Dear Friends
A lengthy extract today from 2 Kings 20. But it’s part of a ripping yarn so it’s worth reading!
12At that time King Merodach-baladan son of Baladan of Babylon sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13Hezekiah welcomed them; he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armoury, all that was found in his storehouses; there was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 14Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, ‘What did these men say? From where did they come to you?’ Hezekiah answered, ‘They have come from a far country, from Babylon.’ 15He said, ‘What have they seen in your house?’ Hezekiah answered, ‘They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.’
16Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord: 17Days are coming when all that is in your house, and that which your ancestors have stored up until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the Lord. 18Some of your own sons who are born to you shall be taken away; they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ 19Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.’ For he thought, ‘Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?’
Hezekiah was one of the better kings of Judah. Not quite up there with David and Solomon but definitely trying to keep the Lord as the centre of Jewish life rather than any untrustworthy foreign gods. In this remarkably frank passage we see a very human side to him. He had been ill. Very ill. A nasty boil which in those pre-penicillin days led to death. Isaiah the prophet, who clearly was also talented in medical matters healed it with an application of figs to the affected area. Hezekiah recovered and the neighbouring king solicitously sent envoys, on the face of it, to wish him well, but really to see how rich and well protected the kingdom was. Hezekiah innocently shows him the crown jewels and boasts about his great wealth
Isaiah is aghast. Hear the horror in his voice as he asks, ‘What have they seen in your house?’ and Hezekiah answered, ‘They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.’ Isaiah interprets the signs of the times and prophesies invasion from Babylon, and not too far in the future. Some of your own sons who are born to you shall be taken away; they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. You’d expect Hezekiah’s response, in turn, to be horror, but it isn’t. Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good.’ For he thought, ‘Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?’ It’s alright, it won’t happen while I’m still alive and thirty years hence is a long time. Anything may happen to change the truth of this prophecy. But it did all come to pass.
How can Hezekiah be so callous as not to care, even to be relieved, that his sons are going to be physically mutilated and sold into slavery? It’s all quite shocking and we can see the selfishness and shallowness of his thoughts only too clearly. But to bring it bang up to date and to move from A to B quite bluntly, I think large portions of humanity are doing exactly the same thing today. You may have seen on the news yesterday that temperatures in Siberia are breaking all records and reached 38°C in the last few days. That’s as hot as the heat wave here last summer. The permafrost is melting faster than ever and the human response is to be glad because it will be easier to dig more oil wells in Siberia. And you and I, if we are ecologically minded, tinker with our lifestyles, use the car a bit less and prevaricate about changing to a renewable energy provider because it is more expensive. I find myself thinking, ‘Oh well, anything might happen in thirty years, we may have learned how to counteract climate change.’ That sounds suspiciously like King Hezekiah to me.
It may be, of course, that it will be taken completely out of our hands as sea levels rise, extreme weather increases, parts of the world are subject to decades of drought and others to regular flooding. Society begins to collapse, migrancy rises, dictators increase and plagues multiply as no one can afford decent health care any more. Billions die and creation slowly restores a better balance because the human population is decimated. But that’s ok because it won’t happen in our lifetime. The Hezekiah effect! The alternative is to take more drastic action now. Which one do you think humanity will choose?
A prayer from Cafod (and I promise to be more cheery on Monday)
We pray for the Church: that she may be a beacon of hope throughout the world, reminding us all of our responsibility to care for and protect God’s precious gift of creation. Lord, in your mercy… We pray for the world, our common home: that through God’s grace we may hear its cry of the damage done and be moved to protect it for future generations to enjoy. Lord, in your mercy…
We pray for those people who are already facing droughts, floods and storms: that God may grant them strength and hope for the future as they work to adapt to the changing climate. Lord, in your mercy…
We pray for our parish and our local community: that through the grace of God we may hear the urgent cry of the earth and of the poor and be inspired to respond at this crucial time. Lord, in your mercy…
We pray for the world we live in: that God may open our eyes to recognise the goodness of all creation and help us to do what we can to restore and care for the wonderful gift that we have been given. Lord, in your mercy…
We pray for world leaders: that God may grant them wisdom to make just decisions which respect the earth and all that lives in it, especially those who are poorest and most vulnerable. Lord, in your mercy…
We pray for our local community: that through God’s grace we may be good neighbours to each other and to the whole of creation, restoring and caring for all that God has made. Lord, in your mercy…
Today’s musical offering is rather different. A string Quartet playing the average temperatures for each year in 4 different areas of the world from the rtic to the Equator.
https://www.co2.earth/global-warming-music-for-string-quartet
Try it and see!
If you would like to join us for Evening Prayer today (Friday) it is at 5.00pm
If you would like to join us for Evening Prayer tomorrow (Saturday) it is at 5.00pm
Sunday worship: Parish Communion at 9am in church, Zoom Worship at 10.30am and Messy Zoom at 11.30am. Sunday Evening Prayer is at 6pm on Zoom
We hold Morning Prayer and some Evening Prayer in church nearly every day (see the pew leaflet for details). You are welcome to join us.
Every blessing
Andrew
