Returning From The Covid Exile

October 17, 2021 Sermon - Returning from Exile (1st Normal Public Service after 18 month Covid Pandemic)

It is tremendous to be able to gather for the first time in 18 months. With the exception of the baptism service on August 1 of this year, we have not met together, in person, as the gathered body of Church at the Mission for a year and a half. Anybody see that coming? Not me.

And during this 1 1/2 years, this difficult, painful 18 months, a lot happened. Covid happened, forcing us all into lockdown for extended periods of time.

A lot of us suffered from the isolation of it all. Days on end of either zero contact or very limited contact if we had a phone. Virtual contact by video if we were fortunate enough to have the internet.

Exile. Not a fun place to be. What is exile? It’s being where you don’t want to be, against your will.

For the Jews, Exile meant being separated from the land they loved, the promised land they had been given by God, but which they lost access to because of their disobedience to God. They were driven out by foreign powers by God’s design.

If you’re familiar with the Old Testament prophets like Isaiah and Ezekiel and Jeremiah, you know that as prophets they called out the people of Israel who were in exile;

they called them to repentance, called them to return to God so as to be healed and restored spiritually, as so that they could be able to inhabit the land once again they had been given.

Nehemiah stands out in part because he was a regular guy, not a priest like Ezra nor a prophet like Malachi.

He served the Persian king in a secular position before leading a group of Jews to Jerusalem in order to rebuild the city walls.

Nehemiah’s expertise in the king’s court equipped him for the political and physical reconstruction necessary for those from Israel who remained after 70 years to survive.

Under Nehemiah’s leadership, the Jews withstood opposition, and came together to accomplish their goal. Nehemiah led by example, giving up a respected position in the palace for hard labor in a politically insignificant district.

Nehemiah’s humility before God gave an example for the people. He did not claim glory for himself but always gave God the credit for his successes.

Nehemiah recorded the reconstruction of the wall of Jerusalem, Judah’s capital city.

Together, he and Ezra, who led the spiritual revival of the people, directed the political and religious restoration of the Jews in their homeland after the Babylonian captivity.

Nehemiah’s life provides a fine study on leadership. He overcame opposition from outsiders as well as internal turmoil.

He exercised his administrative skills in his strategy to use half the people for building while the other half kept watch for the Samaritans who threatened attack.

As governor, Nehemiah negotiated peace among the Jews who were unhappy with Persian taxes. He showed a steadfast determination to complete his goals.

Accomplishing those goals resulted in a people encouraged, renewed, and excited about their future.

So Nehemiah has a lot to say about returning from Exile. And as we consider the struggle and plight of the people of God who were in exile, I think we can glean a lot of valuable insights.

1. Exile wasn’t the end of the world. Even when we’re in exile we can and are empowered by God to grow

When the Israelites first learned that they were going into exile, it was the worst possible news. They thought it was the end of the world. But it was only the end of the world as they knew it.

For the Chosen people, the reason for their exile given in Scripture was that they had continually disobeyed God, despite a ton of dire warnings, and had drifted into the worship of false gods.

Their hearts moved far away from the God who loved them and called them to Himself.

For us during the pandemic, although all kinds of people have given all kinds of explanations of why they think the pandemic happened, we have no sound Scriptural basis to claim any such knowledge without being presumptuous.

Among a whole lot of points is the fact that the pandemic impacted literally the entire world. Everyone suffered.

Our own Pastor Arleen and her husband Paulo were hospitalized due to Covid.

A friend of mine from the 2017 Invictus Games Chaplaincy Team died back on September 20 from Covid.

The entire world has been impacted by this plague. And so each of us can choose to learn something from our experience.

An important thing to note is that even while they were in exile, God never for one second abandoned His people.