The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 273: The Lord's Work (2023)

Episode Date: September 30, 2023

Fr. Mike continues discussing the call of Nehemiah and how we should approach the work the Lord calls us to do. He explains why all work is divine participation in God’s Kingdom on earth and encourages us to remember our service to God and to others, keeping our focus on serving and loving in the realm of our influence. Today’s readings are Nehemiah 3, Zechariah 14, and Proverbs 20:23-26. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 273. We're reading today only one chapter in Nehemiah. That's Nehemiah chapter 3 only one chapter in Nehemiah. That's Nehemiah chapter 3,

one chapter in Zechariah. That's the end, the conclusion of the book of the prophet Zechariah chapter 14, as well as Proverbs chapter 20, verses 23 through 26. As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the revised standard version, the second Catholic edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year. You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe and you'll be subscribed. And man, you receive daily episodes, daily updates, $100 wired to your account every single day. All that, all that just for subscribing to the Bible in a year. That's not true. As I said, it's day 273. We're reading Nehemiah chapter 3,

Zechariah chapter 14, and Proverbs chapter 20, verses 23 through 26. The book of Nehemiah chapter 3, organization of the work. Then Eliashib, the high priest, rose up with his brethren, the priests, and they built the sheep gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the tower of the hundred, as far as the tower of Hananel. And next to him the men of Jericho built. And next to them, Zakur, the son of Imri, built. And the sons of Hasana'a built the fish gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts and its bars.

And next to them, Merimoth, the son of Uriah, son of Hakoz, repaired. It's bolts and its bars. And Juida the son of Passiah, and Meshulam the son of Esodiah, repaired the old gate. They laid its beams, and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite, and Jadon the Meranathite, the men of Gibeon, and of Mizpah, who were under the jurisdiction of the governor of the province beyond the river. Next to them Uziel the son of Harhiah, goldsmiths repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers repaired. And they restored Jerusalem as far as the broad wall. Next to them Raphia, the son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired.

Next to them Jediah, the son of Harimath, repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush, the son of Hashabniah, repaired. Malkijah, the son of Harim, and Hashub, the son of Pahath-Moab, repaired another section and the tower of the ovens. Next to him, Shalom, the son of Halohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired he and his daughters. Hanun and the inhabitants of Zenoa repaired the valley gate. They rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars,

and repaired a thousand cubits of the wall as far as the dung gate. Malchijah, the son of Rachab, ruler of the district of Beth-Hakaram, repaired the dung gate. He rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And Shalom, the son of Kolhosa, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the fountain gate. He rebuilt it, and covered it, and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. And he built the wall of the pool of Shelah of the king's garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the city of David. After him, Nehemiah, the son of Azbuk, ruler of half the district of Beth-shur, repaired to a point opposite the sepulchers of David, to the artificial pool, next to him, Hashabiah, ruler of half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district. After him, their brethren repaired.

Bavai, the son of Hanadad, ruler of half the district of Keilah, next to him, Ezer, the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section opposite the ascent to the armory at the angle. After him, Baruch, the son of Zebai, repaired another section from the angle to the door of the house of Eliashib, the high priest. After him, Merimoth, the son of Uriah, son of Hakoz, repaired another section from the door of the house of Eliashib to the end of the house of Eliashib. After him, the priests, the men of the plain, repaired. After them, Benjamin and Hashub repaired opposite their house. After them, Azariah, the son of Maasaiah, son of Ananiah, repaired beside his own house. After him, Benui, the son of Hanadad, repaired another section from

the house of Azariah to the angle and to the corner. Polal, the son of Hanadad, repaired another section from the house of Azariah to the angle and to the corner. Polal, the son of Uzziah, repaired opposite the angle and the tower projecting from the upper house of the king at the court of the guard. After him, Bediah, the son of Parosh and the temple servants living on Ophel, repaired to a point opposite the water gate on the east and the projecting tower. After him, the Tekawites repaired another section opposite the great projecting tower as far as the wall of Ophel. Above the horse gate, the priests repaired, each one opposite his own house. After them, Zadok, the son of Emer, repaired opposite his own house. After him, Shemaiah, the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate, repaired.

