In today's first reading from the book of Nehemiah, we experience the celebration of the return of the Jewish people to Jerusalem after decades in exile and the rebuilding of the temple after its destruction by the Babylonians.

The people are ecstatic that their spiritual home has been restored, and that they are allowed to live and worship in their holy city again after a humiliating exile. The rebuilding of the temple was a dream long wished for, and the dream had become a reality.

The prophet Ezra reads from the book of the law, and after reading "from daybreak to midday," he tells the people of Israel: "Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who have nothing prepared; for today is holy to the Lord. Do not be sad this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength."

The year 2003 for many of us was a year of devastation and difficulty. In our church, in our communities, in our nation, and in our world there has been much suffering. The war, the fires, mudslides and earthquakes, the ongoing threat of terror, the church scandals have all impacted us in our parishes, our homes and our families.

Even if you haven't been victim of disaster or scandal, we all face staggering emotional setbacks in our lives. If you're like me, you often wonder if what has been destroyed in our lives can ever be rebuilt.

Cyrus, the king of Babylon, allowed Nehemiah to rebuild the temple. This is indeed a miracle of Biblical proportions, and should offer hope for those of us who are suffering. If a Babylonian ruler can aid the restoring of a Jewish temple, just about anything in our lives can be rebuilt as well. The story of Nehemiah should give comfort and hope to all of us who experienced devastating loss.

The good news of the Gospel is that God hears the cries of the devastated. The story of Nehemiah and the temple is but a foreshadowing of what God does for all people in Christ. In Christ, all that has been torn down by violence, all who have been exiled into loneliness, all who have been impoverished and imprisoned by their enemies are offered liberation.

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus launches his public ministry by announcing, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and release to prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord."

God promises liberation to all who require it --- which pretty much means most of us. For if we don't think we need a miracle to be made whole, we're probably not following Jesus Christ. We're not told when this liberation will come, or how it will arrive. But today's readings give us hope that the forces at work in this world do not in the end control us. The compassion of God is stronger.

Let us pray that all of us will find that this year, 2004, can be a year of favor from the Lord, and that we too will soon experience the reality that "rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength."

Bill Peatman writes from Napa.