Lenten Reflection for March 5th

If you enjoy learning about history, I would highly encourage you to take time to read through the Book of Nehemiah in the Scriptures. The book is written as Nehemiah’s first-person memoir, detailing his journey from royal cup-bearer to the Persian King, to governor of Judah where he was tasked with rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and re-populating the city after if had been decimated by the Babylonians.

In chapter 8 of Nehemiah, we read how he, Ezra and the Levites gathered the Jewish community together to listen to the Laws of Moses and through translation, understand the Scriptures they as a people had been given. Hearing the words read out to them affected all those who were listening and could understand, calling them to repentance for not following the Law God had established for them. Nehemiah writes, “…all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.” (Nehemiah 8:9).

Ezra, Nehemiah and the Levite priests stop them from weeping and mourning, they tell the people that this day when they finally received and understood the word of the Lord is to be considered a holy day. They were told to go and feast with each other to celebrate with great rejoicing!

God gives us the Word in Christ, Jesus says this to us in John’s Gospel, “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11) When we open the Bible to receive the Word of God, we can also pray to ask the Lord for Understanding. In dwelling in His Word, we too can experience great Joy!

For our younger brothers and sisters in Christ:

Sometimes the Bible is referred to as ‘the living Word’, In Saint Peter’s first letter in the Bible he  calls it “...God’s living message…” (1 Peter 1:23 ICB Translation).  This may be a bit of a confusing term, how can a mere book be ‘alive’? 

There are a few examples of how the phrase ‘the living Word’ defines Scripture. One is that with any other books, whether novels, school books, or other books we read, we can get all the information we need from them and then not need to read them again. The Bible however, can give advice to us when we are looking for answers, can inspire us when we need hope. The Bible has been read by millions of people for over a thousand years, and it helped people in their faith all those years ago just as it can give us help and comfort when we need it and read our Bible today.

God’s Word to us is something to rejoice and to celebrate! Jesus gives us this gift, he says,“I have told you these things so that you can have the same joy I have. I want your joy to be the fullest joy.” (John 15:11 ICB Translation) The next time you open your Bible to read, take a moment to pray and ask God to help you understand what He is saying to you through His words and to give you Joy!

God bless you!