The “Glory” Days
Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost
For the past month or so, I have unintentionally devoted a great deal of time to thinking about sacred spaces. For a number of reasons, I have formulated for myself a scarcity mindset, a defensive position even, about how some physical expressions of meaning in my life, and in the lives of those in my various communities of belonging, have lost their luster or their draw. It seems that concessions are being made at every turn, and we are increasingly “losing what makes these things special.” And, at first, the words of Haggai seem to support my woes for spaces and places that are not the same as they once were.
To set the scene, the people of God are less than a generation removed from the magnificence of the original temple, yet the intervening time of destruction and exile has been so detrimental to the spirit of the people that they seemingly cannot bring themselves to restore the temple to what it once was, electing instead to use what limited resources they have to build up their individual dwellings (Hag 1:4). As has become habit for the Israelites, they are content to run from the richness of life together in God’s kingdom, preferring the relative comfort and safety of their individual homes. And so, as we find in this week’s text, the prophet appeals to the people, some of whom maybe even saw with their own eyes the old temple in its former glory, with the same sort of words I am tempted to use when those around me seem to be neglecting sacred spaces. “Is it not as nothing in your eyes?” he asks. Haggai, it seems, is trading on the emotional resource that is nostalgia, and it is a word that resonates with me.
Of course, while this is undoubtedly a “restoration project” on its face, there is much more going on here than just some construction work. When Haggai receives the prophetic word from God, it is evident that God is encouraging the people to continue the good work of temple building. However, the tradition of the Israelites is that God has no tangible need for a temple to be built. God is much bigger than any temple, no matter how grand it is. And while the prophetic word makes mention of the covenantal promise of God to remain with God’s people, it seems that such a presence is not hindered by the limitations of the builders. This prophetic message, then, seems not only to call the people to a particular action, but to realize themselves as part of that action. God is inviting the people to see themselves as part of the temple restored.
With this in mind, we can hear Haggai’s word in a manner that transcends trite sentimentalism. The “glory” of the temple that is to come will be the glory of the God beyond time, to be sure, but rather than a retread of the past, God’s word points us forward. God’s promise to “shake the heavens and the earth…the sea and the dry land” gives this prophetic message an eschatological flavor that we ought not miss. On this side of exile, the word of God to the people of God is a call to restore the faith of those that came before by living into the kingdom that is to come, a kingdom that, as Haggai reminds us just one chapter earlier, asks us to look beyond our individual projects for the sake of the community. It is also a kingdom, as we see in the gospel reading, that transcends our limited understandings of relationship as well (Luke 20:38). The good news of Haggai’s prophecy and of Jesus’ teaching is that as we look to the future, we can look with appreciation, even affection, for the ways that we have felt old expressions of our faith bring us to where we are.
As I look at the old places being slowly minimized, both in size and in significance, I can’t help but see the role they have played in my community’s formation. And yet, because of the good news of Jesus, I can begin to learn to let them go, for the “glory of the present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” even if it doesn’t have the same paint job or lighting fixtures. Why is this enough? God declares why it is enough in verse 9 of our passage: “and in this place I will grant peace.”
While nostalgia may be a powerful emotion for us, the reality is that we pine for the past so desperately because we often lack adequate imagination for the future. Thanks be to God for the invitation into the restoration projects all around us, especially the restoration of our souls, as we look to an eternal kingdom ahead.