After him, Hananiah, the son of Shalamiah, and Hanun, the son of Shechaniah, the keeper of the east gate, repaired. After him Hananiah, the son of Shalamiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zeloth, repaired another section. After him Meshulam, the son of Berechiah, repaired opposite his chamber. After him Melchizedek, one of the goldsmiths, repaired as far as the house of the temple servants and of the merchants, opposite the muster gate, and to the upper chamber of the corner. And between the upper chamber of the merchants opposite the muster gate and to the upper chamber of the corner. And between the upper chamber of the corner and the sheep gate, the goldsmiths and the merchants repaired. The Book of Zechariah Chapter 14 The Day of the Lord is Coming Behold, a day of the Lord is coming, when the spoil taken from you will be divided

in the midst of you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the mount shall withdraw northward and the other half southward. And the valley of my mountains

shall be stopped up, for the valley of the mountains shall touch the side of it. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord your God will come and all the holy ones with him. On that day there shall be neither cold nor frost, and there shall be continuous day. It is known to the Lord, not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter, and the Lord will become king over all the

earth. On that day the Lord will be one, and his name one. The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Ramon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft upon its site from the gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate to the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananel to the king's wine presses. And it shall be inhabited, for there shall be no more curse. Jerusalem shall dwell in security. And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples

that wage war against Jerusalem. Their flesh shall rot while they are still on their feet. Their eyes shall rot in their sockets, and their tongues shall rot in their mouths. And on that day day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will lay hold on the hand of his fellow, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. Even Judah will fight against Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the nations round about shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments

in great abundance. And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. Survivors of the nations will come to Jerusalem. Then everyone that survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain upon them. And if the family of Egypt do not go up and present themselves, then upon them shall come the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the feast of booths. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the feast of booths. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the feast of booths. And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, Holy to the Lord.

And the pots in the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the 20, verses 23 through 26. Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord and false scales are not good. A man's steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can man understand his way? It is a snare for a man to say rashly, it is holy and to reflect only after making his vows. A wise King winnows the wicked and drives the wheel over them. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory.

We thank you. We thank you for your goodness. We thank you for your love for us. We thank you for this call that we all have to participate in the building up of your kingdom, the call that you've given to each of us in our little corners of the world, our big corners of the world, our space in this world. It's your world. And you've placed us where we are, the plot of land that we're in,

the corner that we're in, to make it beautiful for you, to make it good for you, to bring your presence there because your presence is with us because you have made us temples of your Holy Spirit. Help us also to be agents of your Holy Spirit. Help us always to be agents of your will. Help us also to be agents of your Holy Spirit. Help us always

to be agents of your will. Help us always to be sons and daughters who bring your light and your love, your hope and your mercy, your truth, your justice, your compassion, your courage, your voice into our corners of the world, that your voice may be heard, that your justice may be accomplished, your voice may be heard, that your justice may be accomplished, that your truth may be proclaimed, that your mercy may be found. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. So our conclusion, we'll start with the book of Zechariah, the conclusion of Zechariah, where, gosh, there is this promise. And we're going to hear these promises. We're going to hear these prophecies, essentially of on that day, that on that day of the Lord, like after the judgment has been pronounced, after justice has been accomplished, after peace has been restored,

that God will redeem the earth. God redeems heaven. We're going to see that more and more when we get to the New Testament and we are cruising through the book of Revelation at the end of these 365 days. But we have a little, kind of a little teaser, a little taste of that when in chapter 24, verse 6, we say, on that day, there shall be neither cold nor frost. One continuous day. In fact, in the book of Revelation, it talks about how there will be not night because the Lord God, it won't even get light from the sun or from the moon because the Lord God himself will be the light. There is this truth, this proclamation, this promise of God restoring all things, right? So judgment is brought.

Those who have been under the heel of others will be vindicated. Those who have crushed others underneath their heel shall be judged. And all of us, our deeds shall be known. Our deeds shall be exposed. And in so many ways, the prediction, the prophecy is that we get what we deserve. Now, we ultimately know that in Christ, we don't. In Christ, we don't get what we deserve. In Christ, we get what he took on himself, what we deserved.

