May 28 2021 Day 107 Ezra 4:1–6:22

[The Passover Feast] was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile.


The people of Israel have finally been allowed to return and complete the rebuilding of their temple. As a result, they celebrate a wonderful Passover feast. It is a wonderful celebration, and we read it and are joyful on their behalf. They finally were able to return.

It’s not so much that they got to reclaim what was theirs, although that is part of it. More than that, we celebrate because we know what it’s like to come home, that sense of returning to a place that holds a special meaning. When I experience that feeling, it’s less about the furniture, or the structure of the house, as much as it is the memories and the deep sense of belonging. We get a sense of joy, and when we read of the people of Israel’s return, we celebrate with them.

Today, I am thinking about all of the people who have been displaced in the US, who have not yet had an opportunity to return to their land. We Anglo Americans have displaced everyone who’s gotten in our way. Manifest Destiny, the warped notion that the those in power had a destiny given by God to claim all of North America south of Canada. It was a racially motivated doctrine of white supremacy that disallowed any brown or black person to peacefully coexist in the lands that the whites wanted. Texas? Ours. Native American lands? Ours. God says so. Who can argue with God?

So here we sit, asked to celebrate with the people of Israel who were allowed to return to their land, while we continue to permit Indian Reservations to subsist, while we live off the land that was once theirs. We don’t let them return to their homes and celebrate the joy of returning.

Here we sit, as we fret about the changing demographics where there is an increase in brown and black people in the US. We worry about the fact that “our” country is increasingly multi-cultured and multi-lingual.

Here we sit, as we fret about the righteous indignation of people of color about the original oppression they experienced, as well as the continued oppression, segregation, and prejudice.

How is it that we can celebrate that the children of Israel reclaimed their land and temple when we continue to disallow people to reclaim what we took?

This morning, I’m thinking about the ways I might be able to offer back some sense of place and homecoming to the people who’ve been displaced in the US.