Hope in the Face of Discouragement

Today we read from another of the post-exilic prophets, Zechariah.  Today’s reading tells of a vision that Zechariah has while in an altered state of consciousness.  Given the fact that Jerusalem and the Temple are still in ruins, his vision is one of hope.

He sees a Jerusalem so peaceful that no walls are necessary, a Jerusalem like an open country filled with multitudes of people and of domestic animals, a Jerusalem that is encircled by a wall of fire to protect them from threats from their enemies, and a Jerusalem that will welcome people of many nations who have joined themselves to the Lord.  These conditions do not need much interpretation as they are rather straight forward with the possible exception of the line about a wall of fire that encircles Jerusalem.  Here it is helpful to remember that in the escape from Egypt, their ancestors were led by a pillar of fire, God’s way of manifesting presence in their midst.

That Zechariah sees this kind of future for Jerusalem is instructive for us in the face of disappointments and setbacks.  With his brother prophets Haggai, Baruch, and Joel ponder the plight of Israel after the Babylonian Captivity, Zechariah is not discouraged even as he stands before the ruins of what had been Jerusalem and the glorious Temple of Solomon. 

The last line of the reading is perhaps the most heartening.  Zechariah restates the covenant as it was first uttered at Sinai with one significant difference.  No longer is it stated conditionally.  No longer do we hear “if” and “then.”  Because they have been reconciled with God despite their sinful past, Zechariah and the other post-exilic prophets state that they shall be God’s people and God shall be their God. 

We are the beneficiaries of this new way of seeing the covenant.  Jesus has promised us that our covenant with God will never end as it has been sealed in his blood.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator