Reading through II Esdras (aka. Nehemiah)

This (II Esdras) is almost the last of the designated historical narratives in the Old Testament. Only two other such books remain - the two books of the Machabees - which end up leaving a gap of less than two centuries until the birth of Christ. I say 'designated' because there is much historical material in a several of the books that tell old stories, such as Esther, Tobias and Judith. So, onwards with the Bible read. In two weeks' time, I should have finished with all the prophecies; only about three or four smaller books remain. Then it's all Wisdom material - Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus for about two months. And Machabees. And then it all wraps up with the final books of the New Testament - the Acts of the Apostles, the letter to the Hebrews and Revelations. It's been a good ride, so far. I think I'll keep doing this, because it certainly helps build familiarity with the ancient texts. But I'll use different reading plans (this is the one I'm using right now); several are available all over the internet, kindly made available by generous people. 

The second book of Esdras (aka. Nehemiah) was originally appended to the first book (aka. Ezra), and covers the time period from the initial return of the Jewish exiles from Babylonia under the successor of King David called Zorobabel (an ancestor of Christ) to a much later time, when Nehemiah (a Jewish cup-bearer to the Persian king in Babylonia) was appointed temporarily to be governor of Juda. As Zorobabel and the high-priest Josue had restored the Temple with resistance from the local government, although to a far poorer level than Solomon's magnum opus (see Reading through I Esdras), Nehemias was able against much opposition to restore the walls of Jerusalem, which had lain in ruin for almost a century. With the walls restored, self-confidence returned to the people, and Nehemias ends with a great festival. Let's run through the book...

Second Esdras begins and ends as a type of diary of the governor Nehemiah, with some later addition of long lists of names of the leading men of the time, both chieftains and tribal leaders, and priests and levites serving the Temple. Nehemias in time introduces himself and his deep pain at discovering, decades after the first Jews returned to Jerusalem and Juda, that they had fallen into dissipation, and the Law of Moses was once more being ignored. But, first and crucially, the Holy City still had no walls and so was defenceless to attack.

"I was visited by a kinsman of mine, Hanani, who brought with him certain travellers just come from Juda. So I asked them how it went with Jerusalem, and with the Jews still left there, survivors of the exiles who returned. Survivors there are, said they, in various parts of the province, left over from the days of the exile. But they are in great distress, and count for nothing; Jerusalem is but broken walls and charred gates. For a long time after hearing this news I kept my house, all tears and lament; I fasted, and sought audience with the God of heaven in prayer." - II Esdras, 1: 2-4

The atmosphere of insecurity resulting from the absence of walls on a city in those days, and likely frequent raids by wandering tribes, must have left the people in a constant state of fear and agitation. Nehemiah said his prayer and then used his position of influence with the Persian king to establish himself as governor of Juda, and so in a position to confound the enemies of the Jewish people, who had stopped them from rebuilding the City's defences. 

"'What wouldst thou have of me?' the king asked. And I, first praying to the God of heaven, made answer thus, 'Did I but stand so high in the royal favour, my request would be that thou wouldst send me to Judaea, to this city where my father lies buried, and give me leave to rebuild it.' No question had the king to ask, or his consort that was there beside him, but how long my journey would last? When did I think to return? So the king was content to let me go, and it was for me to name the time of my absence. Then I said, 'May it please the king’s grace to entrust me with letters for the governors of the country beyond Euphrates, bidding them see me safe on my way to Judaea; a letter, moreover, to Asaph, the ranger of the royal forest, bidding him supply me with timber for coping the gates of the temple palace and the city walls, and roofing my own house besides.' All this, by God’s favour, the king granted me." - II Esdras, 2: 4-8

With such papers, Nehemiah had all the confidence he needed and would brook no further opposition. Having scouted the walls himself on his arrival, he mustered all the strength of the people to rebuild the walls in sections. Some of the enemies of the people are named here:

"When word came to Sanaballat the Horonite, and Tobias the Slave, that was of Ammon’s breed, and Gosem the Arabian, all was mockery and disdain; 'Here are fine doings!' they said. 'Are you for rebelling against the king’s majesty?' But I had my answer ready for them: 'The Master we serve is the God of heaven; He will be our helper. Leave us to set about our task of building; for you there is no right of possession, no privilege, no citizenship here at Jerusalem.'" - II Esdras, 2: 19-20

Nothing could be clearer: the Jews had returned to the land they belonged to. These others had no rights of possession and no privilege in Jerusalem - no claim at all. Chapter three is a description of the rebuilding of the walls. The reaction of the three mentioned above is first utter derision and then dismay at Nehemiah's success (chapter four). Nehemiah himself, shaking off his exalted position of governor by royal right, joined in the work of labour, colourfully describing the state of alert that the builders were in, justly fearing an attack from their enemies in the midst of the building work.

"And so, when word came to our enemies that we had been forewarned, God threw all their plot into confusion. Back we went to our several posts at the wall; and thenceforward the warriors among us were divided into two companies; one of these remained at work, while behind them, under the clan chiefs of Juda, the rest stood arrayed for battle, with lance and shield, bow and breastplate. And even while they were at work, built they or loaded or carried loads, it was one hand to work with, and one closing still on a javelin; nor was there ever a workman but must build with his sword girt at his side. And the men that blew the trumpets were close beside me..." - II Esdras, 4: 15-18

In chapter five, Nehemiah deals with issues of justice and equity, for rich Jews were exploiting poor Jews in the new colonial setting (colonies of Jews living among the 'people of the land'). For tasks like this, apparently condoned by the Jewish leaders and by the Temple priests, Nehemiah had to exercise all his authority as imperial governor, as well as his growing religious authority as ruler of the people. It makes me wonder what happened to Zorobabel and the Davidic succession. In chapter six, we hear of treacherous attempts on Nehemiah's life by the above-mentioned enemies. Nehemiah provides us with a wonderful description of the origins of the Temple and  synagogue services that would quickly develop from this point and that would eventually form one part and another of Holy Mass in the liturgy of the Christian church. 

"And there in the open space before the Water-gate he proclaimed the law, before men and women and such younger folk as could take it in, from daybreak to noon, and all listened attentively while the reading went on. A wooden pulpit had been erected to carry the sound better, and at this the scribe Esdras stood; with him were Mathathias, Semeia, Ania, Uria, Helcia and Maasia on his right, Phadaia, Misael, Melchia, Hasum, Hasbadana, Zacharia and Mosollam on his left. Esdras was plainly seen, as he opened the book, by all the people underneath. When he had opened it, all rose; and when he blessed the name of the Lord, the great God, all lifted their hands and answered, Amen, amen; and with that they bowed down and worshipped with their faces close to the ground. Then the Levites came forward, Josue, Bani, Serebia, Jamin, Accub, Sebthai, Odia, Maasia, Celita, Azarias, Jozabed, Hanan and Phalaia; these enjoined silence on the people, as they stood there in their places for the reading of the law. And they read out the book of the law, clear and plain to give the sense of it, so that all could understand the reading. And now the governor, Nehemias, with Esdras, priest and scribe, and these Levites who interpreted to the people what was read, must needs remind them that it was a feast-day set apart to the Lord; there must be no lamenting and weeping; already the whole multitude were in tears, as they listened to the words of the law. 'Go home,' said Nehemias, 'and regale yourselves with rich meat and honeyed wine, sharing your good things with those who have none. There must be no sadness on this day, the Lord’s feast-day. To rejoice in the Lord, there lies our strength.' The Levites, too, called for silence everywhere; 'Peace there,' no lamenting, 'they said, this is a day of rejoicing.' So all the throng dispersed, to eat and drink and share their good things with glad hearts, the message of the law made plain to them." - II Esdras, 8: 3-12

In this extract, the priest-scribe Esdras (aka. Ezra) emerges again. He must be the same Esdras as in the book of first Esdras, the priest who fought for the execution of the Law of Moses in the new circumstances of the returned exiles. Here he continues this work, with the support of the governor. In the early centuries, deacons had similar roles of crowd control and creative exposition of the Law to the Levites in this picture. Deacons even today value the explanation of Scripture to the people as primary to their vocation and mission. The ceremony described above is associated with the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur, as given at the top of the chapter, which mentions the 'seventh month.' Chapter eight ends with the practice of living in tents, associated with the feast of Tabernacles, also held during the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar (September time). Chapter nine presents a long account of the history of the salvation of the people, starting with their liberation from Egypt, all this forming part of a new covenant that the people make with God, promising to keep faithful to the Law in all its many observances, including especially not associating with non-Jews. Chapter ten lists the signatories of the covenant document Nehemiah had had prepared (with the assistance of scribe Esdras), and describes the restoration of the several liturgical offices of the Temple cult, instituted by King David and King Solomon, and the remuneration of the Levites and Aaronites, whose liturgical role prevented them from earning their living elsewise. 

