A True Lay Leader

Sermon given at Sydenstricker UMC 1/27/19

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^NRS Nehemiah 1:4 When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. ⁵ I said, "O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments; ⁶ let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. ⁷ We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses. ⁸ Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; ⁹ but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.' ¹⁰ They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. ¹¹ O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!" At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.

Today we want to spend some time talking about Nehemiah. Now Nehemiah is the central figure in the story today. He was governor of Judea somewhere around the time of Artaxerxes of Persia ruling all of that part of the world. This would have been around 450 BC. History has authenticated that he was a real person. Nehemiah was the cupbearer for the King. In other words, it was his job to assure that the King was not poisoned, often having to sip the wine first before the King to assure it was ok. This position would make a person very important to the King and the court and would allow someone to have intimate access to the King. He was not at the start a person who ruled, rather, he was a servant in a position to be the most giving of all people.

Nehemiah was maybe the first layperson who stepped up into the role of leader of the church and I believe set the example for us of what a leader, a true lay leader looks like. Nehemiah was a Jew in a place where practicing his faith was likely difficult, even though we know that the Babylonians allowed the Jewish people to practice their faith. We have numerous stories that indicate that this ebbed and flowed at times. Stories like the story of Daniel and Shaddrach, Meshach and Abednego, stories of Esther and then this story of Nehemiah. From them we can see that there were constantly forces against them and yet God allowed them to prevail.  

Therefore, the first order of things for Nehemiah is prayer. When he heard that, the Jews in Israel were suffering, that the Temple walls were falling down and being used in non-sacred ways, he cried out in agony to God. Nehemiah bows down and prays to God to make good on the promise that God made to Moses, that the people would be scattered to the nations but when the faithful prayed, God would return them. So Nehemiah prays that even though the world around the Temple is in trouble, Nehemiah asks God to fix it. Whether Nehemiah intended to be the fixer at that moment or God sent him into the fray, we do not know. What we do know is that God answered the prayer. Nehemiah was faithful in being a praying servant to God and a faithful and dutiful servant to his master, which allowed his voice to be heard.

From this point, the story takes several interesting twists. First, Nehemiah shares his desire with the King and is sent by Artaxerxes to rebuild the city walls and gates. Once he is there, even though the opposition is against him, he reminds the people that God is with them and as they submit to the will of God, the gates and walls began to be rebuilt.  In fact, in the face of opposition from those living in the land, Nehemiah was able to rebuild the walls of the city in 52 days. Under his twelve-year rule, he repopulated the city with the Hebrew people, released them from their debt and did that with justice and righteousness. He fed the hungry and gave new life to the poor. Where others had taken great tax and interest from the people, Nehemiah sacrificed things for himself so that others might have more.

Once his work was done, he returned to the King. The story takes an interest twist in that he is sent back to Judea to find that the people had fallen away from God and so he institutes order. This whole story is best read by reading Nehemiah and Ezra together since both men were likely in the land at the same time to do the same work that needed to be done.

So what can we learn from Nehemiah? First, that he was a prayerful man. He worshipped God in a personal way by constantly praying. It is said that he prayed and fasted for days in humble obedience to God. God pays attention when we are intentional about prayer. God pays attention when we are intentional about worshipping God and listens intently to our prayers. Nehemiah is a prayerful, diligent man of God and so when Nehemiah in that time of prayer, asks God to answers, God provides them. What that means is that if we become prayerful like Nehemiah, God will speak to us. God wants us to be in communication with God. What is your pray life like? Do you pray every once in a while or when you need something and think nothing of communicating with God at any other times? Or are you in constant prayer with God. Thanking God for the things that happen and asking God to intervene for others, all the while putting self-second to the will of God for others? The latter is the kind of prayer that Nehemiah demonstrates for us. Let us learn from it and begin a life of prayer.

Nehemiah cared about those who were in need. When he first learned of what was happening in Judah, he fasted, prayed, and used his position to share his desire with the King. When he arrived in Judah and realized that the common people were being heavily taxed and poverty was everywhere, he changed the paradigm. He shared all he had and then shamed the leaders to share what they had. Debts were repaid and the people were welcomed at his table. How do we share the abundance that we have? We so often like to remind ourselves what we do not have or where we fall short. But the truth is we have much to be thankful for. While the homeless struggle with the cold at night, we snuggle in our warm beds. When we discovered that people were struggling because of the furlough, we stepped up. Yes, there is an abundance and yes, we can share it with the world. Though I am aware that someone did clean out all the old stuff in their pantry and bring it to be given to those in need. If you do not want it because it is old and needs to be thrown away, do not bring it for those less fortunate. Be like Nehemiah and give away the governors share of the meal, the best meats and the best wines. Hmmm – that might mean as followers of God we practice radical hospitality.

When we find ourselves lifted up into leadership positions, we need to realize that those positions are for us to lead by example, to glorify God and not to let our egos think we now are something special. Just as Nehemiah never forgot that he was the cupbearer for the King, we must never forget the roots of where we came from. This means that we serve a great God and the people that we are called upon to lead. That is what makes a great leader, a great leader. As laity, we are called to witness, to serve and to share the example that Jesus established for us as we journey through this life.

The example that Nehemiah sets for us in this story is important as we begin the process of being good disciples. I love what the Florida conference set down as the model for laity and lay leading in the congregations of Florida. They remind us that we must have character that exemplifies the model of Nehemiah and Jesus. We must respect each other, treating each other with integrity, compassion regardless of where we have come from, our backgrounds or our lives. We are called to intentional pursue spiritual growth and renewal of body, mind and spirit, setting aside time each day to deepen our relationship with God. True Christian laity earnestly seek the will of God for the church and then work diligently, with tenacity and respect for the view of others, to bring about the changes they are led by God to bring.

Just as Nehemiah found a way to be a servant leader in this time of his calling, we need to be servant-leaders, seeking the good of the kingdom rather than our power or status. We need to make our decisions for the greater good of the church rather than our own preferences. We need to be future-oriented, not looking back even while we celebrate our past accomplishments.

Just as Nehemiah lifts up those around him in identifying those in leadership and I suspect, spends time creating new leaders, we need to work to create in our own circles new leaders. The life of the laity is an important role in the life of the church and the church fails when the laity fail to step up and do. This church is full of great laity who are willing to pitch in and help when necessary. Let us step up and be true lay leaders who share the love of God with the world around us.