Building and Rebuilding: Chlese Henderson
The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:
In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.
They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said:
“Lord, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
“They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”
I was cupbearer to the king. (Nehemiah 1: 1-11)
My small group has been studying the Book of Jeremiah, and this week was my turn to deliver our monthly homily. As I flipped through the chapters we’ve discussed in small group trying to figure out what I wanted to write about, one word kept standing out to me - “rebuild”.
The whole book of Jeremiah is about a man relying on the strength of God to go out and rebuild something sacred and precious to his people. In our group we’ve talked at great lengths about Nehemiah’s holiness and different examples of it, often citing as one of these examples him being obedient to God’s call. But we never technically read God “calling” Nehemiah to do anything.
Unlike other books in the Bible which are written in a way that gives God a direct voice, this book is written nearly entirely from Nehemiah’s point of view. And from his point of view, we see no visions, no dreams, no burning bushes, no angels. He is definitely blessed, but we do not see him being singularly called, a “chosen one” of sorts. Again, throughout scripture, we encounter several times the narrative of a call - Abraham is called, Moses is called, Isaiah is called, the apostles are called personally and directly. Yet Nehemiah feels, perhaps more confidently than any of the people I just mentioned, that the overwhelming undertaking of rebuilding the wall of a ruined Jerusalem is a task that he must take responsibility for.
I’m saying all of this because when coming across that word “rebuild,” it made me wonder, how did Nehemiah know that rebuilding was what he was supposed to do?
As Nehemiah prays to God in ch 1, he reminds God of his own words - “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’”
I love the book of Nehemiah, because I feel like it depicts so well the call and response of faith that we still experience as followers of God today. Most of us do not hear a booming voice or have prophetic dreams but we all know that God still calls us to do his will. We find this through spending time in prayer and learning from scripture in order to know what God wants from us and what he wants for us. Nehemiah knows to go to Jerusalem and help rebuild because he believes in God’s promise that even if his people were exiled to the farthest horizons, he would bring them back there.
I also think that we often receive our call in another, perhaps less consistently reliable, but still discernible way. Verse 4 says “When I heard these things (about the Jewish remnant and Jerusalem) I sat down and wept.
Part of Nehemiah’s call are his tears.
Definitely over this past year as we’ve slowly watched the Methodist Church split apart, but even before that, we have talked a lot about the decay that the American Church finds itself in. And we’ve heard people both inside and outside of our group ask “What are we supposed to do? How do we help? How do we fix this? How do we rebuild?”
I think that Christians often find themselves paralyzed and overwhelmed trying to answer these questions. Without very specific direction from God, how do we know what we should do, what approach to take, what to say, and to whom?
This past Sunday, my husband Jon gave a homily about this passage in Matthew which says:
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.””
In this passage, Peter proclaims for the first time that Jesus is the Messiah, and Jesus declares that he will build his church on this proclamation.
I sometimes think that when talking about our concerns for the Church, we start to ask the wrong questions. Not because they are bad questions, but because when we ask them, amidst our concern or our worry, we forget that it is not we, but Jesus who builds this church. I want us to always remember first and foremost, as Nehemiah remembered God’s words, that God will take care of and build his Church. And that even though we do not know the plans, what we can always do is pray and fast and read scripture, so that when God does call us with or without specifics, we feel equipped to pick up some tools and build alongside him.
I pray that this week and onward when you may feel overwhelmed or unsure about what God is calling you to do, that you wouldn’t wait only on those large signs, but that you would pay heed to those small things, your tears, or your joy, the plainest needs of your neighbor, an opportunity to use your gifts, or the simplest promises of God tucked between passages of scripture. Amen.
Chlese Henderson is a Wesley alum and former intern. She is an artist running a shop with her sister Camellia, and in her free time she enjoys watching shows with friends, sewing, crocheting, and sharing her art with the world. She also currently works as a sewist at Garden Baby in Ruston. Chlese is a faithful exemplar and a beloved member of the Wesley community. We think of her as a saint.