Space to Eat

Jock Stein September 21, 2026 4 1

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Nehemiah 8: 9-12 (NIVUK)

9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

10 Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’

11 The Levites calmed all the people, saying, ‘Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.’

12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

In our story for today, the people listening to Ezra and other leaders were given permission to rejoice. That sounds strange – should celebration not be spontaneous? Every culture has its limitations, its bottlenecks, its blockages, and one of the tasks of leaders is to give people permission to do what they may feel is ‘not the done thing’. Here the people start rejoicing because they have understood what the leaders have said. That also sounds strange – surely leaders know how to communicate? But in context, they are rejoicing because they have heard from a book which has been closed to them, God’s book which we have in our time as a whole Bible.

And how do we celebrate? With a meal. A meal with others. A meal we share with those who don’t have enough. In our day when family tables have disappeared, when families are broken, Christians need to create new tables, new families, new contexts for celebrating shared meals.

PRAY

Lord Jesus, when you shared food with your friends in Gospel times, how much you must have taught them, and how much they must have rejoiced at your teaching. You lived holiness in company with others. The joy of God was your strength. Let it be ours also, we pray. Amen.