impact of the pandemic. Today is World Mental Health day, and as part of the focus on this, the World Health Organisation has stated, \u201cThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on people\u2019s mental health. Some groups, including health and other frontline workers, students, people living alone, and those with pre-existing mental health conditions, have been particularly affected. And services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders have been significantly disrupted.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is affecting us, our communities, and our church. I want to share some of my story this morning, not to ask for your sympathy or concern particularly, but just to be open. I have lived with bouts of depression and feeling low for at least the last fifteen years. I\u2019m a typical bloke and have resisted going to the doctor about it. During lock down, it got worse, and was accompanied by anxiety. I was praying about it one morning, and got a sense of God looking at me in fond exasperation asking why I was resisting going to see a doctor. So I did. He prescribed some anti-depressants and some online CBT, which I\u2019ve been taking and doing for about three months, and I do feel somewhat better for it. Not completely sorted, but better.<\/p>\n
I prayed about it, I finally listened to what God was saying, and I took practical steps \u2013 I did something about it. I\u2019m not saying that these are the silver bullets to overcome all mental health issues, and I don\u2019t want to over simplify or trivialise complex issues, but it does seem to me that these three approaches, taken together, can be powerful in releasing us from our anxieties and helping us to re-engage in community and church life. <\/p>\n
The second thing that I see is what I\u2019ll call priority changes. I feel a real tension about this one as a church leader. One of the things that lock down did was force many of us to put things down \u2013 particularly those things we did voluntarily. For some it also meant a lot more time at home with family and the opportunity to do things together. For others it meant work going completely insane, working all hours, in horrible conditions. <\/p>\n
For some life got much less busy, and they found that helpful, and as a church leader I want to commend the rediscovery of Sabbath rest and a healthier life balance. For some life got much busier, and they are now exhausted, and as a church leader I want to say \u2013 relax, take some time, recharge, don\u2019t burn out. <\/p>\n
The problem is, that if we all take a step back, then the rebuilding doesn\u2019t happen, and the community life which we value, and which many of us experienced as really important through Covid, will fall apart. <\/p>\n
As a really practical example of this, our AV team has shrunk significantly, and at the moment we don\u2019t have anyone to look after the sound system or Songpro on Sunday November 7th. There is still time to train some folk, but if we don\u2019t, then we\u2019re going to have a problem. I don\u2019t share this to make those who have stepped away feel guilty, or to try and browbeat people into stepping forward, I\u2019m just sharing a challenge we as a church community face across a number of areas in our church life.
\nI don\u2019t know what the answer is. It may be that we do need to do less, and to do what we do more simply. I\u2019m not sure what that would look like. My fear is that folk would miss some of the richness of what we have been able to do, and we would enter into a slightly drawn out death spiral. <\/p>\n
So, what can we do? Well, let\u2019s go back to Ezra and Nehemiah. We can keep our ears open for the prophetic and challenging voices \u2013 is there a sense in which are we comfortable in our panelled homes while the Temple is in ruins? Or are there other things God is saying to us? <\/p>\n
We can pray \u2013 we can share our mixed feelings about all this with God, and pray for guidance, wisdom, and the resources we need to do what God is calling us to do. And we can do the practical stuff \u2013 we can get on with it. <\/p>\n
A few months ago you may recall we did a discipleship survey. I wouldn\u2019t want you to think that it just disappeared into the ether. We have processed the answers, and talked about them at Mission and Discipleship Action Group. It was very encouraging, a lot of positive feedback, and it is helping us think about what we prioritise. One of the encouraging things was a number of people who said that they would like to get involved in different ministries. The problem is, it was an anonymous survey, so I haven\u2019t been able to follow them up. So, if you filled in that survey, and said you\u2019d like to be involved in something, please get in touch so that I can connect you up. And if you didn\u2019t fill in that survey, but there\u2019s an area of church life you would like to serve in, or you feel God might be prompting you to explore, talk to me or Nick, Caroline or Clair. There are plenty of opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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