Becoming Like Christ: Recovering from Displacement and Loss
Wednesday, March 10
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Becoming Like Christ:
Recovering from Displacement and Loss
Ezra 6:1-5
Dr. David Jordan
King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. 2 A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:
Memorandum:
3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:
Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be sixty cubits high and sixty cubits wide, 4 with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. 5 Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God.
– Ezra 6:1-5
From our Lenten scripture for today, let us discern a few lessons about our own loss, restoration, and recovery.
Restoration Takes Time
Notice in this passage how loss and displacement became normalized. Ezra reveals the original decree from Cyrus the Great the first king of the Medes and Persians somehow got lost. The Jewish people had been in exile for over a generation. Their displacement was so thorough and their loss so complete, we can only assume this new generation of their children had completely adapted to a new reality. They had not only be freed. Cyrus had decreed they return to Judea and rebuild their temple in Jerusalem. But few if any responded. Loss is hard. Restoration take time. Repeated disappointments dampen any enthusiasm for potential change.
A return to the ruins of Judea and what remained of the former lives apparently held little realistic interest. Over a hundred years passed before Ezra enters the scene. Ezra is now the cupbearer of the King of the Medes and Persians. So thoroughly have these exiles adjusted to their new normal, they, like Ezra, have become fully integrated into the society, the economy, and the government.
What about us?
Who knows how long our restoration to some kind of normalcy with take. With fits and starts, we experiment with new ways of coping. We adapt as best we can, some more resilient that others, some persistent, others despondent. We have glimmers of hope only to be left confused and disappointed. The same was surely true of the Children of Israel, struggling with their own displacement and loss. Their lessons can be ours.
Recovery Can Be Creative
Loss necessitates recovery. Displacement requires adaptation. Within both of these dynamics, the Judean exiles discovered helpful, creative, even redemptive ways to cope.
They adopted a new name.
Entering exile as Judeans, cruel Babylonian captors slandered their Judean homeland by abbreviating their ethnic heritage with the racial slur for “Judean:” they used the shortened, derisive term “Jew.” The people of exile adapted, adopted and redeemed that attempt to demean them. They began to call themselves Jews during this time, and claimed this term as a positive sign of their resilience. Their adopted name highlighted their courageous persistence in the face of oppression.
They learned a new language.
These Judeans began their exile in 597 BCE speaking Hebrew. Like most people in a new land, they quickly realized the value of clear communication in the common language of their new home. They become bi-lingual. Aramaic was the international language of commerce throughout that part of the Fertile Crescent. This was true for the Assyrian, Babylonian as well as the Persian empires. So just as they adopted their new name, they also became fluent in and comfortable with a new, practical means of communication.[1]
They solidified and expanded their faith stories.
During this crisis of their Jewish heritage, these exiles began to review their stories of faith. They reminded their community in exile and beyond who they were and what they stood for. They compiled, organized, edited and carefully chronicled their history. Exposed to a sophisticated, cosmopolitan culture, they expanded their spiritual conversations, added stimulating ideas and recorded new insights. They shared broadened, sharpened perspectives from prophetic voices. And as a result, this crisis of captivity ultimately generated over two thirds of our current Old Testament scriptures.
They deepened and broadened their understanding of God.
Their sociological crisis also created a faith crisis. From what Walter Brueggemann calls a “theological emergency,” questions of God’s providence, presence and oversight generated a vastly renovated faith. Now, from the tragedy of this Babylonian Captivity, the very coping that kept them going simultaneously provided new ways of thinking, believing and envisioning God’s work in the world.
What about us?
Like our Jewish forebears in exile and their subsequent attempt to return home, restoration takes time. And even then, what once used to be might well feel foreign or shallow. It can be very complicated for a very long time. As our spiritual ancestors did, let us work for healthy friendships, pray for wiser insights, and hope for redemptive identities. Let us strive for clearer communication while we yearn for a deeper faith more attuned to God’s sacred, mysterious work in the world and in us.
To do so will accomplish much. After this strange and challenging year, gaining new understandings, growing healthier theologies and garnering improved relationships will mean this pandemic time will not have been in vain.
May it be so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
[1] This would continue up to and through the time of Jesus. Both he and the disciples used Aramaic as their primary language.
About “Becoming Like Christ” (Weekly Lenten Reflections)
In 2019, we developed a 7-week long series packed full of devotions called “Exploring Humanity and Divinity.” It was about wrestling with our humanity as we seek to be transformed into the likeness of Christ.
After a tumultuous last year, and with tensions high on political, cultural, and social levels, it seems that “wrestling” is just as relevant today as it was two years ago.
In that spirit, we believed it would be healthy to resurrect a similar theme to this year’s Lenten devotional series: Becoming Like Christ.