"They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name" (Nehemiah 1:10-11). In Genesis 2, the Lord God says, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him" (2:18). And before that, "So God created human beings in his own likeness. He created them to be like himself. He created them as male and female" (1:27). We humans were created for community. That's why solitary confinement is considered a form of punishment (probably not a helpful form). Further, we find our self-identity not in isolation but in the context of our community. There is evidence that the rise of anxiety in our culture is, at least in part, due to the lack of community shaping us. Individualism, apparently, does not form healthy people. In recognizing this, Christians seek to include children and youth in church life. We all need community and we need that community to shape us and help us form our identity. Each of us also, whether young or old, shapes the identity of our community. The core of our Christian identity does not change, but how we live it and express it hopefully matures. Nehemiah gives us the essence of our identity. Let me paraphrase, "we are God's servants and God's people, whom God redeemed by his great strength and his great hand." Nehemiah was referring to God delivering his people from Egypt. We, of course, refer to Christ's death and resurrection. That was the great act of God delivering us. Because of Christ, we belong to God. We are his servants. But we have difficulty remembering this. On the one hand we are just forgetful. On the other hand, there is a constant barrage of information tempting us to see ourselves differently. The prayers in the Bible are frequently more audacious than ours. Did Nehemiah think that God had forgotten? "These are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed…" Did God need reminding? Not likely. But we forget. We need the Christian community to remind us of who we are. That's why the church is referred to as a family. It's also why seminarians are constantly told, "Preach Jesus." One Sunday afternoon, an elderly parishioner called me with this, "everything you said this morning was true, but a Jewish rabbi could have preached that." He had nothing against Jewish Rabbi's; he was just reminding me, with all kindness, that I was called to preach Jesus. That was a long time ago, but I won't forget. And here is the wonder of it, we belong to our Heavenly Father, not because we decided, but because he decided. He wanted us enough that Jesus died for us. No. He will not forget. This prayer also reminds us of what we do. We serve God. We serve him on Sundays. But we especially serve him in the days between Sundays, in our work and our play, among our family members and among our co-workers, employers and employees. As you journey on, remember, "We are God's servants and God's people, whom he redeemed by his great strength and his mighty hand." He will hear our prayers.
