Readings: Ezra 1:1-6; Psalm 126; Luke 8:16-18
There are times when we pray for something and after a while, we give up hope and feel that it is impossible. Then, just when we have given up hope, God surprises us.
Sometimes we are so worried about something, and then suddenly God steps in and He surprises us.
That is the God we serve. Nothing is ever hard for God. The more we understand Him, the less we worry about life.
When we see those who have really grown in their relationship with God, one of the signs of this is that they face life with greater peace. They just rest in God’s arms and enjoy each day, knowing that their Father in heaven is in charge of their lives.
In our First Reading today, we see how God showed His greatness. For seventy years in Babylon, the people of Israel prayed and hoped for a return to their homeland in Israel. Many of them had given up hope. When Cyrus, the king of Persia, conquered Babylon, the exiled children of God gave up all vestige of hope that was left. They had hoped for mercy from the Babylonian empire but never from the Persians.
It was exactly when they felt it was logically impossible to regain freedom or to ever be able to rebuild the temple that God surprised them. In the first year of his reign, Cyrus, the pagan king of Persia, as a matter of urgency, declared the people free and gave them the support they needed to accomplish the rebuilding of the temple. It was like a dream. It was too good to be true, it was unbelievable, but it was real. This is the God we serve.
This story is in the Bible to teach us that with God, we do not need to worry much about ‘how’ and ‘when.’ He is a sovereign God. He has control over all situations and people.
We just need three things more than anything else. We need patience, trust (faith) and obedience.
The life of Cyrus is also a great lesson for us. He received the message of God to help a particular people and he responded. He was kind and generous to them and did all that was within his power to improve and redeem their fate.
Like Cyrus, is there something that God has been calling us to do or someone He has been laying on our hearts to help and support?
God may want to use us to answer someone else’s prayer first before answering our own prayer. Let us not hesitate, postpone or ignore the prompting of God’s Spirit.
Sermon by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on September 20, 2021