BE A WE INSTEAD OF A ME

OUR SINS ARE HIGHER THAN OUR HEADS AND OUR GUILT

HAS REACHED TO THE HEAVENS

EZRA 9:1-15

---

Two things set this prayer apart from the prayers of many modern Christians in the Western world. The first, and easier to understand, is the frequency of words like our and we and us; as opposed to words like I and me. Clearly, Ezra's chief identity is his Jewishness. He is a "we" before he is an "I".  Scholars call this way of thinking "corporate solidary." The individualism of Western culture has a hard time getting its mind around this point of view. There is far too much "me and Jesus" in our thinking and praying. There should be a lot more "we and Jesus."

The second thing that sets this prayer apart is the really hard part: Ezra repents of the sins of others as though they were his own This act takes his "corporate solidarity" to an even deeper level. But this isn't something peculiar to Ezra. It is the view of Scripture God’s people are members of a body, not an organization. A member of an organization can exist outside the organization; a member of a body is dead outside the body. And the body stretches out not only in space, but in time.

Read the end of Hebrews 11 and the beginning of Hebrews 12:1 says that a great cloud of witnesses – the heroes of the faith who came before us, mentioned in chapter – are waiting for us to finish the race. "God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect" (Hebrews 11:40).

We are linked to one another in ways we must understand if we are to give to intercessory prayer the urgency it deserves. What I do for another, or fail to do for another, has profound implications for that person’s well-being. Ezra is stricken over the effect other’s sins have had on the whole people – so much so that he repents as one of them. In the final analysis, this kind of praying is not about "corporate solidarity", it is about love. Ask God to expand your sense of your self, so you can pray for others as you would for yourself. In this way, you love your neighbor as yourself.

 

In Christ,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
www.biblestoriestheatre.org
info@biblestoriestheatre.org