Giving Thanks for the Future

November 10^th, 2013       “Giving Thanks for the Future”       Rev. Heather Jepsen

Haggai 2:1-9

          Our reading this morning comes from Haggai who is probably not very familiar to you.  Haggai is among what scholar’s refer to as the minor-prophets of the Old Testament and his two chapter book is a mere blip on the screen of Hebrew literature.  Unlike the major-prophets that we have become familiar with, Haggai is not writing during the time of exile in Babylon.  Rather, he is a post–exilic prophet, writing and preaching after the time of exile, when the Israelites have finally returned to their homeland.

          It has been a long, hard road for the people of Israel.  After 70 years in exile in Babylon, they finally return home to find a wasteland.  Their houses are destroyed, their fields overgrown, and their temple is still nothing but ruins.  Upon their return to Jerusalem, the people naturally get busy rebuilding their homes and communities.  One thing that they have neglected to address is rebuilding the temple.  Haggai has been called by God to challenge them on this point.

          We read in chapter one of this book that “the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?  Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared.  You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn wages earn wages to put them into a bag with holes.”

          The prophet calls peoples’ attention to the way that they have been living.  While it seems like they are doing OK; eating drinking and working like normal, there remains a giant void in their lives.  Their neglect of the temple and their neglect of their faith, is taking a toll on everything else they experience. 

          In the section that we read for today, Haggai is challenging the people to envision a new future for the temple and for themselves.  He asks if there is anyone among the people who remembers the glory days of the temple before the exile.  The obvious answer is “no”.  In the time that Haggai is preaching a person would have to have been 75 years old to remember the temple.  When the average life span is 40 years or less, 75 is as outlandish as 150 would be today.

          So no one there remembers the temple in person, they have only heard the stories.  And of course, the temple that the people have now, a mound of stones and ruins, is certainly not as glorious as the temple of their imaginations.  As Haggai says, it is as nothing in their sight.

          Like any good preacher, Haggai takes the people to a low place so that he can bring them back up again.  Of course the temple is a ruin, and of course it is a matter of sadness and disappointment, but from here the only direction the people of Israel have to go is up.

          Haggai preaches “Yet now take courage all you people of the Land, says the Lord, according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt.  My spirit abides among you; do not fear.”  Just as God was with the people in exile, so now God is with them as they return home.  Through the prophet, God promises that the nation of Israel will one day rise again, and that the temple will once again be built.  And it won’t be simply replaced, rather “the latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former.”  This new temple will be even better than the old one was.

          Now the truth is, I disagree with some of the language and ideas in this passage.   I don’t think that God will bring all the wealth of the nations into one nation and house.  And I don’t think that God truly promises prosperity to us or to a nation.  But, despite those disagreements, I find a lot in this narrative that I can agree with.

          First of all, I really like the notion in chapter one, that though we may be getting along fine, we are nothing without our faith.  I see a lot of modern parallels between the Israelites who eat and drink and yet are never full, and our modern American culture.  Throughout time people have hungered and thirsted for something more, and yet they have allowed themselves to be distracted by the world around them.  We try to stuff ourselves with anything we can get our hands on, when the only thing that will satisfy us is a relationship with God.  Just as the Israelites needed the temple to have a truly full life; so we need the church.  Worship, praise, and the family of faith are among the necessary building blocks for life.

          Another bit of this that I agree with is found in verse eight of the reading.  “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts.”  As you know, we are in stewardship season, and I can’t miss an opportunity like this verse!  Though he is speaking primarily about the wealth of other nations, Haggai is reminding the people of Israel that all wealth belongs to God alone.  Everything we have comes from and belongs to God.

          Haggai reminds the people that God will provide the resources that they need to rebuild the temple.  What matters to them, is how they use the resources they are given.  Are they using what they have only to build up their own houses, or are they offering a portion of their time and energy, their silver and gold, for the building up of the temple?  This is a wonderful question for us to ask ourselves.  How are we using the resources that God has given us?  Haggai reminds us that everything we have belongs to God.  Are we using our resources to build up our house of worship, or are we simply using them to build up our own individual homes?

