They were finally
going home! In 583 BC, the southern kingdom, Judah, was conquered by Babylon
(Iraq) and sent into exile. Years later, King Cyrus of Persia (Iran) conquered
Babylon (some things never change) and then decided the Jewish exiles could go
home.
When they returned
to Jerusalem, Nehemiah their leader found 2 major problems:
1) The walls of Jerusalem were torn down. It had
to be rebuilt or they would be captured again. Must reestablish the life of
Jerusalem. Amazing 52 days!
2) And, they needed to be reconnected to
their faith. Most didn’t even speak
Hebrew anymore. They found a copy of the Torah – what we call the Pentateuch or
first 5 books of the Bible. He had Ezra
the high priest read it for 6 hours.
(you think this is long?) The
people were so moved that they wept.
They had forgotten who they were – what they were called to be.
After Nehemiah and
Ezra, the Jewish people developed 2 places of worship
1)
The
Rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem where prayers and sacrifices would be offered
2)
Synagogues:
wherever there were at least 10 families, a place was built for prayers and the
reading of the Law & Prophets. There the community would gather every
Friday night – to pray, to hear the stories and remember who they were.
Imagine the young
Rabbi standing before them. He goes to
the Tabernacle holding the Sacred Scrolls, he picks out the prophet Isaiah and
begins to read; The spirit of the
Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to
bring: Glad tidings to the poor – liberty to captives – recovery of sight to
the blind – let the oppressed go free
2 meanings
- The time of the
Messiah has come!!!
- and a challenge
for his followers! For the Spirit of the Lord is upon us – we have been anointed
in the Sacrament of Confirmation to:
Bring glad tidings
to the poor - not just materially poor but spiritually poor – who have lost God
Bring liberty to
captives – all held captive by sin
Recovery of sight
to the blind – make aware once again of God’s presence
A year of favor - a
time of blessing & forgiveness
But, like Jesus –
we will be opposed:
-
2
senators questioned the suitability of a judge, because he is a member of the K
of C.
-
Another
senator questioned another Catholic candidate: ‘Catholic Dogma lives loudly
with you-that’s a concern.
-
Wife of
VP is criticized for teaching in a Christian school.
-
Catholic
high school students and their families threatened due to a misleading video
clip. It was not an accident that this took place at the March for Life.
-
Pro-lifers are told they have no
place in the state of New York, because “that’s not who New Yorkers are.” Now
life can be ended up to the moment of birth.
Let me simply say
this: Don’t be afraid – the Messiah has come – the Lord is with us – the Spirit
of the Lord is upon us - we know who we are as children of God - be proud of your
Catholic faith – don’t apologize for what you believe and know to be true - be glad
and rejoice – for your reward in heaven will be great!
