chongs · worship

It’s the clichéd answer on how to spur a church towards corporate unity around a building project: trot out a teaching series on how Ezra and friends rebuilds the temple, or how Nehemiah and friends restore the walls of Jerusalem, and exhort brothers and sisters to unite and do the same. But more than likely, we’re less enamoured by the long lists of names (repeated several times), puzzled by the jumps back and forth in time, and confused by some of the actions of the titular characters (Ezra pulls his beard, while Nehemiah pulls others’ hair?) And where do these books fit in God’s grand story of redemption? At the heart of these books, we see a sovereign God working through human action to make a people for Himself – precisely the same theme that Jesus’s death and resurrection fulfils, and a relevant message for any church of any age, culture or setting.

Our Chinese-heritage church spent much of this year preaching through Ezra & Nehemiah. As part of our church’s biennial theme, “United in Service”, it was fitting to hear closely from this part of God’s Word and learn from a time when God’s rescued people seemed to be at their best. Certain parts of the story hit differently in the context of a cross-cultural, immigrant church: the reverse-immigration from Babylon to Jerusalem; first-generation and second-generation differences in the life of God’s people (e.g. the older men who wept at the temple foundation); the complexities when religious opponents are related to you; and the disappointment felt by Nehemiah when the Israelites had lost their “mother tongue” (hint: he’s not sad because of the Hebrew per se).

Going through this book again reminded me of the difficulty of preaching Old Testament narrative, the value of wise friends who have thought deeply about the rhetorical function of these books (thank you Alex Prentice!), and how much these accounts of God’s Old Covenant people, even at their best, still reveal their desperate need for a greater Priest, Leader and Redeemer to create a transformed people from the inside out. This series was another good opportunity to experience the necessity and power of Old Testament preaching that exalts Christ, rather than burden us with works.

In preparation for the series, I found the following books most helpful:

• Dean Ulrich’s Now and Not Yet: Theology and mission in Ezra-Nehemiah (from the NSBT series) gave some of the most clear and sensible Christ-connections, and helped me to keep returning my sermons back to the missional purpose of God orchestrating Israel’s return to Jerusalem. I was convinced by Ulrich’s argument that, rightly understood, Ezra-Nehemiah lays out a mandate for mission (taking part in God’s purpose for his world) that Jesus later fulfils in his first coming and beyond. There is joy-filled, genuine restoration ‘now’, but hope in God’s promises (‘not yet’) as His people follow His instructions concerning the mission laid out for them.
• The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary on Ezra and Nehemiah (co-written by David Shepherd and Christopher Wright) was also helpful. It goes a bit deeper into the Hebrew and Aramaic text, and helps to answer a few thorny textual questions.
• For Ezra specifically, I found Teaching Ezra by Adrian Reynolds (Proclamation Trust) an excellent guide to preparing sermons from this book. Because Ezra is the more neglected of the two books, I appreciated the range of thoughts on how to connect the events to Christ in helpful ways.

For preachers, teachers and keen Bible readers, here are some more thoughts in no particular order:

