As I see it, some today want to restore America as a Christian nation, which means create a judicial, educational and political system favoring Christianity and all its privileges. It also means limiting the rights of non-Christians already here and limiting others like them from entering our country. Is that a fair summary?
We’re reading this week from Ezra, Nehemiah and Haggai, writers from the Period of Restoration, when some Jews returned to Jerusalem from exile anxious to restore Judaism. (522-486 B.C.). Good readings for today.
Judea was no longer a Jewish province then, but a Persian province. Jewish kings no longer reigned there and the temple was in ruins. A large number of foreigners and some Jews who never went into exile resided in Judea and Jerusalem, and so idealistic returnees didn’t have a free hand.
The Prophet Haggai, who only spoke for a few months, in 520 BC, advised the returning exiles to accept the present government and the present situation. At the same time he exhorted the Jews who stayed in Jerusalem to get out of their “paneled mansions” and build the temple. The Messiah will come at a future time we do not know. Until then, continue to rebuild the temple. God will be present there whatever it looks like, Haggai said.
There’s no perfect time or place; God is present in imperfect times and places like ours. The temple and the church are never finished in time, they’re always being built.
Ezra insisted on faithfully reading the scriptures. The consistent reading of God’s word Ezra gave people the the wisdom they needed; otherwise they would fall for the wisdom of the day.
God gives us wisdom day by day. Search for it.
Nehemiah was the brick and mortar figure of the Restoration, the practical person. Perfect buildings and the perfect places don’t exist, he believed, but do what you can day by day. Keep building.
The building of the Temple at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah is associated with the celebration of the Feast of Booths, when the Jews lived in tents for 40 years during their journey through the desert.
We live in tents, day by day.
The Victor's Place 
Dear Father Victor, Another beautiful reflection that makes you a part of our journey day-by-day and helps us help others on their journey. Your words motivate and build people up. They bring peace, wisdom and understanding too. And they point the way to God. Thank you, Father Victor!
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Yom Kippur is observed today by our Jewish elders in the faith. The focus is on repentance and fasting. Yom Kippur vows are intentions to replace bad habits with good ones. This article highlights how our failings impact others:
“no matter what is a man’s mode of life – slanderer, apostate, outcast – he is still a brother. “We have transgressed, we have dealt treacherously, we have robbed,” do we pray. We associate ourselves with the most forlorn souls that sin in darkness, because we recognize that society – we ourselves – are largely responsible for their actions. Many a time has our evil example misled others, and become a stumbling-block in the way of the blind. And all our Yom Kippur vows to rise to a higher life are useless, unless we endeavor to raise others who have fallen.”
https://www.plough.com/en/topics/faith/seek-the-lost?utm_source=Plough+-+English&utm_campaign=7221159db8-Prayer&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4cbb94afa4-7221159db8-296162825
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Thanks for the Yom Kippur reminder from our elders in the faith.
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Haggai’s timeless wisdom reminds us that God’s presence transcends imperfections and temporal constraints. Keep building your spiritual temple, for He is always with you
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