One of the problems given by this book is the insufficient numbers of returning Jews. Either a small number only had been permitted to return to Juda by the Persians or, which is more likely, the Jews who had been for decades exiled from Juda had become comfortable in their exile and did not wish to return when the opportunity had arrived. And here, with the original extent of the walls rebuilt and the City of Jerusalem thus enclosed, it became more obvious that the small number of Jews could not populate the City easily. Nehemiah sought to get more people into the City and the 'common folk,' who may have preferred the countryside, had to be pulled in.

"The rulers must needs have their dwelling in Jerusalem; the common folk had their residence assigned by lot, every tenth man going to live in the holy city, while the other nine remained in the country parts; whoever offered of his own free will to be a Jerusalem-dweller earned the blessings of his fellow-citizens. And these were the leading men of the colony that lived at Jerusalem, leaving the rest, the people at large, the priests, the Levites, the Nathinaeans, and the line of Solomon’s servants, to occupy the country parts, each in the cities allotted to them." - II Esdras, 11: 1-3

So, this book is about the restoration of the City walls, and that city defences, which gave the Jews a better chance to defend themselves. This and the recommitment to the Law in the great liturgical service of chapter eight and the covenant of chapter nine, were designed to bring prosperity back to the people, and we may assume that the community grew in strength after these events. But the leadership of the people in this period of restoration was always wanting. After the establishment of the twin responsibilities of governor and high-priest given by, for example, Zacharias, we hear of Nehemiah's discovery of the unremedied security problems at the beginning of this book and then his trouble with restoring social justice in chapter five, and now the end of the book describes how, despite the attempts of the priest-scribe Esdras, given at the end of I Esdras, there was still intermarriage and mixed marriages in existence among the Jews. Chapter thirteen is all about controlling and eliminating the association of the Jews with the tribes surrounding them; this is the same way I Esdras also ended. This began with the prohibitions of the Law of Moses, but continued on to the illogic of the growing dispute with the Samaritans and the opposition of Jew and Gentile that marks even the New Testament, and still persists today. Nehemiah, for his several efforts, expects to be rewarded by God.

"Thus it was mine to rid Israel of the alien-born, to marshal priests and Levites for their due service, to plan the offering of wood at appointed times, and of the first-fruits. Not unremembered, my God, be all this, not unrewarded." - II Esdras, 13: 30-31

The new look of the website

I spent much of the weekend revising the parish website, and removing some old material. I'm hoping to keep the website more up-to-date than it has been in the last year, so come back often. I have partitioned the facing page into sections for the parish, the diocese, news items, and a general posting area that I have called 'Catholicism and general.' That last section will eventually replace this blog, so that I am posting entirely to the website itself. 

Haven't posted for a while

I've been trying to renew the parish website. And in a little while, I'll be shifting my effort entirely from here to there. I think, exactly a year since I arrived at the parish, it's time to give the parish website a bit of a boost.

And yes, this would be the first anniversary of this little blog.

Reading through I Esdras (aka. Ezra)

Now swiftly drawing to the end of my cover-to-cover read of the Bible. With the Old Testament nearly at an end, I have come to the books that deal with the last five hundred years before Christ, when the Jews rebuilt Jerusalem and the Temple and with many ups and downs secured their homeland until the Roman period. The beginning of this restoration took place under the Persian king Cyrus II, who had permitted the Jews to return and had established the successor of David, Zorobabel, as the ethnic governor of the province across the river that had Jerusalem as its centre. As we are told by Aggaeus and Zacharias son of Addo, this government was closely associated with the Temple high-priesthood, in the person of the first high-priest after the return, Josue son of Josedec. Two crowns, Zacharias had said. 

But where does Ezra come in? It seems clear that the return of Jewish groups from Babylonia to the Holy Land took place not all at once, but in multiple expeditions, every one authorised by the Persian authorities, whose documents were carefully carried over to function as securities. Often enough the Persian satraps who governed the territory 'west of the river (Euphrates)' react to these permissions and securities with anger and disbelief, probably dreading the reestablishment of a Jewish state, which would threaten the status quo of the time. So, Ezra would have led one expedition of people, some time after the arrival of Zorobabel and the high-priest Josue, who are not mentioned again in the Ezra narrative. Then, much later, Nehemiah would arrive to rebuild the defences of the Holy City. But that comes in a future post.

The book of Ezra, or I Esdras, begins with the command of the Persian emperor Cyrus (likely the one at the end of the book of Daniel) that the Jews may return and rebuild. Clan chieftains immediately prepare to leave, carrying with them priests and Levites, for the restoration of the Temple cult. By the command of the emperor, they also carried with them much gold and silver for the enrichment of the City and Temple and the old sacred vessels and appurtenances of the Temple which had been carried away into Babylonia seventy years earlier. All this was carefully recorded by the priests who received them into the Temple vault in Jerusalem:

"...now, at the orders of the Persian king Cyrus, Mithridates son of Gezabar must bring them out again, and give full account of them to Sassabasar, chief of the tribe of Juda. And this was the count made: gold trays thirty, and silver trays a thousand, knives twenty-nine, cups of gold thirty... baser cups of silver four hundred and ten... and a thousand other appurtenances; in all, of gold and silver appurtenances, five thousand four hundred. All these were taken back to Jerusalem by Sassabasar and the exiles who returned with him from Babylon." - I Esdras, 1: 8-11

The second chapter gives lengthy lists of the families and leading men who returned to Jerusalem, some of them wealthy enough to make further donations to the Temple cult of their own funds. They also travelled with herds of animals, some transport animals, other designated for the sacrificial offerings at the restored Temple. Chapter three now introduce the successor of David as a principal of the clan chiefs, and alongside him the high-priest Josue as a principal of the levitical families. And it mentions the hostility of the neighbouring nations, who initially prevented the rebuilding of the Temple, so that the regular sacrifices were made on an open-air altar, as before, but without the security of Temple and Temple precincts. At once, they re-established the religious cycle of seasons and the feast of Tabernacles.

"No more they dared to do, with hostile nations threatening them all around, than erect God’s altar on its ruined base; here, morning and evening, burnt-sacrifice was offered, and with that daily offering, with the due observance of each day as it came, they held the feast of Tent-dwelling. After that, burnt-sacrifice went on uninterruptedly, on the feast days set apart for the Lord, and on other days, too, when gifts were brought to the Lord out of devotion." - I Esdras, 3: 3-5

Even in the midst of the refounding of the Temple and the re-establishment of the sacred rites, we hear the laments of the older men, who remembered the Temple that had been destroyed eighty years - this new one was probably far smaller and certainly far poorer than the one Solomon had built at the height of the power, wealth and acclaim of the Israelite kingdoms. So, joy was mixed with misery:

"Among the priests and Levites and chiefs of clans there were many older men who had seen the earlier temple when it stood built there. In their eyes, that was the Temple, and they cried aloud in lament, while these others shouted and huzza’d for joy. Shouts of folk rejoicing, and cries of folk lamenting, none could tell them apart; it was all a confused uproar of men’s voices, that echoed far away." - I Esdras, 3: 12-13

All this was quickly brought to a halt by the Persian regional government who, as mentioned above, were surprised and annoyed with the attempt to restore Jerusalem. They were able to apply to a successor of Cyrus the Persian, Artaxerxes, and convince him that the Jews were a seditious people (chapter four) and that a new Jerusalem would create political problems. And so, the rebuilding programme was put on hold for several years, until a more favourable emperor, Darius, appeared. Then, the prophets Aggaeus and Zacharias, mentioned above, began to push again for the rebuilding of the Temple. Chapter five presents the suit that the Jews in Jerusalem made to the emperor Darius, who promptly (chapter six) discovered Cyrus' archived permissions for the restoration of Jerusalem and renewed the order. And so, in about 520 BC, the second Temple appeared on Mount Moriah:

