Zechariah 8:20-23
Taking on a new pastorate and moving to a new country brings with it a great deal of hope that you will be welcomed into the congregation and find many open doors where you will meet many people with whom you can share your life and faith. This hope drives you on and keeps you going, even when things don't go as you had hoped. Then you keep going. And then maybe there is someone somewhere who can point you in the right direction, who you can lean on a little, who you can trust. We have now been on the road together for 6 years. We have shared our faith, shared what we are passionate about, experienced blessings and met people who have become personal role models for me. This is how I have experienced the Johannesgemeinde, as a community of people who give to and receive from each other. Always on the move. And people come and go. And you're always a little sad when someone leaves or when you yourself leave. And all the places you've been in your life, a piece of them always go with you. Every place and its people shape me, change me. And these specific moments always come back to me when I look back: where did I come from? Who has shaped me, who have I been able to learn from, take something with me?
Today is Israel Sunday. A day on which we also look back as Christians: where do we come from? Where are our roots? Where are we heading? Our roots are in Judaism. Jesus was a Jew. We believe in him. Through him, we are included in the history of the biblical people of Israel, in this feeling of comfort and security: we belong to God, we are God's children.
Love for God and our fellow human beings is the highest priority. Jesus reaffirmed this Jewish commandment. This is also how we celebrate Israel Sunday today. Today we read the sermon text from the prophet Zechariah: With love.
The first part of the book of the prophet Zechariah was probably written after the Babylonian exile, around the 5th century BC. The exile and the experience of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple is probably the most important turning point in the history of Israel's religion. Things were also difficult afterwards. The return of those living in exile was slow and conflicts arose during the restructuring of the community; the restoration of Jerusalem was difficult. But the prophet Zechariah sketches a picture of hope that is so important to keep alive, especially in our time. I read from: Zechariah 8, 20-23
20 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come,
21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’
22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”
23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”
It is yet to come...
The Lord of hosts, Yahweh Zebaoth himself promises a time, we do not know when... but something new will happen for the whole world and it will be much better and more impressive than is currently expected.
Dear congregation, I wish it would happen soon. The signs of the times speak a different language:
Hamas' atrocities and the terrible consequences it has provoked as a result. The situation in the Middle East is becoming ever more entangled and more guilt is piling up on top of guilt, suffering on top of suffering, obscuring everyone's view and tying up their hearts.
Why don't you choose a different sermon text for your farewell sermon? Because I find it so important that this Israel Sunday is not forgotten. Because the politics of the Israelite government must be separated from the religion of Judaism. Because I think it is so important that we dream of peace together and pray for it. And to have hope, especially in an almost hopeless situation. The hope that God gives us is not just a vague feeling or wishful thinking. It is a firm confidence that God will keep his promises.
And so, I hear the prophet Zechariah and his dream of peace looks like this: After the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple, it is possible that Yhwh will also be present again. And that will turn everything in favour of salvation. The news of God's nearness goes from mouth to mouth and spreads. At that time from city to city. Peace in Jerusalem, peace for the whole world! People from different nations come to Jerusalem to seek God, to implore him and to seek his mercy. And the place of their longing becomes Jerusalem. They seek God there, where heaven and earth meet, at the ancient holy place of the Jewish people, at Zion. Because they want to get as close to God as possible, they look for one of God's own people and they hold on to this Jewish man's prayer shawl: "We want to go with you, because we have heard that God is with you!” What a unique moment Zechariah paints here: the picture of a world community that has understood that it has lost its way in its mutual battles and its lust for conquest, in its self-centred delusions of grandeur and cannot save itself but needs a genuine new beginning. And they cling to the coattails, to the experience, to the faith of their Jewish brothers and sisters because they sense that God is with them despite the terrible deviations of human history. They have been chosen and Yhwh remains bound to his people. And from this pilgrimage of community grows peace, worldwide peace. This vision nourishes my soul. And ignites my hope. This land, traumatised and shaken by the exile in the 6th century BC, takes on a new, universal meaning for all nations. Something seems to be going viral here. Good news. And I think that's where my dream begins. That good news spreads. That we tell each other about our experiences with God. That we walk together, holding each other's coat tails and spreading the vision of peace.
After all, feeling God's closeness is not without consequences. This is the way comprehensive salvation comes about: by living confidently and in mutual care for our fellow human beings and keeping the commandments. Everything done in love. We know where we come from, where our roots lie. In Judaism.
When we talk about the people of Israel, there is always this tension between the unbreakable promise of being chosen and the constant challenge of living up to this promise. All those who want to be part of it must move within this dynamic. This also includes constantly realigning one's own ideas and desires. A little later, Zechariah confuses things with his vision of a humble king of salvation.
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Following Israel therefore also means allowing God to surprise us and constantly realigning ourselves with Him. The promised king of salvation does indeed prevail, but he does it differently than expected, namely without force of arms.
As Christians, we are included in the search movement on the tail of the Judean people. At the same time, the Jew Jesus of Nazareth set his own accents in this tradition. For us, following him means that we share in the healing closeness of God. In turn, others can have a share of our coattails. People set off, ask questions, turn to people of faith and say, we want to go with you. We have heard that God is with you. Such an open door that results from this dialogue: interested, willing to learn, where you can show your counterpart what is important to you and what sustains you.
I have often experienced this with you. Thank God.
I am going into the future stronger and will take a piece of your coattails with me. Open to all the encounters and stories of faith that will come. And I wish you the same. It is and remains a long road to Zion, but the direction is clear. And the goal is drawing near, divine reconciliation is on its way. Our task is to trust it, not to lose sight of it, not to pile up any more obstructions and to stand up for peace in a spirit of hope. Amen
