Today's Scripture Reading (October 10, 2020): Nehemiah 12
When my wife
and I were starting out together, I remember an apartment we rented for one
whole month. It was the month of February, and it just might have been the
longest month of our marriage up until that point. Where we lived, February was
a frigid month. Snow sat on the ground, building up into heaps. The temperature
never even got close to freezing, let alone venture above it. But our apartment
was hot. And we had no control over the heat. That cold February, I remember
opening up our windows at night, trying desperately to cool the apartment down
just a little bit.
But the apartment's
temperature was far from the only thing wrong with the place where we were
trying to live. The apartment was on the building's ground floor, which meant
that we had a patio door that led out into an open green space of the complex. One
of our neighbors drove a Harley Davidson motorbike. It was his pride and joy,
and of course, being an apartment, the only available parking was outside. So,
every night he would drive his bike through the patio window of the apartment
into his living room. And every morning, he would reverse the process, starting
his Harley up in his living room before driving it out the patio door, which
meant that every morning and night, the smell of the exhaust drifted into our
apartment. Our neighbor’s revving the Harley sitting in his living room became
our morning wake-up call during the week.
On the
weekends, the problem came from the other side of our apartment. During the week,
our neighbors were quiet, but they started to drink on Friday night. And it
didn’t take long for the fight to start. For the length of the weekend, they
yelled at each other, they screamed at neighbors who might dare to complain about
the noise, and they bellowed at friends who had come over to visit. By Sunday
night, they were worn out, the apartment grew quiet, and we restarted the
process all over again.
Between the
heat and the noise, we found a different place to live in March. But not all
noise is equal. While the heat, fumes, and noise can drive us away, other times,
they can draw us in. I have paused to listen to the fans screaming at a
Football Game, wishing that I was inside the stadium watching the game or
stopped at a car rally to listen to the roar of the hot rods. I have heard the band's
music performing at an outdoor concert and wished that I had a ticket to sit
and watch the musicians play. I have sat and listened to one of my current neighbors
play his guitar in his garage during the warm summer months, marveling at the
sound of his fingers brushing over the strings. I have been drawn toward the
loud sounds of a block party happening just a short distance away. Some sounds might
drive us away from our homes or cause us to complain, but other noises draw us
in, making us wish to be part of the celebration.
As the people gathered
at Jerusalem, Nehemiah organized them to make a loud and joyful noise. You
could hear the choirs and the singing of the people a distance away, not
chasing you away from the party at the ruins of the city, but drawing you in and
making you a part. Amid significant opposition and many problems, the people
celebrated because God had given them great joy. And as those in Jerusalem
celebrated, those outside of the city wished that they had been invited to the
party.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Nehemiah
13
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