A Note From Father Eickhoff

January 26, 2025

The first reading today taken from the Book of Nehemiah contains an element that may sound strange to us. The reading tells us that the people upon hearing the Word of God began to weep and that Ezra (the priest-scribe who was proclaiming the Word of God) had to remind the people that they should not cry. The question is: why were the people weeping?

Some background to this passage is helpful in explaining what is going on. The Book of Nehemiah (if you are wondering, Nehemiah is the name of the Jewish governor at the time) takes place after the Exile of the Israelite people from their homes in Jerusalem and Judah. For close to a century the Israelite people had lived scattered among various pagan people who had customs and traditions that were not just different from their own customs and traditions, but in some cases directly contrary to them. It is remarkable that the Israelite people were able to maintain any of their own customs and traditions in such a hostile environment. Yet, living in such an environment did have an effect upon the exile’s way of life. An effect that they did not truly understand or appreciate. It was only when many of the exiles were able to return and rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the Temple of the Lord that they began to understand how many of their customs and traditions they had lost and forgotten. This is made clear to them when the Law of the Lord is read out to the assembled people. Upon this realization the people are filled with sorrow and despair.

Ezra, the priest-scribe, immediately reminds the people that this should not be an occasion for grief, but rather for rejoicing. Yes, it is regrettable that the people have drifted away from following the Law of the Lord. But now they have the ability to return to following God’s law; to restore all their customs and traditions. This is cause for rejoicing. There are similarities to our own situation. Very often we find ourselves in the position of wanting to return to the practice of our Christian Faith, but we hesitate because we fear facing the realization of just how far from God our current living practices are from God’s teaching. No one enjoys the prospect of truly facing up to the fact that how we are currently living our life is contrary to Christ’s teaching. Yet, as this reading today demonstrates to us God would have us rejoice in the prospect of truly living according to His Word, rather then continuously berating ourselves over our previous sins and faults. If today is the day that you make the decision to turn away from your past mistakes and errors, then rejoice that you have the ability to do so.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. Stephen Eickhoff
Pastor