Devotion • November 2
Today’s Scripture Reading
Nehemiah 1:1–11
The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capital, one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah; and I asked them about the Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They replied, “The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.” When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments; let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.’ They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!” At the time, I was cupbearer to the king. (NRSV)
Reflection
The destruction stuns: Bakhmut and Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities; Zikim and other kibbutzim in southern Israel; virtually all of Gaza; Turkey’s Gaziantep province following last February’s earthquakes; and, in our beloved Chicago, condemned buildings and abandoned homes in neighborhoods many of us fear and avoid. War, evil, indifference, carnage.
In 445 BC, Jerusalem faced a similar fate. The Jews had just returned from seventy years of Babylonian exile and lived in a city — Jerusalem — whose walls and gates were destroyed. It was a city but a broken one. Nehemiah, an Israeli who was an aide to the Persian king, is the person God used to rebuild Jerusalem, brick by brick and resident by resident. Nehemiah’s courage and entrepreneurial initiative not only resurrected Jerusalem’s physical structures but also infused its residents with pride and a shared welfare.
Where are today’s Nehemiahs?
The answer: All around us, and we could always use more.
Three years ago, the Chicago Sunday Evening Club, a 100-year-old Chicago Christian organization that I co-chair, established the Nehemiah Grants to support faith-based Chicago organizations that strive to build our city. We have awarded more than $300,000 to 50 nonprofits. The organizations are typically small with little to no overhead that put their faith into concrete action. A few examples of this good work include helping those who were incarcerated learn about, and then get, jobs in the food service industry; providing youth after-school programs in Edgewater; and supporting new refugee families in Chicago. So much to do ... so much to rebuild.
We don’t have a choice.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for showing how one person with faith — Nehemiah — rebuilt a city. Please help us to use the courage, strength, and faith you give us to do the same today. Amen.
Written by Phil Calian, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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