Why Do You Walk?

A sermon by the Rev. Dr. Margaret Aymer Oget

Scripture: Nehemiah 2

It was the dead of night. He had only just arrived in Jerusalem, and not everyone wanted him there. So he got up under the protective blanket of darkness. Silently, he roused a few persons, his closest, most trusted friends. As quietly as he could, he prepared his animal for travel. And stealing away from those in charge, those with power, authority and control, Nehemiah went for a walk.

And if we could ask him, Nehemiah, why do you walk? I think he would say, Friend, I walk because I have a holy dissatisfaction with the status quo. You see, friend, according to the status quo, I, the cupbearer for the conquering king, I rely on my lord and liege for my status, my sustenance, my power, indeed my very life. But there came a day when I stopped being able to lie. There came a day when I could not longer put on a happy face before the king. There came a day, when I had to speak the truth to power: For, "why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my ancestors' graves, lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" Why should I not speak the truth, that I fear for the safety of my own people, who have no protection, no wall to shield them from danger? Indeed, in the face of those who have no wall, in the face of the status quo, why should I not walk?

Sisters and brothers, why do you walk today? Why come to this place, to this gathering, and to this day by train, plane and automobile? With what have you a holy dissatisfaction? Do you long to see a wall of protection built for those who have no adequate health care? Do you long to see a wall of justice built for those who are physically or mentally disabled? Can you no longer stand the treatment of pregnant women who have no financial options? Does the cry of the victim of domestic violence burn in your soul? Can you not forget the images of men and women on rooftops surrounded by water, while those in power wring their hands or turn their heads? With what is your holy dissatisfaction, today? Sisters and brothers, why do you walk?

Let us follow our brother, Nehemiah out into the safe and comforting darkness. Look, he goes right up to the scarred walls, the broken, burned gates. He goes up to those places that finally are too destroyed even for him to enter with his steady animal. And if we were to ask him, Nehemiah, why are you walking? I think he would say, "I walk to bear witness to what is true; I walk to see things for myself." You see, friend, I am a child of the exile. I have heard the stories, stories about the horrible destruction of my ancestors' great city. I could recite them all by heart. But I must see for myself what is true, for stories are stories. So I walk so that I can see for myself; so that I can touch for myself the broken stones and the fire-burned gates; so that I can see the dust blowing in the gentle night; so that I can struggle over the stones that used to hold up the walls of the city. I have had too much of stories, of people telling me how things were. It is time for me to see things for myself. It is time that I bore witness to what is true.

Sisters and brothers, why do you walk? To what do you wish to bear witness today? What stories have you heard? What do you come to touch, to smell, to see for yourselves? Do you come to touch those still living with AIDS-related illnesses because they have no resources to afford anti-retroviral therapy? Do you come to stand with those who struggle with addiction as bars and casinos open while treatment centers struggle to care for the addicted? Do you come to see the work being done in the midst of the storm by health workers and pastoral counselors, child advocates and community transformers? What must you see for yourself? To what do you need to be able to bear witness, both here and at home? Sisters and brothers, why do you walk?

And when the gentle night is over, see, Nehemiah walks again. This time, he walks in the light of the sun. And if we were to ask him once again, Nehemiah, why are you walking? I think he would turn to us and smile and say, "Why surely you don't think I'm doing this all by myself, do you?" I'm going to ask for help. You see, from the very beginning, I have known that I cannot do this by myself. Before I can build this wall, I must ask my sisters and brothers for help. Before I can repair these burned down gates, I must ask my friends and neighbors for help. Do you not think that before I made my plea to the king I did not ask for help? Surely, you do not think I put my life into my OWN hands! No, my friends, I turned to the God of heaven and earth; I asked for help. And in the asking I found courage to face the king. In the asking, I know I will find hands willing to refashion these gates. In the asking, I know I will find people of God ready to rebuild these walls.

Sisters and brothers, why do you walk? Do you walk intending to be the messiah? Do you walk intending to be the one bringing help, bringing wholeness, bringing salvation? Or do you walk because you have already asked for help and the one who made waves and currents has poured courage into you? Do you walk to ask for help from your brothers and sisters to do the task that has been given to you? Do you walk to seek the people of God who will help to rebuild not only this city but this nation so in need of the love of the Triune God? Sisters and brothers, why do you walk?

On August 30, 2005, the collapse of the levees of New Orleans led to the collapse of other very important, protective walls — walls that sheltered those who fight addictions, who are living with domestic violence, and who are HIV+ or living with AIDS; walls that protected women who were pregnant but had no options, the physically and mentally disabled and children; walls that offered a safe space in which there was mental and physical health care, and a community of people from church and neighborhood ready to reach out, to help to rebuild and make things new. Yes, friends, many many walls collapsed in August of 2005.

Today, we have gathered here to take a walk. Why will you walk today? Come, walk with holy dissatisfaction. Come, walk prepared to bear witness to what has happened. Come, walk; and as you walk, prepare to ask for help, for partnership and for guidance — from those on the ground-and from the One who made the waters in their courses and who spoke calm to the sea, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Come, let us go from this place. Come, let us begin. Come, let us rebuild.