Monday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
September 25, 2023
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Ezra 1:1-6
Ezra and Nehemiah deal with the post-exilic period of God’s people. These narratives of return and restoration were written down later by Ezra–a scribe, and Nehemiah–a Jewish representative of the Persian king.
Judah had been overcome by the Babylonians in 587 B.C., and the populace deported to Babylon. In 538 the Babylonians were overcome by the Persians. The Persian king Cyrus, immediately decreed that the Jews who wished to do so could return home. The Babylonian captivity was over!
The response of the Jews was not enthusiastic. Many–perhaps most of them–liked it in Babylon. They weren’t eager to go home. Today’s reading gives us Cyrus’ decree. But there was still a long way to go. God’s providence isn’t always fulfilled effortlessly.