"As for the elders of the Jews, they built on, and all went favourably; true prophets were Aggaeus and Zacharias son of Addo; higher and higher the fabric rose, with the God of Israel for its speed, with Cyrus for its speed, and Darius, (and Artaxerxes), kings of Persia. It was on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of king Darius, that they finished God’s house; great joy had priest and Levite, great joy had all the returned exiles, as they consecrated God’s house together." - I Esdras, 6: 14-16

Adar was the last month of the year (roughly February), so the Temple was finished in time for the Passover in the first month, as the sixth chapter documents finally. And that sets the scene for the Ezra (aka. Esdras) narrative, which begins by giving this respected priest and scribe (copier of the Torah) a genealogical line that establishes him as Levite and of the family of Aaron:

"This Esdras was descended through Saraias, Helcias, Sellum, Sadoc, Achitob, Amarias, Azarias, Maraioth, Zarahias, Ozi, Bocci, Abisue, Phinees and Eleazar from Aaron, that was the first priest of all. He was a scribe, well versed in the law given to Israel by the Lord God through Moses; and now he came from Babylon armed, under God’s favour, with all the powers he had asked from the king. Some of the common folk made the journey to Jerusalem with him, as well as priests, Levites, singers, door-keepers and Nathinaeans. This was in the seventh year of king Artaxerxes;" - I Esdras, 7: 1-7

If this Artaxerxes is the one whose rule began in 465 BC, Ezra arrived when the second Temple had long been standing. He too carried papers from the Persian king, commanding that the Temple cult be supported by the regional Persian government in Juda - Ezra also carried substantial amounts of gold and silver for the Temple vault (chapter seven), such as caused him to fear for the security of his group. But he shied away from requesting an armed escort.

"There, by the Ahava river, I proclaimed a fast; we would do penance, and ask of the Lord our God a safe journey for ourselves, for the children who went with us, and for all that was ours. I would have asked the king for an escort of horsemen to defend us from attack, but shame withheld me; had we not boasted in the king’s presence that our God graciously protected all who had recourse to Him, that only faithless servants of his brought down on themselves the constraining power of his vengeance? So fast we did, to win the favour we asked of God, and all went well." - I Esdras, 8: 21-23

The rest of chapter eight is about the arrival of this second group in Jerusalem and the carefully documented enrichment of the Temple. The rest of this book is concerned with the purity of the returned Jewish community. As commanded by the Law of Moses, the Jews should not have contracted marriage with non-Jews, and Ezra as scribe was painfully aware not only of this law, but also of the quickly-discovered fact that many of the Jews had done just that in the decades since the first arrivals and the establishment of the Temple. Ezra was concerned that this would bring down renewed wrath upon the people:

"When all this was done, a complaint was brought to me by the chieftains, against priest and Levite and common folk alike. They had not kept themselves apart from the old inhabitants of the land, Chanaanite, Hethite, Pherezite, Jebusite, Ammonite, Moabite, Egyptian and Amorrhite, or from their detestable practices; foreign wives and daughters-in-law had contaminated the sacred stock of Israel, and the chief blame for this lay with the rulers and magistrates themselves. At this news I tore cloak and tunic both, plucked hair from head and beard, and sat there lamenting. Such as feared God’s warnings, defied by these restored exiles, rallied to my side; and still I sat lamenting until the time came for the evening sacrifice. Then, at the time of the evening sacrifice, I rose up from my posture of grief; cloak and tunic still torn about me, I fell on my knees and stretched out my hands to the Lord my God. And thus I prayed: 'O my God, I am all confusion, I am ashamed to lift my eyes towards thee; so deep, head-deep, are we sunk in the flood of our wrong-doing, so high, heaven-high, mounts the tale of our transgressions...'" - I Esdras, 9: 3-6

Clearly, 'purity of stock' had been an all-consuming concern among the diminished and exiled population, fearful of vanishing away into the nations. Intermarriage always waters down social customs and causes a breakdown of particular communities, and this would have been observed by the exiled communities - what we would today call the Jewish diaspora. But for those who had returned to Juda, that had ceased to be important, and the newer arrivals from the exile, like Ezra, were shocked by the existence of multiple cases of intermarriage. Chapter nine continues Ezra's fearful prayer that this situation of intermarriage not bring further destruction. The final chapter records his success at getting the Jews to put away their foreign wives and families. And that's the end of the book.

"Meet together they did, all the men of Juda and Benjamin, within the three days prescribed (that is, on the twentieth day of the ninth month), at Jerusalem. There they sat, a whole people, in the open space before the house of God, their spirits cowed by guilt, and by the rain that was falling. And the priest Esdras rose up and spoke to them. 'There is guilt among you,' he said; 'by mating with aliens you have made the reckoning against Israel heavier yet. Confess your fault to the Lord God of your fathers, and obey His will; separate yourselves from the peoples that live around you, from the foreign wives you have married.' At that, the whole multitude gave a loud cry, 'At thy bidding it shall be done!'" - I Esdras, 10: 9-12

Note that he commanded them not only to leave their Gentile wives but to separate themselves from the peoples that lived about them. And just here, we see the origin of the enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Samaritans were an indigenous people who had come from intermarriage between Israelites and non-Israelites, and who worshipped the Eternal God in the way that this had been done before the destruction of the Israelite kingdoms. However, they were now judged, post-Ezra, as being not Jewish, and so to be treated as pariahs by the Jews, who could alone be the heirs of the promise made to Abraham. I note also that Our Lord Jesus Christ was particularly friendly to the Samaritans in the Gospel stories, when other Jews would have nothing to do with them.

"And when a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, 'Give me some to drink.' (His disciples were away in the city at this time, buying food.) Whereupon the Samaritan woman said to Him, 'How is it that thou, who art a Jew, dost ask me, a Samaritan, to give thee drink?' (The Jews, you must know, have no dealings with the Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, 'If thou knewest what it is God gives, and Who this is that is saying to thee, Give me drink, it would have been for thee to ask Him instead, and He would have given thee living water.'" - Gospel of S. John, 4: 7-10

Reading through the Book of Daniel

The latest milestone in my cover-to-cover journey through the Bible is the end of the Book of Daniel, and that brings to an end the run through the major prophets: Isaias, Jeremias, Ezechiel, and Daniel. I have only four minor prophets to run through and then it's a full dive into the Wisdom books: Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon. If you don't have one of these books in your Bible, it has been possibly removed to a section called 'apocrypha,' because some Christians don't like it to be in the main set of books.

Daniel is a rather interesting set of short stories that circle around one noble and pious Judaite boy who was removed from Jerusalem into exile with friends of his: Ananias, Misael, and Azarias. The four were immediately given Chaldean names, respectively: Baltassar, Sidrach, Misach and Abednago. Like other exiled Jews in the province, they were expected to acclimatise to the new environment, to take on new customs and learn a new language. The first chapter demonstrates how they remained true to the old Hebrew religion, even managing to privately skirt around the commandment to break the dietary rules of the Law of Moses. It was soon discovered that the boys were good scholars and they prospered in the service of the Babylonian kings. Chapter two demonstrates that Daniel has a power that we may remember from the book of Genesis, for the patriarch Joseph had this same ability: the interpretation of occult dreams. In return for this service he renders to the king, Daniel and his friends are given new and overarching responsibilities in government.