• On structuring a series, I’d strongly recommend preaching both Ezra and Nehemiah, rather than taking one and leaving the other out. Although this makes a sermon series longer, it becomes far easier to see how connected they are. In both Ezra and Nehemiah, rebuilding the temple / wall is followed by the necessity of rebuilding the people through God’s revealed Word.
• Ezra-Nehemiah is a story of God’s people at their best who return to worship Yahweh, yet fail and leave us longing for a better Redeemer to come. It’s an opportunity to consider what worship songs support this theme. In particular, songs that use “we” language will support the series more consistently than “I” language. We also want people to see Jesus as the better Israel / Son of God, better Leader, and better Teacher.
• The repeated lists of names are not identical, and so they serve slightly different purposes. One is to emphasise the priorities of the people – in Ezra 2, so much care and attention is devoted to the names of families involved in reestablishing proper worship. The second list of returnees (Ezra 8:1-14) is smaller than the first but is more generous. The detailed list of those who had intermarried sinfully in Ezra 10 emphasises the seriousness they took the situation.
• I think it’s right to portray Ezra (from Ezra 7 onwards) as a 2nd-generation, cross-cultural gospel worker. After all, he’s trained and sent into a foreign land (at least to him), to teach and disciple a subsequent generation of returnees some 58 years after they went on mission. It’s less a church-plant-from-scratch moment but a revitalisation work. For God’s glory to be truly displayed among the nations, it is more than a temple is required – the people themselves need to be rebuilt, and it will have to be done through the Word of God, by someone fully devoted to explaining it and living it out.
• It is very tempting to turn both Ezra and Nehemiah into people to emulate. But a Christ-centred reading will need to show how as noble as they were, they had their flaws and leave us longing for a better Priest, Teacher and Leader. The final chapter of both books are perfect opportunities to reflect on the limitations of these human leaders, the harshness of their actions. Sending wives away and beating up husbands is the antithesis of how Jesus will one day deal with sin and rebellion to God’s Word.
• When the story takes a “we will do this” turn in Nehemiah 10 with the whole country making promises), it’s important to point out the awkwardness of those vows early and often. On first glance it can seem like a wonderful moment of collective solidarity, yet by the end of the book, the side-effects and consequences of this rule-based living comes back to haunt them. I made the comparison that looking back on my wedding vows brings joy and sorrow (joy because of God’s grace towards us, and sorrow because I’ve failed to keep the vows time and time again!) In the same way, we need a bit more skepticism when Israel makes their bold promises because each of them are subsequently forsaken in Nehemiah 13.

Our church considered Ezra & Nehemiah over 25 series (11 in Ezra and 14 in Nehemiah), though we could have certainly combined 1 or 2 sermons. You can check out the entire series here.

When my GP invited me to “join us for Matariki” at his family practice to give a “small scripture sharing”, I initially didn’t want to do it! In our cultural moment, it’s not always welcomed when Tāngata Tiriti (people here by right of the Treaty of Waitangi) speak for Māori about their customs and values. Nevertheless, the Lord rebuked me from 2 Timothy 4:5: “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” So I showed up at Meadowbank Medical yesterday without my community services card but rather, with a guitar and Bible in hand.

It turned out to be a beautiful time. The hangi was delicious, the chats were appreciative, and I was even roped in to sing “Tutira mai nga iwi” together! Significantly, one of the members of our church (Billy Davis, Ngāti Porou) kindly offered to join me in sharing about what Matariki means to Māori. For my part, I used my time as an opportunity to share from Job 38:31 to the dozen or so GPs, nurses, and healthcare professionals about the unanswered questions that confront us, the wisdom of pondering on Matariki like God challenges Job to do in this verse, and of the joy that stargazing brought to some wise men many years later. I’m still working on the art and craft of being gentle, respectful and persuasive among non-Christian audiences (especially as a novice learner of all things Māori). So feel free to let me know how this 8-minute whakāro (thought) from this whakatauki (saying) speaks to you!

“Unanswered Questions” (Job 38:31), 27.6.24, Meadowbank Medical Centre Matariki Celebration

[Pepeha]
Tēnā koutou e te whānau Ōrakei, (Greetings Meadowbank family)

ko Maungarei te maunga, (Mt Wellington is the mountain)…

ko Tāmaki te awa, (Tāmaki is the river)…

Kei te noho au ki Tāmaki Makaurau, ki Pakuranga, (I live in Auckland, in Pakuranga)…

nō Taina, Taiwana me Marēhia ōku tīpuna; (China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Aotearoa is my ancestry)

ko Wiremu tōku ingoa; (my name is William)

… and most times I’m here as Dr Choonwei’s patient, but today he’s asked me to give a short whakāro (thought) on Matariki. I do so as Tangati Tiriti (non-Māori), and a Christian minister from Te Hahi Iriiri, the Baptist Churches of Aotearoa. Billy and I are both part of Pakuranga Chinese Baptist Church not far from here – with a number of our members also enrolled at MMC, we are supporters of Manaaki Healthcare and your kaupapa.

(No one wants kai that’s cold, and it’ll be great to hear some of your thoughts on what Matariki means to you. So I promise to stay under single consult length!)

Whatever your faith background, all of us can embrace Matariki at some level. We all love a long weekend (though perhaps not the emails afterwards). Some of us will try out some stargazing, or spend time appreciating our country’s Māori heritage.

