Scripture: Ezekiel 37:16-17 – “Mortal, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the Israelites associated with it’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with it’; and join them together into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand.” (NRSV)
When we look out over a beautiful May morning, we may revel in the majesty of God’s creation, but I think that God is more likely to be found in broken things, because that is where God is most needed.
As I looked at different sides of Mother’s Day last week, I got to thinking about how families sometimes get broken. I am lucky that my family gets along very well, though there were some rough patches. Many years ago, at a wedding for a family friend, my sister said some thoughtless things to my then pregnant wife. My wife refused to speak to her for years, but I held out hope for reconciliation. Eventually, things cooled, and we took a trip to California for the wedding of another mutual friend. You would think that my wife and my sister had always been best friends on that trip! I was so thankful that my prayers had been answered.
Broken families and broken societies are a regular theme in the Bible. But there is always the chance for reconciliation. In Genesis, Jacob tricks his brother Esau out of his birthright, but when they are reunited years later, they forgive each other. Relationships can be broken on a national scale as well, something that I think is reflected in so much of our experience today. When Solomon became the king of Israel, he alienated the northern tribes, such as the tribes of Joseph, by centering power in Jerusalem. When his arrogant son Rehoboam became king, the northern tribes rebelled and created their own kingdom called Israel, with the southern kingdom known as Judah. From time to time, the two kingdoms went to war with each other, but eventually first Israel and then Judah were conquered by foreign powers. The people of Judah were exiled to Babylon where they were expected to assimilate into a Babylonian way of life.
But many Jews longed for a return to their homeland. One of them was the prophet Ezekiel, who dreamed of a restored temple, a restored priesthood, and a restored people. In one vision, God told him to hold two broken sticks together, one representing Judah and the other Israel. God promised that in the time to come, the old divisions would be forgotten and the love of the people for each other would be restored.
If you hold two sticks together, the result is not smooth. You have to jury-rig them together and pray that the connection holds. Such was the case with the Jews who returned from Babylon years later. Such was the case with Jacob and Esau. And such is the case when family members try to reconcile. All may be forgiven, but all is not forgotten, and the healing takes time. But eventually, those differences and trespasses no longer matter as much, and love can endure.
I pray that our country may soon come to some form of reconciliation. And I pray that if your relationships are strained or broken, you will remember that God is found in broken places. Remember that we daily pray for God to forgive us, just as we forgive others. Find God and your relationships will move from being jury-rigged to healed and whole.
Prayer: God, help us find your love in both beauty and brokenness. Amen.
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