"With that, king Nabuchodonosor bowed down face to earth, and made Daniel reverence; ay, he would have sacrifice offered to him, and incense, and with these words greeted him: 'Doubt is none but this God of yours of all gods is God, of all kings the Master; He it is brings hidden things to light, or how couldst thou have read the secret?' Thereupon, he raised Daniel to high rank, and showered riches on him; ruler he should be of all Babylon’s provinces, and over all its wise men have the pre-eminence. But Daniel made suit to him, and it was Sidrach, Misach and Abdenago that had Babylon under their charge; Daniel himself was the king’s courtier still." - Daniel, 2: 46-49

The old problem of the Old Testament raises its head again: idolatry. Chapter three tells how a golden idol erected by the king was designed for public worship, with severe penalties attached to non-observance of the rule. When this had happened in the old Israelites kingdoms, most of the people had succumbed to the rule of the kings, and only a minority remained faithful to the old religion and the Law of Moses. The people in exile must have done the same, but we are given to understand that the four young men were of the faithful minority of the Judaites or Jews who refused to comply. Being politicians, however, they have enemies who use the situation to have them eliminated. Thus we receive the wonderful tale of the fiery furnace and the rescue of the four by the presence of the angel. Even while this is taking place, we get one of the great prayers of the Old Testament, which is a summary of the fall of Juda and Jerusalem:

"Blessed art Thou, Lord God of our fathers, renowned and glorious is Thy Name for ever! In all Thy dealings with us, Thou hast right on Thy side; so true to Thy promises, so unswerving in Thy course, so just in Thy awards! No punishment Thou hast inflicted upon us, or upon Jerusalem, holy city of our fathers, but was deserved; for sins of ours, faithfulness and justice that stroke laid on. Sinners we were, that had wronged and forsaken Thee, all was amiss with us; unheard Thy commandments, or else unheeded, Thy will neglected, and with it, our own well-being! Nothing we had not deserved, pillage of Thy contriving, plague of Thy sending, and at last the foul domination of godless foes, of a tyrant that has no equal on earth! Tongue-tied we stand, that have brought disgrace on the livery of Thy true worship. For Thy own honour, we entreat Thee not to abandon us eternally. Do not annul Thy covenant, and deprive us of Thy mercy. Think of Abraham that was Thy friend, of Thy servant Isaac, of Jacob whom Thou didst set apart for Thyself; the men to whom Thou didst promise that Thou wouldst increase their posterity, till it was countless as the stars in heaven, or the sand by the sea-shore. Whereas now, Lord, we are of all nations the most insignificant; all the world over, men see us humbled for our sins. In these days we are without prince or leader or prophet, we have no burnt-sacrifice, no victim, no offering; for us no incense burns, no first-fruits can be brought into Thy presence and win Thy favour. But oh, accept us still, hearts that are crushed, spirits bowed down by adversity; look kindly on the sacrifice we offer Thee this day, as it had been burnt-sacrifice of rams and bullocks, thousands of fattened lambs; who ever trusted in Thee and was disappointed? With all our hearts, now, we choose Thy will, we reverence Thee, we long after Thy presence; for that clemency, that abundant mercy of Thine must we hope in vain? By some wondrous deliverance vindicate Thy own renown; Theirs be the vain hope, that would do Thy servants an injury. Fools, that would match themselves with omnipotence! Crush down their might; teach them that in all the world Lord there is none, God there is none, glorified as Thou." - Daniel, 3: 26-45

That is a psalm worthy of King David himself, with echoes of his famous Miserere. We also receive from this chapter one of the great litanies of the Old Testament, which the priests and Religious read practically every Sunday of the year in the Divine Office of prayer:

"'Blessed art Thou, Lord God of our fathers, praised above all, renowned above all for ever; blessed is Thy holy and glorious Name, praised above all, renowned above all for ever. Blessed art Thou, Whose glory fills Thy holy temple, praised above all, renowned above all for ever; blessed art Thou, Who reignest on Thy kingly throne, praised above all, renowned above all for ever. Blessed art Thou, Who art throned above the cherubim, and gazest down into the depths, praised above all, renowned above all for ever. Blessed art Thou, high in the vault of heaven, praised above all, renowned above all for ever.' Then they cried out upon all things the Lord had made, to bless Him, and praise Him, and extol His Name for ever. 'Bless the Lord they should, the Lord’s angels; bless Him they should, the heavens, and the waters above the heavens; bless Him they should, all the Lord’s powers. Bless Him they should, sun and moon, stars of heaven, each drop of rain and moisture, and all the winds of God. Bless Him they should, fire and heat, winter cold and summer drought, dew and rime at morning, frost and the cold air. Bless Him they should, ice and snow, day-time and night-time, light and darkness, lightnings and storm-clouds. And earth in its turn should bless the Lord, praise Him, and extol His name for ever. Bless the Lord they should, mountains and hills, every growing thing that earth yields, flowing fountains, seas and rivers. Bless Him they should, sea-monsters and all life that is bred in the waters, all the birds that fly in heaven, wild beasts and tame, and the sons of men. Bless Him Israel should, priests of the Lord bless Him, servants of the Lord bless Him; bless Him they should, spirits and souls of all faithful men; bless Him they should, dedicated and humble hearts." - Daniel, 3: 52-87

This translation of the Bible leaves out the repeated refrain Blessed Him they must, praise above all, renowned above all forever from after most of the various creatures in the list above, which would make the whole into a recognisable litany, such as we are used to in the Church. At the end of this chapter, and of the next, the Babylonian king Nabuchodonosor is himself drawn to faith in the eternal God. 

"'When the appointed time was over, I lifted up my eyes to heaven, I, Nabuchodonosor, and right reason came back to me. Blessed I then the most high God, to the eternal gave glory and praise; such a reign as His lasts for ever, such power as His the ages cannot diminish. Matched with Him, the whole world of men counts for nothing; in the heavenly powers, as in our mortal lives, He accomplishes His will, and none may resist Him, none may ask His meaning. And when reason came back to me, back came royal pomp and state, back came the beauty I once had; prince and senator waited on me, restored to my throne now in more magnificence than ever. What wonder if I, Nabuchodonosor, praise this King of heaven, extol and glorify Him, so faithful to His promise, so just in His dealings? Proud minds none can abase as He.'" - Daniel, 4: 31-34

The story turns, with chapter five, to the folly of King Baltassar son of Nabuchodonosor, and the destruction of the neo-Babylonian empire of the Chaldeans with the taking of Babylon by Darius of Media. Chapter six reveals that Daniel found favour with Darius also and was made a governor again, which brought him new enemies. These men confound the king himself and cause him to thrust Daniel into a lions' den, for the first time in these stories. Now the Median king finds faith in the one, eternal God.

"Then Darius sent out a proclamation to all the world, without distinction of nation, race or language, wishing them well, and enjoining this decree upon them, that all the subjects of his empire should hold the God of Daniel in awe and reverence. 'Here is a God that lives,' he told them, 'a God that abides for ever; such a reign as His there is no overthrowing, such power as His the ages cannot diminish. His to deliver, His to save, His to shew wondrous portents in high heaven and on earth beneath, the God who saved Daniel from the lions.' Let Darius reign, or Cyrus the Persian, this same Daniel throve yet." - Daniel, 6: 25-28

Chapter seven takes us back to the reign of the last Chaldean king, Baltassar (above), and to a wonderful dream or vision of the four beasts that Daniel had, which he realised was a reading of the future of four empires. This dream has an interesting Messianic insert that we would recognise from our Mass readings for (I believe) the feast day of Christ the King - one like a son of men would take up a kingdom and reign that never ends.

"Then I saw in my dream, how one came riding on the clouds of heaven, that was yet a son of man; came to where the Judge sat, crowned with age, and was ushered into His presence. With that, power was given him, and glory, and sovereignty; obey him all must, men of every race and tribe and tongue; such a reign as his lasts for ever, such power as his the ages cannot diminish. By this, Daniel wrote, my heart was ill at ease; a dread sight it was, and as I dreamed, my thoughts bewildered me." - Daniel 7: 13-15

Chapter eight contains a further dream of Daniel, the one with the horned ram and the buck-goat and  from that same time-period, that further detailed the fate of the great empires that would succeed one after the other from Daniel's time and forward, until the reign of a Prince of princes, who would win the final blessing by divine power. Chapter nine presents the vision by which Daniel, following a wonderful prayer of his on behalf of his people, was visited by the angel Gabriel and so claimed to know the precise timing of the restoration of Juda and Jerusalem (although the calculation looks obscure), and then went on and on through the next five hundred or so years until Christ, when the Temple would be abolished and burnt sacrifice forever ended. 

