February 15, 2009    Haggai 2:1-9

    The second scripture reading this morning is from the prophet Haggai, a prophet who is rarely read in worship and even more rarely heard about from the pulpit.  Not only is this book of prophecies very small - not even two whole pages out of your entire pew Bible - but Haggai is also considered by many biblical scholars to be a relatively insignificant book altogether with perhaps only some historical value.

    That having been said, many of you probably will recognize some of the words I will read in a moment, for it is Haggai that provided the text for one of the great bass solos in Handel’s Messiah.  And I know in the past our choir sang Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, and if you are familiar with that work, you will recognize again words of the prophet Haggai once again set to music.  So apparently this ancient prophet of little note has, in fact, been the source of great inspiration.  The question for us today is what in the world does this minor prophet have to say to a group of Christians in the center of Columbus, Ohio, in the 21st century?

Haggai prophesied during a brief four month period in the year 520 BCE.  Thousands of inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem had been deported to Babylon, following their defeat in 598.  For sixty years they lived in exile until Cyrus of Persia conquered the Babylonians and allowed the exiles to return to their homeland.  While some stayed in Babylon disillusioned with their faith in the God of Abraham, the exiles who did return found the temple not only destroyed but pagan cults established in the foundations of the sacred courts.  Their initial attempts to rebuild the temple were undermined by bad harvests, economic distress, and hostile neighbors, and building efforts ceased.  By the time the exiles began to prosper, they had become more interested in their own prosperity and apparently certain that the glory days of Jerusalem had passed.  It is upon this scene that Haggai appears.

Here now these words from the second oracle of the prophet Haggai.

        On the twenty-first day of the seventh month the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people.  Ask them, ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory?  How does it look to you now?  Does it not seem to you like nothing?  But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord.  ‘Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.  Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work.  For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.  ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt.  And my Spirit remains among you.  Do not fear.’

        “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.  I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty.  ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.  ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty.  ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” 

    Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.


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    If I want to get a warm, fuzzy feeling, all I have to do is think about the church when I was a young girl in the 1950's.  I have a vivid memory of my parents hosting a Bible study at our house.  The living room was crowded with familiar faces from church, and our minister was there, of course.  The lights burned brightly.  There was an infectious friendliness in the air.  Everyone seemed genuinely glad to be there. Perfect picture of the thriving church of the 50's.  Many of us remember those days wistfully, and if you’re too young to remember, you probably have heard about those years spoken with words of longing.

    Some say that the tremendous church growth of those years was just an aberration, yet most of us find little comfort in that thought, and it is easy for us to grieve over the state of mainline Protestantism today.   The church’s consistent reports of declining membership in all the denominations has been a source of frustration and disappointment and has contributed to a growing sense of helplessness on the part of many.

    If the sheer loss of numbers isn’t bad enough, the church has found itself in the midst of a growing identity crisis as well.  With the emergence of new theologies - black theology, liberation theology, feminist theology - theological identities of the Christian denominations have been challenged.  And with an ever-growing interfaith movement where people of many religious traditions seek to work together in tolerance and understanding, we are faced with the particular challenge of maintaining the integrity of our own faith in a pluralistic world.   So not only does the church denominations struggle with declining numbers, but they  also often struggle to know who and what they are.

    As the church seeks to make up for its loss and to grow, we also find that the 19th century understanding of evangelism  - that is, bringing the gospel to others that they might save souls - is in conflict with a new understanding of evangelism where missionaries seek to model the presence of Christ in the world by transforming the social order by bringing justice where it is needed.

    Oh, for the good old days, we say - lots of people, sure of what we believe, who we are, what’s right and what’s wrong, and where we are going - those days when theological truth seemed absolute and the future sure.

    “Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory?”  poses the prophet Haggai.  “How does it look to you now?  Does it seem to you like nothing?”  How much like fellow brothers and sisters that remnant of 6th century Jerusalem seems today.  Oh, for those glory days when kings ruled in Jerusalem and God’s temple sparkled in the sunlight!

    Having lost their beloved city and temple, having faced defeat at the hands of their enemies and having spent years in exile, finding the temple destroyed and other religions taking hold, the remnant which had returned to Jerusalem struggled with discouragement and hopelessness.  Yet God declares, “Be strong, for I am with you . . . This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt . . . My spirit remains with you.  Do not fear.”  Do not be discouraged; set aside your grief; set aside your mourning.  The Lord God of hosts is with you!  The Lord God of hosts is with us!!!

