St. Barnabas, Falmouth
November 10, 2019
The Rev. Nancy E. Gossling
Glory to God, whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we
can ask or imagine, glory to God from generation to generation in the Church and
in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen.
In the second year of the President
Trump, in the eleventh month of the year, on the ninth day of this month, the
word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying to the people of St.
Barnabas in Falmouth: “Who is left among you that saw this house in its former
glory? How does it look to you now? (And) is it not in your sight as nothing?”
And I say to you, “What do our churches, our political houses, our country, and
our world look like to you now? Are they just former places of glory? Is there
nothing to behold, only remnants of human dignity, integrity, and religious
faith? And what exactly are we called to do?”
Unlike today’s social media, the book of Haggai gives no personal
information about this particular prophet. No words of disparagement about his
physical appearance, no comments about his age, his opinions, or his actions.
Like the opponents of Jesus, Haggai doesn’t offer absurd situations for debate,
like whose wife she will be in the Resurrection. History repeats itself; and so
we can change the destructive courses and patterns of our past with the clarity
and clear resolve of people like Haggai, Jesus, and St. Paul.
The date of the book of Haggai is “unusually precise.” It was written
sometime between the months of August and December, maybe even in this month of
November, but in the year 520 B.C. It includes four sermons spoken by the
prophet Haggai to his people in Jerusalem. His words were grounded in the
historic times in which he lived, and his prophetic message had a singular
purpose and a particular focus. Haggai encouraged his people to continue
rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem; for he believed that the messiah would not
come until the building was done.
Perhaps you recall some of the history of Jerusalem, and how it had
been invaded by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 587 B.C., some 60 years
before Haggai spoke. King Nebuchadnezzar, ruling from the territory which is
current day Iraq, had destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, and then forced most
of the Jews into exile in Babylon, where they hung up their harps and wept.
This kind of invasion, oppression, and forced migration continues today
throughout our world. Imagine hostile forces sweeping over the Bourne Bridge,
destroying St. Barnabas and Falmouth, and then forcing most of you into
immigration camps in the inner city of Boston! And now you are the remnant left
behind.
No less true today, the country of Israel was surrounded by powerful
kings, who were seeking to expand their territories, protect their power, and
maintain control of the people in their countries. As is often the case, uneasy
alliances were made by the ruling kings. Friends became foes and foes became
friends. Even their own country was divided during the time of Haggai, and
prophets spoke from both sides of the borders. It was hard for people to know
who to follow and what was the right thing to do.
During the time of Haggai’s prophecy, King Darius was the ruler of
Persia, which is current day Iran. His predecessor had defeated king
Nebuchadnezzar, and then in 539 B.C., 20 years before Haggai, he had allowed
the exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem. Many of them did not; and because of
age only some of the remnant remained. Recalling their exodus from Egypt, and
the promises made to them by their God, Haggai encouraged the remnant of his
people to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, and restore it to its former glory.
He claimed that until the temple was restored, normalcy would elude his people
and the coming of the messiah would be delayed. Even though this work was
difficult and costly, it must be continued, he argued.
I was fascinated by a recent article in which former President Barack
Obama said “compromise” shouldn’t be frowned upon. Speaking in Chicago, he
called on Americans to abandon ideological purity tests in politics. “The world
is messy,” he said. “There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff
have flaws.” Like the kings and queens
in other countries, like the presidents and politicians in ours, like the
prophets and priests in our history and even now; they are flawed and still do
really good stuff. Indeed, like you and me; for religion, and politics, and
social mores are messy.
Obama also called out what
he perceived as a ‘danger,’ describing the current use of Twitter outrage as
‘not activism.’ “There is this sense sometimes that ‘the way of making change’
is to be as judgmental as possible,” he said. “Like if I tweet or hashtag about
how you didn’t do something right. Then, I can sit back and feel pretty good
about myself because, ‘Man, you see how woke I was? I called you out.’ You
know, that’s not activism,” said Obama. “That’s not bringing about change. If all you’re doing is casting stones.”
(Ed Mazza,Overnight Editor, HuffPost, 10/30/19)
Prophets
like Haggai, St. Paul, Jesus, and Obama remind us that words are empty without
constructive actions that follow. The restoration of our bridges and buildings
is as necessary today as it was back then. Although the work is difficult and
costly, it must be continued, said Haggai. Like the hard work of religious
faith, social justice, and God’s mission
of reconciliation and peace. All of these costly and difficult efforts
must be continued as well.
Do
you remember that famous old song,“There’s a whole lotta shaking going on?”
Well there’s been a lot of that shaking recently, not only on the Cape with
hurricanes and tornadoes, but also in our nation and throughout our world.
Political unrest, threats of wars, cyber attacks and trade tariffs, farmers and
pharmacists all remind us of our human vulnerability. When we are faced with
any kind of destructive force, the words of the prophets Haggai, Jesus, and St.
Paul offer us words of encouragement and hope.
According
to Haggai, the Lord of hosts said, “Once again, I will shake the heavens and
the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all the nations, (not
for destructive purposes, but rather) so that the treasure of all nations shall
come, and I will fill this house with splendor.”
“The
silver is mine, and the gold is mine,” says the Lord of hosts, not as part of a
benefits package from a prosperity gospel, or a new government or corporate
policy. Rather we have been given our time, talents, and treasure to rebuild
bridges across the waters of our division, to repair the breaches in our
communities and countries, and to restore God’s holy temples to be houses of
prayer for all God’s people.
“Do
not fear,” said the prophet Haggai. “Be faithful. Take courage.” Remember the
promises of our God, who liberated us from Egypt and Babylon. “Work, for I am
with you,” says the Lord of hosts. “My spirit abides among you; so do not
fear.”
“We should not be quickly shaken in our minds
or alarmed,” wrote St. Paul to the earliest church members in Thessalonica,
reminding them to keep on working until the return of Christ. No, Jesus wasn’t
coming again as quickly as they thought; and yet they believed that He would
surely come. Our God is a God of promise and hope,
liberation and freedom, justice and mercy, resurrection and love for all
people. Indeed, our God was there
at our creation, is here with us now, and will be with us in the Resurrection.
“Our God is a God not of the dead, but of the living,” said Jesus.
My prophetic message to you
today has a singular purpose and a particular focus. Remembering our history,
and as baptized members of Christ’s Body, we have been called by God to proclaim the good news
of Jesus Christ in both our words and our actions. Follow Him. Listen to Him.
Act like Him. With Haggai and St. Paul, I encourage you to
rebuild your temples of the Holy Spirit, with faith and courage and hard work. Difficult and costly and necessary is the
Way of Love. “For this purpose of proclamation,” wrote St. Paul, “God has
called you.”
“Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? And how
does it look to you now?” Is it not in
your sight as something to behold?” Let them see and hear on the other side of
the Bourne Bridge that “there’s a whole lotta shaking going on” in Falmouth!
Haggai 1:15b-2:9
Psalm 145:1-5, 18-22
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
Luke 20:27-38
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