"...and then sixty-two weeks must pass before the Christ is done to death; the people will disown him and have none of him. Then the army of an invading leader will destroy both city and sanctuary, so that his taking away will mean utter destruction; only a ruin is to be left when that war is ended. High covenant he shall make, before another week is done, and with folks a many; but when that week has run half its course, offering and burnt-sacrifice shall be none; in the temple all shall be defilement and desolation, and until all is over, all is fulfilled, that desolation shall continue." - Daniel, 9: 26-27

Chapters ten and eleven and twelve continue the story, with Daniel being led this time by another heavenly spirit, who seems to predict the rise of the Macedonian empire under Alexander the Great and the turmoil following the death of Alexander, which would split his empire under four of his generals, the Egyptian Ptolemys and the Syrian Seleucids emerging as major contenders in their claims especially for the Holy Land. The story ends once more with the Messianic age and the end of the Temple in Jerusalem. Once again, the calculations are obscure and there are various opinions about how these days and weeks are to be treated. Daniel anyway receives a fine blessing here:

"Of this be sure; after the time when the daily sacrifice is abrogated, and all becomes defilement and desolation, twelve hundred and ninety days must pass. Blessed shall his lot be that waits patiently till thirteen hundred and thirty-five days are over. And for thyself, Daniel, go thy way … till the end; till the end of the days rest thou shalt, and rise to fulfil thy appointed destiny." - Daniel, 12: 11-13

Chapter thirteen gives us the wonderfully long tale of the tragic story of Susanna, a Jewish woman who was entrapped and almost killed by a couple of lustful elders of the people, who would have had their way with her had it not been for her excellent upbringing and high sense of virtue. This story may simply have been added to the book because of the name of one of the main characters - Daniel - who saved Susanna's life. He may or may not have been the same Daniel as in the rest of the book. Chapter fourteen tells us of Daniel's good relations with the Persian king Cyrus, who may have been the same Cyrus who allowed the Jews to return to Juda and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. There are some excellent stories here of Daniel ridding the Persians of two pagan cults, one of a deity called Bel and one relating to some type of serpent, which draws upon him the ire of the cultists and a second narrative stay in a lions' den. Suitably enough, his new survival results in Cyrus himself being drawn to conversion to worship of the one, true God. And thus ends the book.

"And at that, the king cried aloud, 'How great Thou art, O Lord, Thou who art Daniel’s God!' And he took him out of the lion-pit, and shut up there instead the men who had conspired to ruin him; and in a moment, as he watched, the lions devoured them. Whereupon the king said, 'Well may the whole world stand in awe of Daniel’s God. What deliverance He effects, what signal proofs of His power, here on earth, the God Who has rescued Daniel out of a den of lions!'" - Daniel, 14: 40-42

The Bishop wants to hear from you

Here's something we should all see in the newsletter soon:

"Bishop Patrick would like to hear from you! The Diocese of Nottingham has launched a short survey in order to deepen its understanding of Covid-19’s impact on all Catholics across the diocese. Bishop Patrick is eager to know more about peoples’ experiences of the pandemic, with a view to ensuring that the faithful are well supported and understood in the years ahead. Please visit https://www.dioceseofnottingham.uk/whats-on/news/share-your-story-how-has-covid-19-affected-you-and-your-faith and fill out the short questionnaire. Please encourage other parishioners to do so. The deadline for submissions is July 4th 2021."

If you could spare a minute, please update the Bishop about the circumstances of this last year.

The Apostle Saint John and the glorification of Christ

 

Today's gospel reading reminded me of the excellent actor who played Saint John in the popular film the Passion of the Christ. There is the point in the film where the crucified Christ is raised from the ground by the soldiers and the Cross is propped upright. As it is lifted up, Christo Jivkov follows it with his eyes, and his look of pain changes subtly into one of horrified amazement, as he perhaps remembers just when Christ said this bit from today's gospel reading:

"Then Jesus said to them, 'When you have lifted up the Son of Man, you will recognize that it is Myself you look for, and that I do not do anything on My own authority, but speak as My Father has instructed Me to speak. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me all alone, since what I do is always what pleases Him.'" - Gospel of S. John, 8: 28-29

And that is a likely face of the man who would write up the Gospel of S. John. The casting for that film is brilliant. Maia Morgenstern is perfect as the Blessed Virgin. This is still the best film featuring the life of Christ that I've ever seen. If you have the stomach for it, here's the clip:

Reading through the Book of Esther

The latest stop in my recent journey through the Bible is the end of the book of Esther, which contains a charming and, to be honest, a little frightening story about a devastating pogrom against the Jewish exiles in Mesopotamia, and throughout the vast Persian empire, possibly including the valiant band of returnees to Juda and Jerusalem, who were in the process of restoring the City and the Temple there. What is charming is the story of Esther, Mordecai's kinswoman (cousin), who finds herself selected to replace the high queen Vasthi, and so able to influence the king himself, at a moment that was crucial for the survival of her people. Thus did Esther become one of the greatest of the heroines of the Hebrew nation, and the inspiration behind the most colourful of the festivals in the Jewish calendar, in about February time. What is frightening is the vengeance demanded by even Esther (which is a little surprising) against the enemy of the Jewish people, the Macedonian Aman (aka. Haman), and his entire family, following which the Jews take revenge upon their enemies, killing thousands all over the Persian empire. 

Anyway, here are a few clips. The first chapter is about the removal of the old queen Vasthi, who had refused to appear at the order of the king, who wanted to show her off to his visitors. The second chapter introduces Mardochaeus (aka. Mordecai) and his kinswoman Edissa (aka. Esther). She was acquired by the king to replace Vasthi, and he was yet unware that she belonged to the Hebrew nation. Meanwhile, Mardochaeus, as Esther's protector, hung about outside the gates of the royal palace, where he was able to find out about an insurrection against the king, possibly instigated by Aman himself, who by this time had squirmed his way into being the chief advisor to the king. 

"And it was while Mardochaeus haunted the palace gates that two of the royal chamberlains, Bagathan and Thares, door-keepers both at the palace entry, grew disaffected, and would have made a murderous attack on the king’s person. Mardochaeus came to hear of it, and told queen Esther; she, naming him as her informant, told her husband. The charge was investigated, and found true; the two conspirators were hanged, and the circumstance was put on record, being entered in the king’s own archives." - Esther, 2: 21-23

Mardochaeus was noted for his loyalty to the king, but nothing more is done in his regard. The third chapter tells of the ascendancy of Aman son of Amadathi, who must have been planning to use this to overthrow the king. The loyal Mardochaeus was something of a spanner in the works and had to be gotten rid of. Aside from his straightforwardness, Mardochaeus also refused to bend knee to anybody but the eternal God. And Aman liked to be genuflected to, apparently. And thus began his attack on all Jews, for refusing to thus honour earthly powers.

"Aman, when he heard their story, and proved the truth of it for himself, that Mardochaeus would neither bow nor bend, fell into a great passion of rage; and, hearing that he was a Jew, he would not be content with laying hands on Mardochaeus only; the whole race, throughout all Assuerus’ dominions, should be brought to ruin for it. It was in the twelfth year of the reign, in Nisan, the first month of it, that the lot (which the Hebrews call Pur) was cast into the urn in Aman’s presence, to determine the day and month when he would make an end of the Jews; and the month chosen was the twelfth month, Adar." - Esther, 3: 5-7

And here we seen the origins of the festival of Purim, for Aman had decided by pur (lot, plural purim) when the Jews would be exterminated. And, using his high position, he managed to get the royal seal on his genocidal warrant. In chapter four, Esther discovers that imminent disaster threatens her people and Mardochaeus warns her that she even would not be exempt from the measures to be taken. Meanwhile nobody could see the king without being invited by him. Esther now mustered all her courage for a surprise visit, which would mean almost certain death for her. Fortunately, she had uncommon charm.

"The third day came, and Esther put on her royal robes; and, so clad, made her appearance before the king’s palace, within the royal (that is, the inner) court. There sat the king on his throne, in the palace council chamber, facing the main door; he saw Esther, his queen, standing there without, and the sight of her won his heart. Out went the golden sceptre he bore, and as she drew near to kiss the tip of it, 'Why, Esther,' said he, 'what is thy errand? Ask me for half my kingdom, and it is thine.' 'My lord king,' she answered, 'do me the honour of dining with me to-day; I have a feast prepared; and bring Aman with thee.' The king, without more ado, had Aman summoned to wait, there and then, on Esther’s pleasure; and both of them went to the feast she had prepared." - Esther, 5: 1-5

At this point, Esther was probably bent already upon the destruction of Aman, but she had to be very careful indeed, for he was high in the estimation of the king. And she knew her own place. She had evidently planned to draw both the king and Aman into a position of comfort before making her plea for the Jews. It was at the second feast she had arranged for the two that she dropped the bombshell. But, in his false sense of security, Aman prepared to harass the man he hated, the man who could spoil his plans:

"'More,' [Aman] said; 'it was but this day queen Esther gave the king a banquet, and would have me and none other for his fellow-guest; to-morrow I must dine with her again, with the king present.' 'All this is mine,' he said, 'and all this is nothing to me, while I yet see Mardochaeus sitting there at the palace gate.' But they had a remedy for this, his wife Zares and those friends of his. 'Have a gallows made, fifty cubits high, so that tomorrow thou canst bid the king have Mardochaeus hanged on it. Then thou mayst go light-hearted enough, to feast with the king.' This counsel Aman liked well, and he gave his men orders to have a high gallows in readiness." - Esther, 5: 12-14

Unfortunately for him, that very night, by some divine power, the king was reminded of Mardochaeus' spirit of loyalty to him and he realised that the man had not been rewarded for it. In a wonderful display of Old Testament humour, Aman, as the second in command, was given the task of rewarding the man that he had shortly before been planning to have hung. Still humiliated by this, he was carried off to Esther's second feast, where he met his doom.

