Chaplain's Corner

Rebuilding the Walls

In her articleWellbeing: Rebuilding in a Post-Pandemic World Ana Loback offers three points to consider regarding our current state in dealing with the Covid pandemic:

1. Accept the brokenness

2. Manage your focus

3. Change the narrative (Wellbeing, n.d.)

I see many similarities between these points and some of the ideas Mrs. Crisara shared with the us regarding kintsuigi.

Kintsugi teaches you that your broken places make you stronger and better than ever before. When you think you are broken, you can pick up the pieces, put them back together, and learn to embrace the cracks. Kintsugi teaches you that your broken places make you stronger and better than ever before. (Kumai, n.d.)

In the Old Testament in the book of Nehemiah we are told the story of the Jews rebuilding Jerusalem after they had come out of exile. Covid lockdown and current restrictions feel like that sometimes – like we are in exile. But just as the Jews had their desire to rebuild their city, so we have this desire to ‘come out of exile’ and rebuild.

Nehemiah 2:17, 6:15

“You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!”

So, the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.

The book of Nehemiah opens in the Persian city of Susa in the year 444 BC.

Nehemiah – The King’s cupbearer
Artaxerxes – King of Persia
Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem – regional governors serving under the king of Persia.

Nehemiah 4:7-9 - But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem used various ploys in their attempt to disrupt the Jews’ work. These three men sought to harm Nehemiah (Nehemiah 6:2); intimidate him with false reports (verses 5–6); deceive him with false prophets (verses 7–13); and influence the nobles of Judah (verses 17–19).

The wall of Jerusalem was completed in record time (Nehemiah 6:15).

Three points to consider from the story of Nehemiah:

Nehemiah’s life provides a fine study on leadership. He overcame opposition from outsiders as well as internal turmoil. He exercised his administrative skills in his strategy to use half the people for building while the other half kept watch for the Samaritans who, under Sanballat, threatened attack.
The book of Nehemiah shows us the kind of significant impact one individual can have on a nation. Nehemiah served in secular offices, using his position to bring back to the Jews order, stability, and proper focus on God.
We are a community comprised of all manner of people in all manner of places doing all manner of work. Each one of us has been placed in a position. We are there for a purpose.

References

Kumai, C. (n.d.). Honor Your Imperfections With the Japanese Art of ‘Kintsugi.’ Shine. Retrieved January 7, 2022, from https://advice.theshineapp.com/articles/honor-your-imperfections-with-the-japanese-art-of-kintsugi/

Wellbeing: Rebuilding in a Post-Pandemic World. (n.d.). Retrieved January 7, 2022, from https://hillsong.com/collected/blog/2021/10/wellbeing-rebuilding-in-a-post-pandemic-world/

https://www.insight.org/resources/bible/the-historical-books/nehemiah

https://www.gotquestions.org/Sanballat-Tobiah-Geshem.html