Returning is Tough

Though born in Zambia, a citizen of South Africa – (with options on a few other passports too) – I consider myself a displaced Zimbabwean.  Not that I am technically displaced of course, I just never chose to return there after I’d finished my studies at Rhodes. And recent years seem to have vindicated that decision.

Lately though, I’ve been almost overwhelmed by nostalgic memories of both my childhood and early adolescence in Zimbabwe, even though the years were marked by war and unhappy school memories. Yet in spite of these ties, (and the fact that my immediate family still live there) I wonder how I would react if the “still small voice” bid me return?  You see, Zimbabwe is, for the most part, a nation in disarray with very little to commend itself.

Judah’s experience of deportation between 606 BC and 587 BC – and later exile in Babylon must have been similarly bittersweet.  In the first instance, the deportation involved the removal of the Royal Court – the rulers and sages of the establishment.  In the second, the removal of craftsmen and merchants; the economic backbone of the establishment.  In the third instance, it saw the looting and destruction of the temple – the physical reminder of God in their midst.

Yet during the ensuing 70 years the Jews made a home of Babylon.  Treated relatively well, many established businesses and participated in the economy.  I would be interested to know how many were excited by the news that Cyrus had granted them permission – and even provided the resources – to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.  After all, we are told that things back “home” were so bad that even basic necessities like water were being hawked by opportunistic vendors on the city’s street corners.

No, this return was hardly the unanimous “Let’s Go Get ‘em guys!!” sort of thing you might have expected.  In 537 BC, about 50 000 pilgrims returned with Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple.  90 years later – a lifetime for most of us – saw the return of a measly 1800 under the priest Ezra.  14 years after that, a small handful of craftsmen returned with Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of the Holy City.

Yet before we look down on those Jews of old; what of me today?  Am I settling in the comfortable confines of my modern day surroundings?  Am I being cowed by the reports from the land that God might call me to occupy - be it literal or metaphorical?

When I consider those options on other passports – of citizenship in countries that are far safer and more predictable than the one I live in, maybe I am just too safe for the time being.