"The king rose angrily from his place, left the banqueting-room, and went out to walk in the garden, among his trees. With that, Aman rose too, intent on winning his pardon from queen Esther; doubt he might not that the king was bent on his undoing. Thus minded, he fell sprawling across the couch on which Esther lay; and so the king found him, when he returned from garden to banqueting-room. 'What,' cried he, 'will he ravish the queen before my eyes, and in my own house?' And before the words were out of his mouth Aman was gagged and blindfold. And now Harbona, one of the chamberlains in attendance on the king’s person, came forward; 'What of the gallows,' said he, 'fifty cubits high, that stands there by Aman’s house, ready for Mardochaeus, that saved the king’s life?' 'Let Aman himself hang on it,' said the king. So Aman was hanged on the gallows he had raised for Mardochaeus; and with that, the king’s angry mood was appeased." - Esther, 7: 7-10

Unfortunately, the measures set in place by Aman could not be rescinded by the king. Rather, because of the laws of the Persian people, they had to be remedied. Instead of calling off the attack on the Jews, the king empowered them to defend themselves against their attackers (chapter eight). The date set by Aman, arranged by lot, now arrived: the thirteenth day of Adar (last month of the Hebrew year). The Jews, now armed for battle, for two days put the fear of God into their enemies. Meanwhile, Mardochaeus, newly honoured by the king for his forgotten loyalty, established the feast of Purim.

"So Mardochaeus wrote to all the king’s Jewish subjects, near and far, setting all this out and bidding them observe both the fourteenth and the fifteenth, year by year, as the days of Jewry’s vengeance, when weeping and lament gave place to mirth and gladness. There was to be feasting on both days, and on both days rejoicing; dainties should be exchanged, and gifts made to the poor. So the will they then had and the orders Mardochaeus sent became a yearly rite; to recall how Amadathi’s son, Aman the Agagite, thought to vent his enmity against the Jews by murderously destroying them, and how he consulted Pur, the lot; how Esther sought audience with the king, praying for a royal decree that should thwart his design, and make his malice fall on his own head; and how Aman and his sons went to the gallows. This feast has ever been known as the feast of Purim, because of Aman’s lot-taking." - Esther, 9: 20-26

And that is the story of Esther. The rest of the book, in my Knox translation, contains fragmentary texts that have been collected from various versions of the book of Esther. The Greek version of the Septuagint, which comes from a different tradition than the Hebrew versions known to the Jews, contains more material, which has been passed on to us through the Latin translations. Thus, chapter ten tells of a dream Mardochaeus had early on, which foretold the success of Esther. Chapter thirteen reproduces an edict of the king that condemned the Jews and the prayer of Mardochaeus on behalf of his people. Chapter fourteen contains Esther's own prayer for her people, which sounds very much like sections of Baruch. The final chapter is the king's edict cancelling the attack on the Jews and restoring their freedom to them.

Sycamore and Father Stephen Wang

Father Stephen Wang is a good friend, and one of my tutors at seminary, a lecturer in philosophy and very involved in youth ministry in the archdiocese of Westminster. He recently created a programme of adult catechesis called Sycamore which is meeting some success across the nation, and is making some inroads into the life of the Diocese this year. Here in Derby, I know of two parishes, our sister parish of OL of Lourdes in Mickleover, and our mother parish of S. Mary in the City, who have begun the Sycamore programme. Unfortunately, what is designed for live meetings in parish halls can at the moment be only done through video-conferencing, using the Zoom platform. 

If you would like to be involved, please contact the offices at either OL of Lourdes or S. Mary. I do recommend it, as I would recommend anything that Father Wang puts out for the use of the Church. Here is a rather long (one hour) introduction by Father Wang, arranged by Mr. Hopkins, our Director of Formation in the Diocese:

Lenten music and reflections

This is a good-looking initiative from the Diocesan Formation for Mission department. It uses the excellent resources of our cathedral music service to provide reflections. Here's the first one in the series, with Mr. Treloar, the Director of music, singing the medieval Lenten hymn Attende Domine [link] from the Blessed Sacrament chapel at the Cathedral (the last remaining point of beauty in the building). Mr. Treloar reflects upon this beautiful hymn, and upon the way in which the melody draws singers and hearers into the spirit of mourning for sin and the effect sin has had upon humanity.

The second, more-recent video begins with another old bit of music, a liturgical antiphon and hymn, the Parce Domine [link], which continues the theme of sorrow for sin, taking up words from the Old Testament prophecies that mourn for the lost Israelite kingdoms and the lost freedom of the people, which they had earned through their dedicated idolatry, by which they had departed from the Law of Moses and the ancient covenant with God at Mount Sinai. But let's allow Mr. Treloar to describe it:

Thanks to Mr. Hopkins, our Director of Formation, for arranging these and others events and items for Lent this year.

Saint Paddy's day tomorrow

 

And never a better time for S. Patrick's breast-plate, one of the greatest devotional hymns ever. Here it is, in all its glory, and a little more than in the video above:

"I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three-in-One and One-in-Three.

"I bind this day to me for ever,
By pow'r of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;

"His bursting from the spiced tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.

"I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of Cherubim;
The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour,
The service of the Seraphim,

"Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

"I bind unto myself to-day
The virtues of the star-lit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,

"The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea
Around the old eternal rocks.

"I bind unto myself today
The pow'r of God to hold, and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need;

"The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The Word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard:

"Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;

"Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place, and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers:

"Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,

"Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death-wound and the burning,
The choking wave, the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

"Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,

"Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

"I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same,
The Three-in-One, and One-in-Three.

"Of Whom all nature hath creation;
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord."

text source

Reading through the Book of Zacharias (aka. Zechariah)

Many months ago now, at the end of August, I began my cover-to-cover read of the Bible. About time, I said. I'd only ever done this once before, about fifteen years ago, and long before I had begun at seminary. The Bible is not quite made to be read cover-to-cover. It is above all a set of liturgical texts, designed to be read in fragments at particular times and seasons of the year. This was ever the Hebrew way, and the Jewish way that we the Church inherited, before the cataclysmic destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in the AD 70, when we and the other remaining Jewish communities were set adrift in the world. In different ways, the remnant of Holy Scriptures after the Jewish Wars was collected into collections called canons of Scripture. The Church preserved the Greek Bible, which is substantially what we have today, with some things trimmed away. The non-Christian Jewish communities preserved their own Hebrew collections that eventually formed the Masoretic text, used today by Jewish and protestant communities. This Hebrew Bible misses several texts that the Greek Bible contains and that causes Catholics and Orthodox to have more Old Testament texts than present-day Jews and protestants. I say 'present-day' Jews because Jews in the Temple period, including Christ and his Apostles, had a greater collection of what could be called Holy Scripture; Judaism itself was far more diverse in its philosophy and experience in those days than after the Temple was destroyed.

But enough of all that for now. Although it's important for, having reached the end of the main body of the prophecies, and certainly far after the Torah and the Chronicles, I have reached the Jewish period of Sacred Scripture. The Israelite kingdoms having been destroyed and the people exiled from a fairly deserted Holy Land, the histories of Esdras, in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, tell of the return of a small band of the exiles to Juda, now in a condition of semi-independance - self-rule under a Jewish governor, but under the oversight and supra-governance of the Persian empire - and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and a smaller and more humble Temple. In these reduced circumstances of a humiliated and humbled people, the prophets of almighty God reappeared. A few days ago, I'd said something about Aggaeus (Haggai), but I've just got to the end of the prophecy of Zacharias, a contemporary of Haggai, who is very significant for Christians because several of his lines were used by the Gospel-writers and in the rest of the New Testament, as pointing towards the late Jewish period and Christ, before the final destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. So, let's have a look at those.

