The Exile of Sin: The Fourth Sunday in Lent
II Chronicles 36:14-16; 19-23
Psalm 137
Ephesians 2:4-10
St. John 3:14-21
This week's lessons revolve around the themes of sin and exile, appropriate to the season of Lent. Our Old Testament lesson describes the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of her people as a result of their sin (II Chr. 36:14-16). The Temple especially is mentioned, (vv. 18-19), as the emblem of the sight of God's presence in Israel, and the emblem of the covenant between God and people (see I Kng. 8:27-30).
The Exile makes concrete what the Church claims about sin: that it estranges us from God. Sin creates distance between God and the sinner, and impairs our communion with him. This heart-rending condition is evoked so well in our psalm, "how shall I sing the song of the Lord upon alien soil?" (v. 4) Alienated from God and his sanctuary, the Psalmist cannot even sing the hymns of praise that were sung in the Temple. In fact, he hangs up his harp to gather dust on the trees of Babylon (v. 2). And he expresses the regret of Israel powerfully:
May my tongue stick to my palate
If I do not remember her;
If I do not lift up Jerusalem
Above my highest joy.
(Ps. 137:6)
Cut off, where praise is not possible, penitence remains. It remains to us in the exile of sin to weep when we remember Zion (v. 1). But even this is only possible by the mercy of the Lord. The prophet Ezekiel describes the presence of God departing the Temple by the east gate, the gate which faces Babylon (Eze. 10:18-19), where he promises to become "a little sanctuary" for the exiles (Eze. 11:16), to gather them back to Himself.
How great is the mercy of our God! Because in the past we were foreigners, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, having no hope, without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus we who were afar off are brought near in his blood! (Ephesians 2:11-13) It is not for nothing that Christ frequently describes himself by comparison to the Temple (Matt. 12:6, Jhn. 2:19-21). In fact, Christ is our "little sanctuary" who met us in the exile of our sin:
"No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (Jhn. 3:13-15, KJV)
Being brought near in the crucifixion of Christ, which reconciled us to God (Rom. 5:10), is only the beginning. St. Paul explains that we were brought near (even raised up to Heaven, Eph. 2:6) in order to do the good works which God prepared for us (v. 10). St. Peter makes it even clearer what we are reconciled to: to abstain from the lusts of the flesh, so that by our good work the Gentiles may see and be reconciled also to God. (I Pet. 2:11-12)
But what we often overlook is that we are not brought near to God as individuals, because being brought out of the exile of sin means being incorporated into the People of God. "Proclaim the praises of God who called you out of darkness into his astonishing light! Who
before were no people, but are now the people of God; who had not
received mercy, but now have received mercy." (I Pet. 2:9-10) Drawing
near means entry into the communal life of the People of God. St. Paul
equates being brought near by the blood of Christ with being
incorporated into the "commonwealth of Israel" (Eph. 2:12-13).
In Classical sources (and the Septuagint), this "commonwealth," (politeia) refers to citizenship in a city-state, and the common administration of civil affairs. Of course, Christ's Kingdom "is not of this world" (Jhn. 18:36), but that does not change the fact that this refers to the common administration of our affairs. We are called to be a very real, a very concrete community, a "polity," or what St. Augustine calls the "City of God."
Reconciliation, return from the exile of our sin, means return to something. To the charity, the self-sacrifice, the humility and care for one another that is expected of a citizen of the Kingdom of God. The restoration of Zion means the restoration of a governed city. And though we may be "prone to wander," as the hymn says, Christ remains our little sanctuary where we can continually repent and continually turn back to citizenship in the City of Christ, which is the Church.
Psalm 137
Ephesians 2:4-10
St. John 3:14-21
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| "The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem (70 A.D.)" David Roberts (1850) |
The Exile makes concrete what the Church claims about sin: that it estranges us from God. Sin creates distance between God and the sinner, and impairs our communion with him. This heart-rending condition is evoked so well in our psalm, "how shall I sing the song of the Lord upon alien soil?" (v. 4) Alienated from God and his sanctuary, the Psalmist cannot even sing the hymns of praise that were sung in the Temple. In fact, he hangs up his harp to gather dust on the trees of Babylon (v. 2). And he expresses the regret of Israel powerfully:
 |
| "By the Waters of Babylon" Copley Fielding |
If I do not remember her;
If I do not lift up Jerusalem
Above my highest joy.
(Ps. 137:6)
Cut off, where praise is not possible, penitence remains. It remains to us in the exile of sin to weep when we remember Zion (v. 1). But even this is only possible by the mercy of the Lord. The prophet Ezekiel describes the presence of God departing the Temple by the east gate, the gate which faces Babylon (Eze. 10:18-19), where he promises to become "a little sanctuary" for the exiles (Eze. 11:16), to gather them back to Himself.
How great is the mercy of our God! Because in the past we were foreigners, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, having no hope, without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus we who were afar off are brought near in his blood! (Ephesians 2:11-13) It is not for nothing that Christ frequently describes himself by comparison to the Temple (Matt. 12:6, Jhn. 2:19-21). In fact, Christ is our "little sanctuary" who met us in the exile of our sin:
"No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (Jhn. 3:13-15, KJV)
Being brought near in the crucifixion of Christ, which reconciled us to God (Rom. 5:10), is only the beginning. St. Paul explains that we were brought near (even raised up to Heaven, Eph. 2:6) in order to do the good works which God prepared for us (v. 10). St. Peter makes it even clearer what we are reconciled to: to abstain from the lusts of the flesh, so that by our good work the Gentiles may see and be reconciled also to God. (I Pet. 2:11-12)
 |
| St. John and the New Jerusalm (14th century) |
In Classical sources (and the Septuagint), this "commonwealth," (politeia) refers to citizenship in a city-state, and the common administration of civil affairs. Of course, Christ's Kingdom "is not of this world" (Jhn. 18:36), but that does not change the fact that this refers to the common administration of our affairs. We are called to be a very real, a very concrete community, a "polity," or what St. Augustine calls the "City of God."
Reconciliation, return from the exile of our sin, means return to something. To the charity, the self-sacrifice, the humility and care for one another that is expected of a citizen of the Kingdom of God. The restoration of Zion means the restoration of a governed city. And though we may be "prone to wander," as the hymn says, Christ remains our little sanctuary where we can continually repent and continually turn back to citizenship in the City of Christ, which is the Church.
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