    We may long for things the way they were, but one of the things we all eventually learn is that change is one of the few things in life we can count on.  Political changes alter our maps constantly.   Computers are out of date practically before you get your newest one up and running.  Technology has radically changed not only how we do business but also what we think is essential in our homes and in our lives - cellular phones, laptops, iPods, high definition TV, DVR’s, and Blackberries.  When I was at a Board of Pensions seminar a few weeks ago, we saw a DVD where people over 100 years old were interviewed.  It boggles the mind to think of all the changes someone has witnessed who was born over a hundred years ago.  I’m sure these centenarians would tell us that while we may long for the good old days and wish things would always be that way, change is one of the few things in life that is certain.

    But there is something more that is sure and certain, too.  “I am always with you,” says the Lord.  “My spirit remains with you.”    In the face of the certainty of change our strength, our courage come from our assurance that something else which is certain is that God is ever faithful, faithful to us and faithful to the covenant relationship into which we have been born.  The changes of our personal lives as well as the changes of our life together in the church of Jesus Christ AND the constancy, the changelessness, the permanency of God’s faithfulness together form the foundation on which we gather our strength and on which we build the church.  “Be strong,” says the Lord.  “I am always with you.”

    In a time when it may seem easier to just give up, we also hear God’s promise.  “The glory of the present house will be greater than the former . . . And in this place I will grant peace, I will grant shalom . . .”  God’s promise is not only that God will be ever faithful, but that God will fill the house of the Lord with glory and will establish peace.  This is not simply peace which comes when there is an absence of war.  This is God’s shalom, God’s peace - a peace which means hostilities will cease, to be sure, but also a peace where there is restoration of health, enrichment of individual and community, a time when hate and violence cease, wholeness of life returns, prosperity in its deepest sense is experienced, and justice and reconciliation are established.  God’s ongoing commitment is faithfulness to the covenant and faithfulness to the establishment of shalom - that richest of God’s blessings.

    We must not forget, however, that we are in a covenant relationship.  The establishment of God’s peace does not mean we should just sit back and wait.  This is a partnership!  The temple will not just build itself.  We must return to the trenches and roll up our sleeves.  The work of building the church, the work of establishing God’s shalom may all too often seem like a thankless task full of drudgery and an exercise in frustration, but . . . “Be strong,” says the Lord.  “We are in this together, and I will be faithful to you to the end.”

    Over a decade ago our Executive Presbyter Dana Knapp wrote an article for the Presbytery newsletter where he sends a timeless message that could have been written yesterday, hitting exactly upon this challenge.  He says, “Even for we who minister in the Presbytery of Scioto Valley, the daily drudgery of doing good can overwhelm us on occasion.  The faith journey is no Concorde flight to the Kingdom of God, but a slow march over long years with poor equipment.  Our faith is fractional, our vision blurred, our victories always incomplete, God knows.  But that is precisely the point.  God knows . . . When the Pittsburgh Penguins won their first Stanley Cup several years ago, the coach pointed to the importance of the support cast who worked behind the stars.  ‘It was the muckers and grinders who came through.’  ‘Muckers and grinders.’  Most of us feel that way about ourselves.  We can trust that God is at least as appreciative as a hockey coach.  Muckers and grinders are those who stay with it.  A healthy soul is one that is on the grow.  A healthy congregation is one that is always under construction.” 

    This congregation’s commitment to be faithful to our covenant relationship with God and to be muckers and grinders for the establishment of God’s shalom is demonstrated in a lot of different ways, but one of the most significant is through our involvement with B.R.E.A.D.    We are a very charitable congregation, and charity is a good thing, for the needs for basic food, clothing, and shelter are staggering.  But the work of justice seeks to change the system so that charity no longer is a necessity.  It is not just coincidence that while “peace” means many things in the Bible, at least one third of the time it is related to justice.    It has been said that “for the Christian . . . peace is the inner motivation and peace is the external intent, with justice the indispensable means . . .”  Next week our B.R.E.A.D. team is going to be meeting to begin our work toward supporting this year’s effort toward furthering justice in our city.  You will be hearing about B.R.E.A.D.’s amazing record of accomplishment - most recently in addressing payday lending and establishing effective drug courts in our state.  And you will hear about its focus for 2009 where together we will address the issue of urban blight.  A research committee to deal with this issue is hard at work right now and will be reporting its findings at the March Assembly.  So listen and take the call to heart to do your part.

    Does the present church sometimes seem to pale for you when you think of its former glory?  “Be strong,” says the Lord, “for I am with you.   A greater glory lies ahead, and the establishment of my peace is sure.”  This is God’s promise, and even though we may sometimes feel like muckers and grinders, even though the vision of the establishment of God’s shalom may seem blurred and dim, and even though we know the future will not look like the past, let us find our strength, our courage, our stamina, our will to endure in the knowledge that God is faithful to a covenant that forms an iron thread that forever binds us together and assures the ultimate glory of God’s kingdom.