— Joyce Day, Pastor of Congregational Care, St. James UMC
For almost two years now, I’ve been writing about how we see grace displayed through the Scriptures. Recently, as I was journaling through the book of Ezra, I saw the opposite. In several passages in this book of the Bible we see (I believe) what it looks like when grace is absent. It’s a sad sight, indeed.
This book tells the story of the first years after the exiles have returned from Babylonia. They have been given the go-ahead by King Cyrus of Persia to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, and so they set to it. However, these newly returned exiles aren’t the only game in town. Not everyone was shipped off to Babylonia. The poorest of the poor, the least skilled, the unwanted were left to scrape together best as they could a new life. Also, because the land was now unprotected, some of the neighboring tribes began to move in. So, when the exiles returned, they were met by these folks who had laid claim to the land.
In chapter 4, some of these folks asked if they could help with this rebuilding project. After all, they said, we worship the same God and have been worshipping God all this time while you exiles were trapped in a foreign land. The reply they received held no grace whatsoever: “You’ll have no part with us in building a house for our God. We alone will build….” Now, we don’t know the reasons behind this refusal, but it set into play a series of events that led to great hostility, discord, and hatred.
One of the events that followed this ungracious reply was itself an example of ugliness created by a lack of grace. Those who were spurned turned around and wrote a letter to the new king of Persia (King Artaxerxes) warning the king that the people of the old Jerusalem and the old temple had been dangerous rebels. In their words, “You will discover in the records that this is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, and that it has been in revolt over a long period of time. As a result, this city was laid waste.” Therefore, they said, this new group ought not to be allowed to rebuild.
In other words, the ancestors of this people were bad so the current generation must also be bad. Have you ever judged someone because of who their family was? Or even simply because they themselves have misbehaved in the past? Grace offers second chances. Grace believes that people can do better. Grace does not hold the past as a weapon over someone’s head. The lack of grace we find in this letter goes against all these things and, once again, this lack of grace leads to ugly, unhealthy consequences.
Finally, we see a lack of grace in Ezra himself. This part of the story begins in chapter 9. Some of “the people of Israel” have broken the old law about not intermarrying with the foreigners. This law had been created many years earlier because at that time the newly created nation of Israel was too immature to face the temptation of idolatry that such intermarrying led them to. After such intermarrying, they had begun to worship false idols and as part of that worship do terrible things like human sacrifices. According to the prophets of the time, it was this idolatry that led to the destruction of both the northern and southern kingdoms. The consequences of their sin had been horrific. Is it possible that they have now learned their lesson? Is it possible that they have become more spiritually mature and stronger in their faith?
We will never know because Ezra chose to face the situation without grace. Even though there is absolutely no indication that these current intermarriages had led to any kind of sinfulness at all, Ezra demanded that these foreign wives and the children born of these marriages be sent away. Once again, the actions and misdeeds of the past were used to judge the people of the present. In the process, apparently innocent women and children were made to suffer.
When we refuse to offer grace to one another, when we refuse to imagine a better future, we too cause great suffering. That is not the way of Christ. Is there anyone in your life from whom you are withholding grace? Is there someone you are judging based on past behavior in spite of visible signs of transformation? Offering grace does not mean that we need to put ourselves in danger by fully trusting someone who has harmed us in the past. What it does mean, though, is that we are not to expect the worst from someone and so determine our response to them based on that expectation.
God has offered us all truly amazing grace. We see that time and again in the Scriptures and we see it in our own lives. How, then, can we not offer grace to one another? May we learn from the book of Ezra the dangers of refusing to do so.