The Paradox of Walls

Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons - Catholic Preaching and Homilies

Bishop Robert Barron

Spirituality, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality:christianity

4.8 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 21 January 2007

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Nehemiah, the 5th century governor of Judea, has an important spiritual lesson for us today. Nehemiah led the project of re-building the walls of Jerusalem after the return from exile. Walls, which set a community apart, are essential for identity and clarity of purpose. If the church is to be a world-transforming agent, it must, first, know clearly who she is and what makes her distinctive.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Word on fire is brought to you by Catholic cemeteries, serving the Chicago area since 1837.
0:06.8	This is Cardinal Francis George, and I invite you to join me for the next few minutes to
0:11.0	reflect with Father Robert Barron on the Word of God, which is the Word on fire.
0:17.6	Father Barron will challenge us to open our hearts to the Word on fire, which is God's
0:21.9	Word of Love for each of us.
0:24.2	If our hearts are open, the Lord can change and transform us, so that we might speak with
0:29.2	love about the One who is love.
0:32.5	The Archdiocese of Chicago through the generosity of Sacred Heart Parishing Winnicka now presents
0:37.4	the Word on fire.
0:42.4	Peace be with you.
0:43.7	Friends, the book of Nehemiah, we're reading from it in our first reading, is not one
0:48.6	of the better known books of the Bible, but the central lesson in it is, I think, especially
0:54.9	relevant for our times.
0:57.6	Who is Nehemiah?
0:59.4	He was a Jew of the fifth century BC, who was serving as cupbearer to artiserxes, the
1:06.8	King of Persia.
1:08.7	Remember, the Jewish nation had been conquered by the Babylonians in 587 BC, and the people
1:16.0	carried off into exile.
1:17.8	It was the most devastating event in the history of ancient Israel.
1:24.1	Consequently, those Babylonians were overrun by the Persians, and under the Persian monarchs,
1:30.0	Cyrus, Zerxes, and Artiserxes, the Jews were gradually allowed to return to their homeland.
1:38.8	So as the narrative of the book of Nehemiah gets underway, Nehemiah is making a special
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