He took on that death that we deserved. He took on that death that we deserved. He took on the blame, the shame. He took on the sin that we've committed on himself so that you and I don't get what we deserve, which is incredible. Again, incredible to remember as we get closer and closer with each passing day to all that we're going to be proclaiming in the next, I mean, after a while, it's a couple of weeks away, but all we're going to be proclaiming is the New Testament, is Jesus Christ, God himself, come into the world, suffering for us, dying for us, rising for us, saving our lives, making it possible for us to have new life, giving his Holy Spirit

so we can live this new life. As we get closer and closer to this, it's worth it to stop every so often and just recognize how incredible that is, how bonkers in so many ways it is. What we may have become familiar with is not familiar. It's not, sorry, it's not common. It's not ordinary. It's not meh, oh, ho-hum, but it is something remarkable. In the end of Zechariah, before we move on to the book of Nehemiah, it says, on that day, there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, holy to the Lord. That recognition, just like the bells of the horses will be dedicated to the Lord and goes on to say the pots in the house of the Lord

should be as the bowls before the altar. So those things that are holy will be even holier. And then every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the Lord of hosts. So, and what's ordinary will become sacred. It's really remarkable that what's holy will be holier and what is not holy at all will become holy. And this is what God has done for us in making us his own. He's consecrated us.

He set us apart. He's made us holy. And so we're called obviously to live that holiness. Now in Nehemiah, you might've been incredibly bored. You might've said, I thought that we were done with the names. Why'd you go back to the names? But A, because they're in the book of Nehemiah chapter three, but B, because it reveals so much. Nehemiah, yes, he's the one who rebuilds the walls, but no, he's not the one who rebuilds the walls, right? You know what I'm saying? A, here's God whose hand was upon him. But B, chapter three

talks about all of the teamwork that had to go on to make the dream work. Because without all of these names, without all these families, the work would not have been done. The work was done in just over 50 days of rebuilding the walls around the city of Jerusalem. And even with opposition going on. And yet these people, they all picked up and they built in unique ways. So here's what I mean to say. A, we need to pay attention. Okay, this is God's work. B, Nehemiah didn't do it on his own. He did it with a lot of help. And C, people did it differently. For example, the very beginning, it says, Eliashib, the high priest, rose up with his brethren, the priests, and they built the sheep gate. Really important. They consecrated and set its doors. They consecrated

it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel. So not only did they build the sheep gate, not only did they lead the way, that's another thing, that here are these, the high priest and his brethren, the priests, began building. Yeah, man, there is this saying that was in seminary. I mean, I'd never heard any of the seminarians say it ever, but the rector of the seminary at one point, he said, if I ever hear you say these words, he says, you're out of here, basically. And the words were,

these hands are made for chalices, not calluses. And he said, if I ever hear you men say anything like that, you're done, you're gone, because you need to put in the work. You need to, whenever work needs to be done, you need to be the people who are willing to do it. And so Eliash of the high priest rose up with his brethren, the priests. They're the first ones.

They pick up the tools they need to build walls, build gates, and they do it immediately. But not only do they do that, they also consecrated that gate. Now, this is interesting. They consecrated the sheep gate. Why would they do that? Well, not because the sheep gate israted that gate. Now, this is interesting. They consecrated the sheep gate. Why would they do that? Well, not because the sheep gate is a holy gate. They consecrated it. Well, it is after they consecrated it.

They consecrated it because they realized, yes, all we're doing right now is building a gate. All we're doing right now is rebuilding the walls. But this rebuilding of the gate, this rebuilding of the walls is a holy work. It's dedicated to God. It is what God wants. Here's the thing.

Whenever you and I are doing work, it doesn't matter if that work is connected to church, if it's connected to the Lord, if it's connected to service of some kind, every work, every work you and I do, if we realize we've been called to this, like Nehemiah was called, he didn't just have the idea, I'm going to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. The Lord had planted that in his heart. When you and I are called to any work, that work can be doing tax accounting. That work can be teaching. That work can be picking up garbage. That work can be building walls. It can be building stairs. It doesn't matter what the work is. Any work you and I are called to is the Lord's work because he has called you to it.

And so that means every day can be consecrated. Everything that you do can be consecrated. And so that's what the high priest Eliashib and his brethren do. They built the sheep gate and they consecrated, which is, oh man, amazing. And then it goes on to say that other families, they built and they kept moving. But here's an interesting thing. It talks about the Tekoites, right? It's the people from Tekoa. The people from Tekoa, they repaired, it says, but their nobles did not put their necks to the work of their Lord. The Teko it says, but their nobles did not put their necks to the work of their Lord. The Tekoites repaired, but their nobles did not put their necks to the work of their Lord. Now the Tekoites, people from Tekoa, we're going to hear about them later on as

well, because they didn't just build this one section. They built a couple of sections around the walls of Jerusalem. So they were hard workers, but their nobles did not put their necks to the work of the Lord. We have to ask the question, is there any work that you or I think is beneath us? Is there any such thing as work that you and I think is beneath us? Because if there is, then in that you and I are wrong. There is no such thing as work that's beneath us. No such thing. Every work can be a participation in the work of God.

Remember that in Genesis chapter one and chapter two, what does God do? God creates, which means to say that God works. And because of that, human beings made in God's image and likeness, there's no such thing as work that's beneath us because every aspect of work, every kind of work, when you do it as a human being

made in God's image and likeness, you, by the very fact that you are doing it, you make it in some ways divine. You make it in some ways this unique participation in the very work of God. There's no such thing as work that's beneath us at all and ever. It goes on to say that there are a number of families. I love this that, okay, verse 12, next to him, Shalom, the son of Halohash, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, he repaired, he and his daughters. Maybe he didn't have any sons,

but his, because everyone else had their, them and their sons, they repaired. But we have Shalom and his daughters repaired, which is so great, so great. You can, ah, love it. Goes on to say that there are many people who, it says they repaired the gate opposite their house and the next person repaired the gate opposite their house and you wonder that going from house

to house and you have to ask the question why was that specific why was that mentioned that they repaired the gate that was right across from their house or opposite their house this can be seen one of two ways, and both can possibly be legitimate. One is that they looked across and saw the wall outside, not the gate, but the wall. They saw the wall opposite their house and said, well, this is my section because this is the one I see. This is where I'm at. You know, we, again, we asked the Lord to help us to bring his light and his truth into our little section of the world. And it could have been that they merely saw, they said, okay, this is where God has planted me. That's where I'm responsible. You know, I'm responsible for my house. I'm not responsible necessarily for anyone

else's house. I'm responsible for my life and my family. I'm not responsible for anyone else's life or anyone else's family in a certain sense. So I'll just repair the wall next to my house. That could be the thing. It could be out of humility. It could be out of a sense of that just makes sense. Not anything else. On the other hand, I've heard people, Bible commentators, talk about how that was a sign of what you might call meanness or littleness. Another fancy word for it is pusillanimity. Pusillanimity is the fun word that basically means being small of heart, that you have

all these other people and their families rebuilding sections of the wall that had maybe no connection to them but these others who are only building the wall that would help them and that smallness of heart that meanness that being pusillanimous is something that that shows a lack of generosity, shows a lack of magnanimity. It shows a lack of love even for the others who might not be able to build a section opposite their own houses. Now, again, whichever interpretation that you or I have, there's a lesson there. That the thing we need to, of course, look at is not just what about those people way back then who rebuilt the wall opposite their own houses, but what about myself? When is it in my life? When is there time to say, actually, this is the part, the small place in the world that the Lord God has planted me. And so that's the part

I'm responsible for. And just, I don't have to worry about other places. I mean, I can be, I can be concerned. I can be interested, but in those other areas, I might not have influence. And so I'm going to spend my energy where I can make things better. That makes sense. Or we could also look at these scenes and say, ah, that's being small. Maybe the Lord God is calling me to not only take care of my own garden, but to also help my neighbor in their garden.

Maybe I'm not only called to here in Minnesota, you know, plow my own driveway. Maybe I'm called to, you know, plow the driveway of my neighbor because they can't get out and repair or plow their own driveway. You know what I'm saying? It's not necessarily an absolute kind of a rule, but it is something to reflect on. In some cases, repair the wall opposite your own house. Just take care of your own house. And in other cases, it's look up from yourself. Look up from this part of the world and maybe God is calling you to help not just yourself, but to help the people around you.

Does that make sense? Again, as I'm saying, I don't know when that case is. I just know that when we get there, that's when we have to ask the Lord, God, is this the time for me to look up and take care of others? Or is this the time for me to look up and take care of others? Or is this the time for me? You're just saying, nope,

make sure that this little corner of the world that I planted you is made better. But we don't know. We don't know that automatically. So we need God's grace. We need his insight. We need his wisdom. We need his guidance.

So we pray. I am praying for you. Honestly, every single day I'm praying for you. Please, please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.