          I have to tell you today, the part of this reading that resonates the most with me, is found in verse 9.  “The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts.”  The future of this temple is brighter than its’ past.  I believe that this sentiment is more relevant today than ever before. 

          There are very few Protestant churches in this community, in this state, in this nation, that are not looking back fondly on some glory days.  I hear stories about this church all the time.  We used to be full, people sat in the aisles, people stood outside, they would bus them in.  When are we going to get back to those days of glory?  I love these stories, and it is important to remember our history, but folks, we are never going back.  We are never going back to those days of crowded sanctuaries and bustling fellowship times.  Church doesn’t look like that anymore and it won’t look like that ever again.

          I don’t want to sound negative here, those days were wonderful, but we can’t go back in time.  The future of the Protestant church in Middle America does not look like the past.  We are not the same nation and we are not the same people.  I don’t need to point out how high our median age is rising.  The church is getting old, young people aren’t coming, and things are changing.  The future is not death, but the future looks a lot different than the past.

          I find words of hope for the future of the church in these words from Haggai.  As the Israelites stand around and stare at the ruins of their temple, God speaks through the prophet to remind them of God’s faithfulness.  “Do not be afraid, I am with you.”  God seems to say. “And don’t worry, your future is even brighter than your past.”

          Just like the Israelites, God is going to lift up among us the resources that we need.  God is building this church into a new thing, we are headed for new days of glory.  I know I am not the only person here who feels this energy.  We don’t know what the future looks like exactly, and we don’t have all the answers to our problems, but we know that the future of this church is good.  Like the psalmist, we are going to sing to the Lord a new song in this church.  We are going to discern new ways of going forward and new ways of doing ministry.  God is with us, and the latter splendor of this church will be even greater than the former.

          Now, don’t misunderstand me here, there is a tricky nuance to where I am going with this.  I am happy that there are more people coming but I don’t think we are going to necessarily grow this church back to its former glory.  No.  Rather I think the glory we are going to see is the future that we are living in together.  The future will be different from our past, much as the re-built temple was different from Solomon’s original splendor.  What makes the future glorious is not literal silver and gold; rather it is in the richness of our experience together and our growing faith life with God.  The past of this church is wonderful memories and stories, but already they have begun to fade.  The future of this church is glorious, shining bright with hope and promise, a moment that we are going to live into together.  The future of this church is brighter than its’ past because that is the place God is calling us to.  That is the beauty that we will experience together.  That is the blessing that is coming our way.  It is true and wonderful and real, and it is here and now.

          We gather together around the table today to give thanks as a community.  Rather than celebrating communion alone in our pews or coming forward as individuals, we are going to gather like a family around the table.  Like families at home, this church family has a past and a future.  We have glory days we long for and we have hopes for where God is leading us today.  We gather together today to thank God for a future that is filled with hope.

          When Jesus gathered with his disciples, he too was gathering at a time of change and transition.  The former temple religion was soon to be gone, and a new faith, centered on an individual experience of the divine was moving forward.  Jesus changed the church and changed history when he instituted this meal.  Just as Jesus re-directed and re-shaped the imagery of the church of his time, so too he re-directs and re-shapes the church that he is calling us to be. 

          Today, as we gather as a family of faith around this table, I want to call us to give thanks.  Let us give thanks for our past: for the presence of God that has shaped and formed this church, for the glory days of crowded pews, and for the lean times when we made it through on grace alone.  I also want us to give thanks for the future: for the new church that God is calling us to be, for the energy and vibrancy that are growing among us, and for the glory days that are on our horizon, new experiences of the divine in this community of faith.  Haggai reminds the people of Israel and us that God has been with us, through thick and thin, and God goes with us into our future.  Let us sing to the Lord a new song, for the coming days of this church will be even more glorious than its’ past.  Praise the Lord!  Amen.