3rd Sunday - First Reading - Nehemiah 8:2–4a, 5–6, 8–10 - They read from the book of the law and they understood what was read.

1. Copyrighted material that appears in this article is included under the provisions of the Fair Use Clause of the National Copyright Act, which allows limited reproduction of copyrighted materials
for educational and religious use when no financial charge is made for viewing. Catholic Lectionary. (2009). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

2. 2 On the first day of the seventh
month, therefore, Ezra the priest
brought the law before the
assembly, which consisted of men,
women, and those children old
enough to understand.
3 Standing at one end of the open
place that was before the Water
Gate, he read out of the book from
daybreak till midday, in the
presence of the men, the women,
and those children old enough to
understand; and all the people
listened attentively to the book of
the law.
4 Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden
platform that had been made for the
occasion;
5 Ezra opened the scroll so that all the
people might see it (for he was
standing higher up than any of the
people); and, as he opened it, all
the people rose.

3. 6 Ezra blessed the LORD, the great
God, and all the people, their hands
raised high, answered, “Amen,
amen!” Then they bowed down and
prostrated themselves before the
LORD, their faces to the ground.
8 Ezra read plainly from the book of
the law of God, interpreting it so
that all could understand what was
read.
9 Then (Nehemiah, that is, His
Excellency, and) Ezra the priest-
scribe (and the Levites who were
instructing the people) said to all
the people: “Today is holy to the
LORD your God. Do not be sad,
and do not weep” for all the people
were weeping as they heard the
words of the law.
10 He said further: “Go, eat rich foods
and drink sweet drinks, and allot
portions to those who had nothing
prepared; for today is holy to our
LORD. Do not be saddened this
day, for rejoicing in the LORD must
be your strength!”

4. Nehemiah was a person God
put in charge of a seemingly
impossible task.
God shapes all of us with
personality characteristics, life
experiences, and vocational
trainings for a particular
purpose.
Nehemiah was placed in a
unique position as the
cupbearer to the Persian king.
A cupbearer’s job was to take
a sip from any liquid that was
presented to the king.
The theory was that if the drink
were poisoned the
cupbearer would die but not
the king.
As you would imagine
Nehemiah had little power
and certainly no importance
other than he was willing to
risk his life, on a daily basis,
for the king.

5. He did have influence with and
was trusted by the king.
He was a man of God and
concerned with the fate of
Jerusalem.
The city of Jerusalem had been
rebuilt, Ezra the priest saw to
the spiritual needs of the
community but Jerusalem
lacked one of the most
important forms of protection, a
city wall.
Without a wall to protect the city
the inhabitants were
vulnerable to another attack
and a repetition of its previous
destruction.
God’s mission for Nehemiah
would be to return to
Jerusalem and rebuild its wall.
Nehemiah had been shaped into
a leader, a motivator and
spiritual leader among the
people of Judah.

6. Today Ezra reads from the book
of the law.
The people’s reaction was rather
emotional.
They lifted up their hands to
heaven, and shouted Amen,
Amen, meaning their
agreement with the word of
God.
They then fell to their knees and
worshiped God.
Ezra and the Levites spoke to a
crowd of 30 – 50,000
What the people heard caused
them to want to follow God’s
word.
They had learned to pray with
the scripture.