20 September 2021
Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs
“To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.” (Lk 8:18)
The Exile of David’s descendents to Babylon was such an important event that it is the third pause (following those of Abraham and David) in Christ’s genealogy at the beginning of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. Even after the exile of the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians, the kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah still refused to heed the warning of the prophets, who warned that the kings who exploited the people and the priests who twisted worship of God were soon to suffer the consequences of these great injustices. In the end, these ruling kings and the nobles who had colluded with them were part of the first waves of exiles from Jerusalem to Babylon. Yet, not everyone was taken from the land of Judah. A number of the poor rural people who had been precisely those exploited by the kings were left, considered not important enough to take from Judah. Might it have been the case that during the increasing corruption of the house of Judah, these suffering people were the very ones who possessed faithful love for God, even as the kings and priests rid themselves of such love for the sake of fleeting material gain? If so, what little the latter seemed to have was certainly taken away in the Exile.
Yet, the prophets did not stop prophesying once Babylon took over. Some even accompanied the exiles to prophesy to them in Babylon, to call them even then to repentance and hope in the God who was waiting to pour out His love upon them, if only they would turn to Him once more. Such prophecy was not in vain. Over time, the hearts of the people again turned to the Lord. Is it any coincidence that Babylon was then overthrown by the Persian Darius whose policy of imperial governance was to return exiles home and to rebuild what the Babylonians had destroyed? It is just this moment of hope begin to receive its first installments of reward that we hear in the book of Ezra today. As the Church sets before us the rich fare of this book of Sacred Scripture, might we also consider what promises the Lord offers to us as we seek to turn to Him anew? What first installments of hope, what return to home after exile are we beginning to see in our own lives and prayer?