Blame It On Dante

It's Dante's fault. Really. Actually it's Dan Brown's fault. Ok, it's my fault. I apologize for no posts so far this week, but I am trying to pin it on someone else. Dan Brown's new novel is Inferno, whose central character (other than Robert Langdon, of course) is 100 Cantos of pure literary genius--the Divine Comedy. And more specifically, the first 33 Cantos, otherwise known as Inferno. 

I know, I know. Dan Brown is no friend of the Church, and sadly that hasn't changed in this book. But he can write a cheesy page turner that weaves in art, history, architecture, literature, and some of my favorite cities like no one else--at least no one else I've read. High literature it is not. The plot, like others before, is wacky and extremely far-fetched. A lark! But I quite enjoyed it. It's fiction, people!  No matter what the author himself claims. Call it a guilty pleasure.  

I will soon return to the great book, resuming our trek through the Bible--restarting at the Book of Tobit.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Over the past week, we had leadership lessons from Hezekiah and the end of the exile. Ezra and Nehemiah, each in their own way, oversees the beginnings of the restoration of Jerusalem. Ezra a religious leader; Nehemiah a civic leader. No matter how many times His chosen people stray from the law and from faithfulness of heart, the Lord repeatedly "lets Himself be won over" when the Israelites humbly ask for His forgiveness and help. What a beautiful image.  Here are this week's links:

• 2 Chronicles 17-28
• 2 Chronicles 29-36
• Ezra 1-6
• Ezra 7-10
• Nehemiah 1-7
• Nehemiah 8-13

And here is the link for Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival.

Enjoy and have a great week!

Nehemiah 8-13

Nehemiah is in some ways a terribly confusing book. In reading the notes that accompany my translation, it appears that many of the events recounted in this book, including the life of Nehemiah himself, took place before the events in the Book of Ezra. On top of that, some sections of Nehemiah fit together with sections of Ezra, and are otherwise out of place here. It is not, in other words, a straight through narrative, but rather a bit of a patchwork. But that's ok--there are still some nuggets in here.

The Israelites gather together to hear Ezra (right, Ezra, to Nehemiah) read and interpret the Mosaic law. The people are brought to tears, but Ezra instructs them to be joyful:

Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength!

There is great rejoicing and celebration.  But the text quickly shifts to a continuation of the mourning resulting from the intermarriage of the Israelites and the "people of the land". As a rebuke of sorts, Ezra recounts for the regretful people the story of God's favor and mercy toward the Israelites--beginning with the story of Abram, the slavery in Egypt, the rescue through Moses, the wandering in the desert, the Promised Land, the Israelites' repeated turning away from God, and His boundless patience and mercy:

But you are a God of pardons, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in mercy; you did not forsake them.

Even through the exile from Jerusalem, God did not forget His people, but allowed a remnant to survive. That surviving remnant renews the promise of the covenant, pledging an oath to honor God and His Law.

Nehemiah 1-7

Nehemiah is a very interesting figure, a complement of sorts to Ezra. Ezra was very much a religious leader for post-exile Israelites, setting a powerful example of righteous conduct and insisting on strict adherence to the Mosaic law. Nehemiah is more of a civic leader to this same group. He calls to mind Joseph. Like Joseph, Nehemiah is a trusted servant of a king--cupbearer to Artaxerxes, king of Persia. Nehemiah learns of the struggles of the remnant of the Israelites in captivity (here for the first time referred to as "the Jews"), who are trying to re-establish and rebuild Jerusalem. He mourns and prays and, soon after, has the opportunity to intercede with Artaxerxes on their behalf. The king permits Nehemiah to leave his employ to travel to Jerusalem to assist the remnant there. Because of his fondness for Nehemiah, the king richly provisions Nehemiah and the group who accompany him to Jerusalem. 

Arriving in Jerusalem, Nehemiah rallies the people to engage in the rebuilding effort.  Despite the jealousy and intrigue of other communities -- and even some treachery within this remnant itself -- Nehemiah oversees the repair of the great wall around Jerusalem as well as the gates to the city. Nehemiah shows himself to be a faithful servant of God. He is also a dedicated and loving leader to the remnant. For example, he successfully convinces members of the remnant to cease lending money at usurious rates to other Jews, because this has led to poverty and even slavery for some of them. Nehemiah is a bit self-aggrandizing at times, but his heart and his efforts are absolutely in the right place.  

Ezra 7-10

Ezra appears in this section as a major figure among the people of God, during te reign of King Artaxerxes I of Persia. With that king's blessing and support, Ezra leads a band of believers back to Jerusalem to settle there in order to worship God. Ezra is a strong and influential religious leader, holding the people strictly to the law handed down from God to Moses. 

Although this book is generally attributed to the Chronicler, he is believed to have drawn from something called the Memoir of Ezra as one of his sources. This would explain why part of this book is written in the first person voice. Ezra's zeal for obedience to the Law of Moses is understandable. And the fact that he is trying to, in effect, rebuild a once great and numerous people from a small surviving remnant makes clear why he has such a strong aversion to the widespread practice of intermarriage between the Israelites and other peoples. But I must say that I find his own description of his very dramatic reaction to this situation to border on the comical:

When I heard this thing, I tore my cloak and my mantle, plucked hair from my head and beard, and sat there stupefied. . . . I sat there motionless until the evening sacrifice. Then at the time of the evening sacrifice I rose in my wretchedness, and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees, stretching out my hands to the Lord my God. 

Ezra 1-6

The Chronicler continues his narrative of post-exile Israel in this book. The remnant of Israel descending from those captured by Nebuchadnezzar and taken to Babylon are freed by King Cyrus. Cyrus virtually commands them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of the Lord. The narrative recounts a census taken at the time, which reveals just how small this group of believers has been reduced to. But this group resolutely sets about rebuilding the temple--hiring skilled laborers and arranging for the delivery of the necessary raw materials. Over the years, there is interference from citizens and government officials, until finally King Darius, decades after Cyrus, acknowledges the earlier king's original decree and reiterates it in a decree of his own. Thus ensured royal protection and endorsement, and bolstered by the support of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the people rebuild the altar of the Lord. This is cause for much joy and thanksgiving, and the Chronicler describes an especially joyful Passover celebration as the rebuilding continues.

2 Chronicles 29-36

Good kings and not so good kings are at the heart of this last section of 2 Chronicles. Hezekiah is a model king, like his ancestor David, at least until late in his life when he succumbed, for a time, to pride. Josiah, too, was an admirable king. Others, such as Manasseh, Amon, and Zedekiah--well, not so much. These kings, good and bad, demonstrate the gifts and responsibilities of leadership. When the king turns to the Lord in humility and obedience, in joy and thanksgiving, the people follow. And when he turns away,   disobeying God's commands and worshipping other gods, the people he leads do the same. Either way, they lead by example. 

This is a lesson not just for kings, but for leaders of all sorts--business managers, government officials, and, most especially, parents. Do I live in joy and thanksgiving? Do I seek God's help when I need it--as He virtually demands that I do? Do I show trust in Him in my words and actions? Do I strive to be faithful of heart in all that I do? To the extent I don't live this way, I am not being the leader that God calls me to be. 

The story of Manasseh shows that it is never too late to reverse course and become the right kind of leader. Having been defeated, captured, and taken as a prisoner to Babylon, Manasseh undergoes a change of heart:

In this distress, he began to appease the Lord, his God. He humbled himself abjectly before the God of his fathers and prayed to him. The Lord let himself be won over: he heard his prayer and restored him to his kingdom in Jerusalem. Then Manasseh understood that the Lord is indeed God.

Isn't that a great image--that God let himself be won over? I love that expression.