In 587 BCE the city of Jerusalem … and the Jewish Temple … were destroyed by the army of Nebuchadnezzar, and the brightest and the best of the Jewish people were shipped off into exile in Babylon. Fifty years later King Cyrus of Persia defeated the Babylonians and freed the Israelites to return to their home. It was an act of restoration and renewal, but the exiles returned to a city that had been devastated … and their social and religious structure of those who had remained behind had also been shattered. To survive their exile the Jews in Babylon had strengthened the practice of their faith, while those who had remained in Israel had relaxed theirs. Thus, the story in our first reading this morning is about the priest Ezra reading the Torah to ALL the people of Jerusalem as the city was being rebuilt, and it forms the backdrop for the reading from Luke’s gospel this morning.
3 Epiphany
January 24, 2016
In the name of the God of all Creation,
The God alive in each of us as God was alive in Jesus,
And the power of God known in the Spirit.
Amen.
January 24, 2016
In the name of the God of all Creation,
The God alive in each of us as God was alive in Jesus,
And the power of God known in the Spirit.
Amen.