The Book of Zacharias is quite hard to understand, because it doesn't seem to have a single form, but seems to be a stitching together of several prophecies, that speak sometimes of widely different time periods. In addition to that, Zacharias was a bit of a visionary, in the manner of Ezechiel; the things he sees in vision are supposed to be evident in meaning, but for us millenia in the future things are rather obscure. The book seems to be based in that post-exilic period, with the small band of Jews returned from Babylon, under the successor of David called Zorobabel - now a Persian-appointed governor, rather than a king of Juda - assisted by a Sadocite high-priest called Josue; these two are addressed more plainly by Haggai. And the Lord declares Himself for the restoration of Jerusalem and the Jewish people:

"...the Lord answered him; gracious His words were, gracious and full of comfort. 'Cry it abroad, now,' my monitor said to me, 'this message from the Lord of hosts: Jealous, right jealous My love for Sion’s hill, deep, full deep My anger against the heathen that are so well content! I would have punished Jerusalem but lightly, it was these drove home the blow. And now, the Lord says, I am for Jerusalem again, bringing pardon with Me; Temple shall be built there for the Lord of hosts, Jerusalem shall see mason’s plummet busy once again. And this, too: A promise from the Lord of hosts! Yonder towns shall yet overflow with riches; Sion shall yet receive comfort, Jerusalem be the city of My choice." - Zacharias, 1: 13-17

The nations in comfort are possibly those old neighbours of Juda and Jerusalem who had profited from the destruction of the Hebrew nations. These first visions of Zacharias are well populated with angelic figures, such as the prophet's monitor. Another figure, in chapter two, performs the same service as Ezechiel's angel companion - he prepares at first to measure the newly-restored City, still in the building. But then God interrupts to say that the City will be filled beyond measure and then, gasp, that He Himself will come to dwell among the people, and the Gentiles (other nations) will join sides with the people of God - no,  they would also become the people of God!

"When next I looked up, I saw a man there that carried a measuring-line; so I asked him, whither he was bound? 'For Jerusalem,' said he, 'to measure length and breadth of it.' And at that, my angel monitor would have gone out on his errand, but here was a second angel come out to meet him. 'Speed thee,' said he, 'on thy way, and tell that pupil of thine: So full Jerusalem shall be, of men and cattle both, wall it shall have none to hedge it in;' 'I Myself,' the Lord says, 'will be a wall of fire around it, and in the midst of it, the brightness of My presence... Sion, poor maid, break out into songs of rejoicing; I am on My way, coming to dwell in the midst of thee,' the Lord says. 'There be nations a many that shall rally that day to the Lord’s side; they, too, shall be people of Mine, but with thee shall be My dwelling.' Doubt there shall be none it was the Lord of hosts sent me to thy aid. Juda the Lord shall claim for His own, His portion in a holy land; still Jerusalem shall be the city of His choice. Be silent, living things, in the Lord’s presence; yonder in His holy dwelling all is astir." - Zacharias, 2: 1-5, 10-13

Chapter three describes the recommissioning of the Sadocite priesthood in the high-priest Josue (aka. Joshua), because the continuation of that line of priesthood was still important to the service of the new Temple. But what I find interesting there is the mention of the Dayspring, God's Servant, the stumbling-block for the Temple authorities in the New Testament that becomes the corner-stone of a new foundation, complete with seven eyes, like the Lamb of God in the book of Apocalypse who brings forgiveness (aka. Revelation, chapter five).

"This for the hearing of the high priest Josue, and others his co-assessors, names of good omen all. Time is I should bring hither My servant, that is the Dayspring. Stone is here I will set before yonder Josue; a stone that bears seven eyes, device of my own carving, says the Lord of hosts. All the guilt of this land I will banish in a single day. That shall be a day of good cheer, the Lord of hosts says, friend making glad with friend under vine and under fig-tree." - Zacharias, 3: 8-10

Chapter four demonstrates the work of the building of the second Temple under Zorobabel, and the growth of two dynasties, one the Davidic which would bring the Messiah, and the other the Sadocite which would provide high-priests for the Temple - both here seem to be represented by olive trees. Both are begun by anointed ones, or christs, namely Zorobabel and Josue. Chapter five describes the imprisonment of godlessness, as the two christs are crowned in chapter six. And then there's more talk about the Dayspring who would rebuild the Temple - this may describe Zorobabel in that time, but consider also that Christ would rebuild the Temple in three days (and Saint John says in the his Gospel that Christ was speaking of the Temple that was His body, that is, a third Temple, chapter two):

"Gold and silver thou must take from them, and make crowns, to crown the high priest, Josue son of Josedec... This message thou shalt give him from the Lord God of hosts: 'Here is one takes his name from the Dayspring; where his feet have trodden, spring there shall be. He it is shall rebuild the Lord’s temple; builder of the Lord’s temple, to what honours he shall come! On princely throne he sits, throne of a priest beside him, and between these two, what harmony of counsel!'" - Zacharias, 6: 11-13

So, that might indicate the two offices of king and high-priest existing in harmony with Zorobabel and Josue, but the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews might say to us that the harmony of the kingship of the line of King David and the high-priesthood of the Temple is brought about by none other but Christ, Who has entered once and for all into the Holy of Holies to make plea for His Church. The prophecies now moves again towards the restoration of Jerusalem (no need to continue to mourn for the City any longer, a tradition of the last seventy years of exile that the people can now let go of, chapter seven), and the renewed promise to the people (a new stability, renewed prosperity and security, restored morality, chapter eight). In the midst of all this, the people will finally rest in peace through the coming of a new ruler, a new king. And here's some familiar language from the Gospels:

"Glad news for thee, widowed Sion; cry out for happiness, Jerusalem forlorn! See where thy king comes to greet thee, a trusty deliverer; see how lowly he rides, mounted on an ass, patient colt of patient dam! Chariots of thine, Ephraim, horses of thine, Jerusalem, shall be done away, bow of the warrior be unstrung; peace this king shall impose on the world, reigning from sea to sea, from Euphrates to the world’s end. How should they be ransomed, but by the blood of thy covenant with me, those thy fellow-countrymen, in waterless dungeons bound?" - Zacharias, 9: 9-11

A new king and possibly a new covenant, or perhaps a restoration or rewriting of an old covenant. And yet, the next few verses, and in chapter ten speak of the military success of the Jews, and perhaps hint at the military success of the Maccabees in the face of a future treacherous ruling class in Jerusalem and a cowardly priesthood there in the face of aggression against the Jewish religion by the Greeks of the remnants of Alexander the Great's later empire. Chapter eleven is endlessly confusing, unless it refers also towards the failure of the twin institutions of governor and high-priest (that Zacharias had originally set up) in the face of the Greek aggression of later times, attached to a new and Greek idolatry that overtook many among the Jewish community. This failure would have prompted a new anger on God's part. But we're coming to the end of the book and things are getting Messianic again. Here's this interesting bit, where God is pierced:

"When that day comes, the men of Jerusalem shall have the Lord for their stay; the lowest fallen among them shall seem royal as David’s self, and David’s clansmen a race divine, as though an angel of the Lord marched at their head. Never a nation that marched on Jerusalem but I will hunt it down, when that day comes, and make an end of it. On David’s clan, on all the citizens of Jerusalem, I will pour out a gracious spirit of prayer; towards me they shall look, me whom they have pierced through. Lament for him they must, and grieve bitterly; never was such lament for an only son, grief so bitter over first-born dead. When that day comes, great shall be the mourning in Jerusalem, great as Adadremmon’s mourning at Mageddo; the whole land in mourning, all its families apart." - Zacharias, 12: 8-12

This is, of course, what the Apostle Saint John speaks of to great effect when he portrays the Crucifixion of Christ and the piercing of the Body of Christ (Gospel of S. John, 19:37). John, of course, had immediately before this spoken of the blood and the water that burst forth from the side of Christ, an eruption that Holy Church has often seen as her birth in the Lord. We can be sure that Zacharias was in the mind of Saint John, because the very next words in Zacharias are these:

