The prophet Zechariah, along with Haggai, brought the word of God to the exiles returning from captivity in Babylon. The excitement of returning to their homeland was quickly tempered by the reality of needing to build everything — homes, farms, businesses as well as the temple — from scratch. Zechariah brought a word of encouragement from God. The surprise was the expansive nature the prophetic vision. The prophet did not simply talk about restoration, going back to the good old days. He proclaimed that God was doing something new, God was provided a new vision of what it meant to be the people of God. I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people and he will dwell among you. That lesson is an important one for our time. When we see how different the world and the Church have become there is a temptation to latch onto the familiar. Zechariah shows us that is not how God works. We must learn to recognize the new ways that God dwells among us as we invite “many nations” to share life as children of God.
