Ezra read from the book of the law "from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law" (v. 3); and "all the people wept when they heard the words of the law (v. 9). This reading of the word of God stands in interesting contrast to the reading done by Jesus in the gospel for today (Luke 4:14-21). After an initially positive response to Jesus' interpretation of Isaiah, with its welcome to outcasts, the people began to catch the implied judgment upon themselves. Rather than weep, they drove Jesus out of town and sought to kill him (4:28-29). It is a long way between these two stories, but it is a path worth traveling.

The Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C.…