In today’s lesson in Nehemiah, we see that the attention of an entire nation is focused on a major celebration. It was the seventh month, Tishri (our September/October).
People from towns throughout Israel have gathered in one place, the water gate outside the Temple at Jerusalem (7:73) to celebrate their identity as people of God.
The celebration began with the blowing of trumpets to call the people to remember the many saving deeds of the Lord. And the text states they were all standing as they listened to the reading of the Law of Moses from early morning to midday.
This is remarkable. They listened to the reading of the scriptures for about five hours. Imagine yourself standing attentively for five hours listening to the reading of the Bible.
As the people listened once more of the story of their deliverance from bondage in Egypt, and the long journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land (Leviticus 23), they started weeping. They were reminded who and whose they were as God’s people.
They knew that while God was faithful, they had failed God and their heritage. They recognized their sin, and were overcome with grief. They had not held fast to the very foundation of their identity, and they wept.
God’s law brought tears to their eyes, grief to their hearts, and their knees to the ground. And because of their repentant hearts, God’s love raised them to forgiveness and joy. “Do not mourn or weep, for this day is holy to the Lord,” declares Nehemiah (v. 9), “for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (v. 10). This became one of the turning points in the life of the people of God.
In our New Testament lesson, Jesus, too, had a turning point in his life. After being baptized by John, he went to the synagogue and there, he told them he was the messiah that the prophet Isaiah was talking about.
How the people reacted to his words was a premonition of what will happen to him three years later. It was a celebration, and at the same time, a sobering moment for Jesus, for he knew there will be some people who cannot, and will not accept him as the Messiah.
Some of us, too, have our own “turning points”. Some of these turning points were times of crisis when we experienced helplessness and hopelessness due to overwhelming circumstances; when we faced problems shattering our perception of who and whose we are. And having gone through it, we decided to give our lives to God, and that changed the whole perspective of our lives.
For some, their turning points were times of celebrations when they felt God had blessed their lives. And they felt utterly grateful that it changed their outlook in life, and helped define who they are and whose they are.
All these turning points in our lives, whether it be in times of helplessness or in times of celebration, are periods of renewal and strength from the Lord.
Those are the moments when we feel God’s nearness, giving us the courage to continue and to grow in renewed relationship. God’s abiding love and guidance restores our hope and enhances our faith.
I visited one time a couple who just celebrated their wedding anniversary. They told me with pride they were married for 60 years. The husband shared with me about the time when they got married, the wonderful times they have, and how they celebrated life together for 60 years. He shared with me his gratefulness to God for bringing them together. I think most of those who are married can say that our weddings are also turning points in our lives.
A week after I solemnized a wedding of a young couple, I received the following thank you note from the bridegroom: “Dear Reverend, I want to thank you for the beautiful way you brought my happiness to a conclusion.” You can read it either way.
Also, you and I will never forget of the time when we had flooding here in Dumaguete. And this was followed by the earthquake. Those were times when we can say that for many, those were turning points in their lives. And many lives would never be the same again.
I remember one person saying, “It made me think of my life, and how I need to change it.” Another also told me, “This is a reminder to me that I need to take care of God’s creation. We are not to abuse what God has given us.”
As you examine your lives today, you, too, have experienced events that define your identity as a child of God; experiences that you felt God’s presence in your own lives. You, too, can say that you have some turning points when you realized that God is calling you for ministry, not necessarily to become an ordained clergy, but to do the various ministries that will help bring about God’s reign in our midst.
In the words of Isaiah, it is a ministry that will “bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)
A young boy of nine was sitting in his father’s workshop watching his dad work on a harness. “Someday, Father,” said Louis, “I want to be a harness-maker, just like you.” “Why not start now?” said the father. He took a piece of leather and drew a design on it. “Now” he said, “take the hole-punch, and hammer out this design, but be careful that you don’t hit your hand.” Excited, the boy began to work, but when he hit the hole-punch, it flew out of his hand, and pierced his eye! He lost his sight in that eye. Later, sight in the other eye failed, too. Louis was now totally blind.
A few years later, Louis was sitting in the family garden when a friend handed him a pinecone. As he ran his sensitive fingers over the cone, an idea came to him. He became enthusiastic, and began to create an alphabet of raised dots on paper so that the blind could feel and interpret.
Thus, Louis Braille in 1818 opened up a whole new world for the blind.
What is it that God intends to do with our lives today? It is this: To turn our lives around, and open up a whole new world for you and for me.
He came to bring us out of our poverty that has long held us down, and to restore our sight that you and I may see God’s glory in our midst.