"When that day comes, clansmen of David and citizens of Jerusalem shall have a fountain flowing openly, of guilt to rid them, and of defilement. A time shall come, says the Lord of hosts, when I will efface the memory of the false gods; the very names of them shall be forgotten; banish, too, the false prophets, and the unclean spirit they echo. Dares one of them prophesy again, all men will turn against him, even the parents that begot him; Still at thy lying, and in the Lord’s name? Thou shalt die for it! And with a javelin’s thrust father and mother will take the life they gave." - Zacharias, 13: 1-3

Of course, false prophets would continue, as Christ Himself said. But the people would no longer be taken in by them, for they would themselves henceforth be guided by the Holy Spirit and by the ministerial priesthood of the Apostles, bishops and priests. Here in this chapter is the line used by Christ after the Last Supper, when the Apostles promise to remain true to Him, but He tells them that they will all lose faith in Him at once and have to rediscover that faith:

"Up, sword, and attack this shepherd of mine, neighbour of mine, says the Lord of hosts. Smite shepherd, and his flock shall scatter; so upon the common folk my vengeance shall fall. All over this land, the Lord says, two thirds of them are forfeit to destruction, only a third shall be left to dwell there; and this third part, through fire I will lead them; purged they shall be as silver is purged, tried as gold is tried. Theirs on my name to call, their plea mine to grant; My own people, so I greet them, and they answer, The Lord is my own God." - Zacharias, 13: 7-9

And how they would regain that faith! Martyrs would bend head before the sword and go to the gallows thenceforth for the sake of the Shepherd, once fallen. Through great suffering they would be tried as silver and gold is tried, as the Shepherd had said they would, and reply to magistrates and rulers that the Lord is their own God. And this brings us to the last chapter, where the Lord is given to take his stand upon the Mount of Olives, as Christ did do in those last few days after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem as Messiah.

"And then the Lord will go out to battle against those nations, as He did ever in the decisive hour. There on the mount of Olives, that faces Jerusalem on the east, His feet shall be set; to east and west the mount of Olives shall be cloven in two halves, with a great chasm between, and the two halves shall move apart, one northward, one southward." - Zacharias, 14: 3-4

On that day, on that day, on that day, living water will flow forth from the Temple in Jerusalem and God will be acclaimed King by all, a King reigning from a Cross. The evangelists all speak of a dreadful darkness that crowned the land of Juda that day, when Christ cried aloud from the Cross and the veil of the Temple was torn in two.

"Light there shall be none that day, all shall be frost and cold; one day there shall be, none but the Lord knows the length of it, that shall be neither daylight nor dark, but when evening comes, there shall be light. Then a living stream will flow from Jerusalem, half to the eastern, half to the western sea, winter and summer both; and over all the earth the Lord shall be king, one Lord, called everywhere by one name." - Zacharias, 14: 6-9

And all the people that previously warred against Jerusalem and the Jews will fall into a single worship of the one God, Whom alone they will recognise as able to control their destinies, rule their lives, and above all forgive their sins. The feast of Tent-dwelling, Tabernacles, is associated with the day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, and comes around every year in about September. And there, with the arrival of the Gentiles into the Church of Christ, I shall end this post.

"Yet of all the nations that sent their armies against Jerusalem there shall be some remnant left; and these, year by year, shall make pilgrimage, to worship their King, the Lord of hosts, and keep his feast of Tent-dwelling. Come and worship their King they must, the Lord of hosts; else no rain shall fall on them, all the world over." - Zacharias, 14: 16-17

Reading through the Book of Aggaeus (aka. Haggai)

Still running through the Bible, and now into the second half of the Old Testament, with the ordeal of the exile of the Israelites in Babylon and elsewhere now mostly over, I have reached the first of the prophets of the eternal God who addressed the small band of Judaites (now called Jews) who had returned to Juda and Jerusalem, to rebuild the Holy City and the Temple. To this poor remnant of a once large people came the prophet Aggaeus (or Haggai) and, in this rather short remnant of his prophecies to the successor of David, Zorobbabel son of Salathiel, and to the Sadocite high-priest Josue son of Josedec, he urges that the Temple be rebuilt. This would be the second Temple of Jerusalem (the first being Solomon's, properly levelled by the Chaldeans seventy years previously), which would be later greatly enlarged and endowed by the Idumaean King Herod the Great, only to itself be destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. But here's the beginning of that building, and it must be built! Or there is no blessing

"'Listen,' the Lord said to them through the prophet Aggaeus, 'is it not too early yet for you to have roofs over your heads, and My Temple in ruins?' Think well on it, says the Lord of hosts; here is much sown, and little reaped, nor eating brings you a full belly, nor wine a merry heart; such clothes you wear as leave you shivering, such wages win as leak out at purse’s bottom! Think well on it, says the Lord of hosts; up to the hill-side with you, fetch timber and restore My Temple, if content Me you will, the Lord says, if honour Me you will! So much attempted, so little attained; store you brought into your houses withered at My breath; would you know the reason for it? says the Lord of hosts. Because to your own houses you run helter-skelter, and My Temple in ruins!" - Aggaeus, 1: 3-9

The sad reality of this second Temple, now built at much less expense than the first and by so few people, and with no note about any of them being skilled artisans and craftsmen, was that their effort was nothing to compare with the glory of Solomon's Temple. Herod's time was still centuries in the coming and the people would have to make do with a poor homage to the God of Heaven. Commiserations arrive through the prophet:

"To Zorobabel, and Josue, and all the people with them His word was: 'Tell me, those of you who saw this house in its former brightness, what make you of it now? It is no better in your eyes than a very nothing. Take heart, Zorobabel; Josue, son of Josedec, take heart! And you, too, people of the land, the Lord of hosts bids you put heart into the work; is not He, the Lord of hosts, at your side?… the promise I gave when you escaped from Egypt; My own spirit shall be among you, do not be afraid.' 'A little while now,' the Lord of hosts says, 'and I mean to set heaven and earth, sea and dry land rocking; stirred all the nations shall be, hither shall come the prize the whole world treasures, and I will fill this Temple with the brightness of My presence,' says the Lord of hosts. 'Silver or gold, what matters it?' the Lord of hosts says. 'Both are mine! Bright this new Temple shall be,' He tells you, 'as never the first was; here,' He tells you, 'His blessing shall rest.'" - Aggaeus, 2: 3-10

Encouragement, indeed! This poor little building will nevertheless see a great thing. There is a the little Messianic prophecy hidden in the line that says that, when the nations (the Gentiles) have been stirred, the Prize that the whole world treasures, basically the Expected of the Nations, will arrive at the Temple Himself and the Temple will suddenly be filled with the brightness of the Presence of God. This text may be familiar from the liturgy of the Presentation of our Lord in the Temple, on the second day of February. The people must have noted woefully that their poor effort did not have the silver and gold that their elders remembered of the Temple that had been destroyed seventy years previously. But God says through Aggaeus that gold and silver matters nothing to Him, for His blessing is of far greater value than those.

There's little else worth noting in this tiny Book of Haggai, except perhaps that this Zorobabel son of Salathiel is the last recorded descendant of King David that we have in the Old Testament. The rest of the descent is provided by the Apostle S. Matthew at the top of his Gospel. Note that Jechonias is another name for Joachin son of Joachim, who had been imprisoned in Babylon about ten years before Jerusalem was destroyed in 587 BC.

"And after the removal to Babylon, Jechonias was the father of Salathiel, Salathiel of Zorobabel, Zorobabel of Abiud, Abiud of Eliacim, Eliacim of Azor, Azor of Sadoc, Sadoc of Achim, Achim of Eliud, Eliud of Eleazar, Eleazar of Mathan, Mathan of Jacob, and Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary; it was of her that Jesus was born, Who is called Christ." - Gospel of S. Matthew, 1: 12-16

To this Zorobabel Aggaeus gives God's solemn blessing:

"...royal thrones shall be overturned, and the power of Gentile kingdoms brought to nothing; overthrown they lie, chariot and charioteer, down come horse and rider, friend turning his sword against friend; but thou, son of Salathiel, says the Lord of hosts, thou, Zorobabel, art My servant still; on that day I will take thee to My side, keep thee there, close as signet-ring; it is a divine choice that has fallen on thee, says the Lord of hosts." - Aggaeus, 2: 23-24