Ezra 6:18-22: Marvels – Part II
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Our eyes, our minds, and our hearts focus on the hot spots of turmoil in so many places around the world. Today we continue to remember that marvels appear when and where we least expect them. Let us continue to petition the LORD for peace everywhere.
We are living through another of those cycles in which some of us believe that not only are they beyond any human measure, they are beyond the need of divine marvels as well. We might look at these modern-day versions of corruption and believe ourselves removed. We may look at the Israelites of Ezra’s day who return to their burned-out city to work for its restoration and think that we would not have erred as they did. We watch as they promise that never again will they forget the gift of Passover which they have received, and we will also watch as we read the New Testament story in Luke 13:10-17 as we see the leader of the synagogue complain because Jesus cures a woman on the Sabbath. On that day the whole crowd rejoiced at the splendid deeds done by him.
As humans, we easily forget our pattern of looking out for self rather than the group. We place ourselves beyond the norm and sometimes attribute gifts to ourselves which rightly belong to God. When we read about these exiles, we know that these Levites will centuries later have fallen into the same corruption for which this tribe now repents. Reflecting on all of this we see that the best safety and surety we can seek is not the amount of money or power we can amass. Our comfort and our state of mind cannot be assured by anything we ourselves command or control. Our cleanliness and lack of corruption do not stem from any rituals we perform or any friends we might have; but rather, we sleep peacefully, we work willingly, we play joyfully and we love openly when we remember well the marvels the Lord has done for us.
Adapted from a Favorite written on October 27, 2009.
The Noontimes 