Generational Dischord
Ezra 3 paints a beautiful picture. Many of the children of Israel have returned to Jerusalem. They have poured the foundation for the second temple. A great shout of praise was lifted to Yahweh. Verse 11 of this chapter could be paraphrased, “The foundation of the temple has been laid. We are finally home.” This was a time of great joy for all the people. Yet verse 12 provides an interesting contrast. “But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy.” Apparently, not everyone was pleased with the new temple. Scripture does not tell us why the older generation was sad. However, they were overcome with anguish after seeing the foundation of the new temple. Perhaps this new temple was not as big or as grand. Perhaps this temple was a reminder of the glory days that would never return. However, this memory of the past is selective at best. The previous generation remembers the glory of the temple, but they forget the kings that behaved as taskmasters. They forget the heavy taxation and enslavement. They choose to forget the wickedness of Israel during “good old days”.
There is great benefit in studying and remembering our history. However, remembrance has a tendency to become nostalgia and nostalgia does not allow a person to see what God is doing in the present. In my experience, many of the conflicts between the younger and older generations in present-day churches revolves around this issue. The previous generation wants to return to the days of big tent revivals and preaching that focuses on the fires of hell. The younger generation does not see anything glorious about these things and decides to focus on what God is doing now…sometimes without any historical grounding. However, both sides of the conversation are needed. We need to remember the history of our faith and our churches. This history impacts the way we seek to live our our faith in the present and the future. Yet, this focus on the past cannot lead to stagnation or an attempt to recreate the past.