And as people who care deeply about health and wellbeing, we will resonate with some themes of Matariki: honouring those who have died, giving thanks for seasons past, asking questions about about the road ahead.

[Questions ahead]

Matariki may be our newest public holiday, but the questions around this season are as old as time itself. Granted, sometimes we Christians don’t do ourselves any favours by acting like we “always have the answers” from this 2000-year old book called the Bible. So I find it really interesting that one of the three times the Bible names Matariki itself, it comes not as an answer, but as a question.

Let me read out Job 38:31 with you, it says:

“E taea rānei e koe te here te huihui o Matariki, e wewete rānei ngā here o Tautoru?”

“Can you bind the chains of Matariki? Or loose the cords of Orion?”

It’s obviously not the typical question you’d hear in a consultation room! But it’s worse than you think. Some of us here get worried about consults going overtime, but be thankful Job’s not enrolled in your practice: his problems were too many to count! He lost his fortune, his children died in a storm – and he got an incurable rash! So yes, Job naturally had a lot of questions for God.

It’s always nice to give clients clarity, and patients good answers. (Dr Luke’s latest answer is caffeine for pain relief!) But when God finally shows up in chapter 38, He gives Job no answers – just a barrage of questions, including this one: Can you tie up Matariki’s chains? Or undo Orion’s belt?

Maybe we can relate to poor Job. Suffering can seem like a riddle. Perhaps this Matariki you have similar unanswered questions. In my line of work, there’s been many a time where I’ve driven home with unanswerable questions. Why did it have to be stage 4 cancer? Why this family and not that one?

[No easy answers]

One thing we learn from this whakatauki (saying) on Matariki is that it’s OK to not have answers straight away. It might seem odd to question the limits of our knowledge: I’m sure your patients don’t walk in thinking: “I need to see a doctor who doesn’t have all the answers!” But Matariki should humble us. Can you bind those stars? No! None of us are good at everything. I may be familiar with the Bible, but I can’t auscultate for chips. You’re some of the smartest people serving in Meadowbank, yet you still google for help during some of your cases! It’s OK not to have all the answers straight away. So this Matariki, I plan to fly kites with my kids and leave the messages unread. We can enjoy some rest this holiday, even if our to-do lists are unfinished. You can have a coffee with a struggling friend, leave their tough questions unanswered, and just be present.

Job’s whirlwind encounter with God didn’t turn him into an expert. Yet he was transformed. While Job never got all his questions answered (and nor do we), the next time he saw Matariki rising, he was wiser from his encounter with Te Ihōwa Atua, the LORD God who made the stars (Gen 1:17) and asks this simple question:

E taea rānei e koe te here te huihui o Matariki?
Can you bind the chains of Matariki?

[One stellar answer]

Every time I gaze into the stars on my morning run, I have many unanswered questions. Yet I see the fingerprints of a Maker who loves me and sent His Son to rescue me.

Because many generations after Job’s Matariki moment, a different star led some wise men to the town of Bethlehem. Some of you will know this story. But in this Middle Eastern town still surrounded by soldiers today, the night sky gave one answer to the many questions these magi had. “Where is the King?” they had asked. “For we have come to worship him” (Mt 2:2).

But instead of a god of their own imagining, they come face to face with the boy Jesus. Ihu Karaiti. Descended from kings. A “Bright Star” for dark times: born in Bethlehem, lived in Galilee, died in Jerusalem, rose again to give life everlasting. For Christians, this Jesus is the Bright Morning Star. Our Matariki. “When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” (Mt 2:10) And if joy sounds too good to be true, talk to someone about it. Find a Wayfinder for your spiritual journey. Can we bind the chains of Matariki? No. But can they point us to the King of Kings? Can I encourage you, don’t leave that question unanswered. Ngā mihi o Matariki, te tau hou Māori. Tēnā koutou.

For Reflection:

1. How will you enjoy this Matariki holiday? What will you leave unfinished and unanswered to do so?
2. What hard questions are you facing in your practice / family / life? What will help you, like Job, be OK about not having all the answers?
3. How can the stars (or who they point to) humble you or change your perspective?