Nehemiah 1:11c

"At the time, I was cupbearer to the king." (Nehemiah 1:11c)

This week, I’ve been sitting with this line. It comes as the tail end of the first chapter of Nehemiah. It seems like a passing comment. Maybe it is. But there is a whole complexity of opportunity, limitation, hope and anxiety all loaded into this sentence. A sentence that Biblical scholars didn’t deem worthy of its own verse number.

We are prone to follow after the sentiment of our day (of some at least) that we can be, do, achieve whatever we want. Whatever we set our minds to. That this is a patently false statement is widely attested by nearly any study touching upon this question. We are the product of so many powerful forces, which all interact with family dynamics, whatever tendencies our DNA lends to us, the place and time in which we are born. Some factors which have more influence on you than you may think are: how many words you heard as a small child, your parents’ economic status, and how you played (and/or were allowed or encouraged to) as a child.

Nehemiah’s story, and the story of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem are powerfully impacted by this statement.

Nehemiah’s role as cupbearer to the king tells us that he had a place of some importance and trust. This gave him access to the king in a way few others (especially Jews) had in his day. That access and trust certainly laid an important foundation for the support he would receive from the king. At the same time, however, this role closely aligned him with the empire. This would create some challenge when he sought to return and connect with the Jews living in Jerusalem.  And it no doubt impacted him in many ways which are not apparent to us. Both good and bad.

We are the same. At any given time, the role, place, identity we have offers both opportunity and challenge. And we can be tempted to focus on comparing ourselves rather than assessing both opportunity and challenge (or, perhaps, focusing on challenge).

In March 1955, a young, unmarried and pregnant woman named Claudette Colvin, was arrested for resisting bus segregation in Montgomery. Though considered as a cause to force the issue of segregation, local African-American organizers felt this was not the case to force the issue. Nine months later, Rosa Parks resisted segregation on a bus, leading to a massive movement that is often hailed as a landmark movement in the history of the Civil Rights movement.

A young pastor had become pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church the previous year. In March of 1955, he was pastoring there as well as finishing his doctoral studies at Boston University. By December, when organizers in Montgomery were galvanized by Rosa Parks’ act of defiance to bus segregation, King was selected as the primary spokesperson for the action. He quickly rose to prominence and today remains one of the best-known leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.

Some have suggested that the delay from the experience of Colvin to Parks opened a door for King. However those familiar with this situation might conclude, indeed sometimes small facts of our identities, role and timing are incredibly determinative for our lives.

All this forces me to look at who I am and where I find myself now. Not comparing myself to others (I do this sometimes, and it is pretty much always demoralizing). But the place you find yourself now is a place God can use you. How God uses you, and what God uses you for, well, you may have no idea now. But we are all, each of us, part of a story bigger than ourselves. We have meaningful choices to make, but those choices are conditioned by forces far beyond our control. Indeed, much as we might like to think the opposite, much of life is beyond our control. But we have much influence over how we function in this time, space and place. We are called to do so in a way that opens us to God’s guidance and call.

Take a couple minutes, and try this exercise: make a list of all the roles, titles, positions you are/have right now. Son or daughter. Friend. Pastor. Church member. Teacher. Neighbor. Board member. Recovering addict. Then, think about what opportunities and challenges these might present. What gifts have you received to have these roles? What challenges do these present, either to you personally, or your desire to push towards some goal or call upon your life?

"At the time, I was cupbearer to the king."

What will your story say about who you were at precisely that point where God was able to use you most powerfully?