“The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,
and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
“”Repairer of the breach,”” they shall call you,
“”Restorer of ruined homesteads.”” (Isaiah 58:12)
What is a breach? Strictly speaking the definition is: “a gap in a wall, barrier, or defense, especially one made by an attacking army.” For Isaiah it referred to the troubles the Israelites were having in rebuilding the temple. A portion of those from Judah who had been exiled to Babylon had returned to Jerusalem to begin the process of rebuilding their home. The Babylonians had left Jerusalem, the Temple and the city’s walls in ruins. And I am sure the 70 years of abandonment didn’t help either. Most of us know what happens to a house when it sits empty for a prolonged period. Temples, cities and homes are meant to be lived in. Not abandoned.
So when the Israelites returned from Babylon they had a huge job to get done. Unfortunately, things did not go smoothly. There was shortages of funds to complete the project. Materials were in short supply. There was not enough food. On top of that the neighboring communities who remained in Judah after the Israelites left were deeply suspicious of what they were up to. Would these people regain power, rise up and destroy them? And the Israelites struggled with their relationship with them as well. Some wanted to include them in the building while others saw those who remained as outsiders. As pagans not worshipping the same God. They were Jews who remained while they had been made slaves. They intermarried with non-Jews, Assyrians. The returning Jews thought of them as mixed breed. This population came to be known as Samaritans and we read in several places in the New Testament how Jews treated them as outcasts.
And it was because of all these factors that cleaning up the rubble of the Temple’s destruction and rebuilding became so difficult. And into this turmoil stepped the governor appointed by the Persian King, Cyrus, to oversee the rebuilding. His name was Zerubbabel. Along with the priest, Joshua, they undertook the task of rebuilding. But construction stalled for all the reasons mentioned above. But God used the prophet Zechariah to encourage Zerubbabel and motivate him. The Temple was rebuilt and after that the city and its walls followed suit. Zerubbabel could truly be called, “Repairer of the Breach”.
But rubble does not just come from destroyed buildings. And repairers of the breach do not only have to be engineers or contractors. A breach can be in a physical structure or can be a breach in someone’s life, heart or their soul. A life damaged by the pain of abortion. Families torn apart by alcohol or drug addiction. Relationships cut off due to political disagreements. These breaches, and life’s rubble that ensues, can create just as big of a hole and obstacle in someone’s life.
And then there are the spiritual breaches. Those who have lost God. Either because of those emotional scars mentioned above or maybe due to previous hurts inflicted on them by the Church. Or perhaps life got in the way causing them to drift from God and/or the Church. In today’s Gospel we see one example of someone lost in the rubble of a breach. Levi. Later named Matthew by Jesus. Levi’s decision to use his talents to act as a tax collector separated him from his people. From his family. And from his faith. We don’t know much about him prior to him being called by Jesus. But if you watch The Chosen you will get a glimpse into what he might have been going through leading up to the fateful day when the Lord called him out of his tax collector booth.
The Chosen shows Levi/Matthew as a lonely soul with no friends and shunned by his family due to alliance with Rome. People he passes in the street look down on him in anger and contempt. All he is shown to have as a companion is his dog. And to some extent, the Centurion who guards and aids Levi. But The chosen portrays him as being somewhat unsettled with his choices and becomes captivated with Jesus. Following him and observing his works and his words. So when Jesus appears outside his booth, he is somewhat primed to follow, though he is visibly surprised and shaken by the request. After all, how can such a holy man call him, a sinner, to be one of His followers.
We find the answer at the conclusion of today’s passage:
The Pharisees ask, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.
I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”
The ultimate Repairer of the Breach. Jesus. He takes the holes in the foundations of our hearts and souls, as well as the rubble from the fallout of these choices, and makes them whole again. It doesn’t matter what put the hole there or how big it is. Jesus is waiting for us to open up and let him in to do His work. And so we are all also called to be repairers. How? Simply through forgiveness, mercy and a willingness to associate with tax collectors. To take on the smell of the sheep, as Pope Francis famously proclaimed for the clergy. Maybe that would entail inviting a homeless to the parish breakfast after Mass. Or spending some time with an elderly parishioner who lost his wife. Find the hole and fill it. Find the rubble and clean it up. One tax collector at a time.
