Returning & Reconciliation

Synopsis     1Chron 8:37-9:13     12/13/2019 

Previously, the chronicler described the genealogy of the first eleven tribes. Then he finished by describing the genealogy of Benjamin. After this, he described the families who lived in Jerusalem after people returned from the Babylonian exile.  

Accordingly, he described how people from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh returned to repopulate the city. And, these did not include the priests and Levites, who were the very first to return.  

Returning and Reconciliation 

So, even after the exile, Jerusalem remained an inter-tribal city. Leaders and their families from all the remaining tribes chose to live in the restored city. 

The phenomena of exiles returning to Jerusalem is evidence of communal reconciliation. In this way, God’s forgiveness and intent to restore the children of Israel is made plain. 

Returning to Faith through Church Community 

The journey back to the Catholic church feels something like what I imagine the returning exiles experienced.  

I encountered Jesus in the first deliberate act of my own will when I practiced in a separated faith community. But before that, my parents had raised me with a knowledge about the Catholic faith as a child. 

Unfortunately, like many, I never actually practiced the faith. I never really prayed outside of mass. And, personally, I never read scripture at all. So, discovering Jesus in the Word was both profound and new.

Yet, when the time came, returning to the community of my childhood felt different. It was both new and familiar. I felt like I had completed a process of exilic returning. Of course, separation had always been my decision. No one ever forced me out. I had chosen to be away.

Still, the decision to begin again the practice of Catholic faith felt like I had returned from an exile. Since then, I have come to realize that we are all called to the same thing. This journey is a path to reconciliation and restoration through repentance.  

“When the LORD restored the captives of Zion, we thought we were dreaming. Then our mouths were filled with laughter; our tongues sang for joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The LORD had done great things for them.’” Psalm 126:1-2