Where the Spirit Abides

Sermon by: Rev. Dr. Mary Alice Mulligan, Ph. D.

Scripture: Haggai 1:15b-2:9

Let’s remind ourselves of a little history before we hear the Scripture, since Haggai is probably not the most familiar of the First Testament prophets. We know that Yahweh liberated the Hebrew people from enslavement in Egypt. They followed God through the wilderness for 40 years, then settled in the Promise Land after significant bloody battles. Eventually a great Temple was built in Jerusalem, which history calls “Solomon’s Temple.” Soon, however, the people split into Israel/Samaria to the north and Judah to the south; and Assyria conquered Israel. Eventually the Babylonian empire rose up and even conquered Judah. Solomon’s Temple was destroyed; many civic and religious leaders were taken as p.o.w.s, exiled to Babylon. Finally after more than 50 years, Persia (modern day Iran) conquered the whole area. When Cyrus became King of Persia, he allowed any Judeans to return home, encouraging them to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. When leaders got back to Judah, they laid the foundation of the Temple. But for about 15 years, that was all. People got wrapped up in securing their own homes and livelihoods. In 520 BCE, when Darius reigned as King of Persia, the prophet Haggai arose. Records indicate he was active for only about 3 months, during which time he accomplished the important task of stirring up the people’s commitment to Yahweh and a simultaneous enthusiasm for the Temple. Haggai reminded the people of Yahweh’s faithfulness in bringing them out of Egypt and the promise that just as when someone shakes a laden almond tree to dislodge the nuts, so will God shake the entire earth to provide what Judah needs for restoring glory to the Temple. The word through Haggai was that the Spirit of God fills the people, so they can do anything they set their hearts on as a community of faith, if they work and trust. Turn now to the Old Testament and read Haggai 1:15b-2:9.

The past dazzles us. Like so many groups, Judah looks back and sees a wondrous history behind them, a time when life was easier, and the people were united. Included in their amazing collection of stories about who they were as a people of Yahweh, they saw Moses lifting his staff to separate the waters of the Red Sea as they escaped from Egypt, so thousands of freed Hebrews passed through on dry land. And when Moses dropped his arms, lowering the staff, the waters returned, drowning the Egyptian army which chased them. What a dramatic start.

Then, when they came to the land promised to them, so the stories explain, no enemy could defeat them. Sometimes advancing troops got so frightened of the Hebrew warriors, they just ran away. Other times, the LORD Almighty struck everyone down, while the Hebrew people watched. Then, of course, there was the unforgettable time when the enemy hid behind fortified walls of their city, and Joshua led the troops out merely to march around the city while instrumentalists played, for a week. Until, finally they marched and the walls came tumblin’ down. How great was that?

Looking back at the creation of their faith community is tremendous fun. Perhaps most amazing, they remember hearing stories of the Temple. While in exile in Babylon, the elders painted stories of the glory of Solomon’s Temple, the extravagant details, the breath-taking sacredness of the structure. They heard the walls of the inner sanctuary were overlaid with gold. And the altar was overlaid with gold, and actually the whole house of LORD Yahweh was overlaid with gold. In addition to magnificent wood carvings and gold overlay, vessels and furnishings were created from silver, gold, and bronze by the thousands. An inventory of the vessels used in the old days contained over 5000 gold and silver vessels. Nothing is as stunning as their history. Memories of the past are dazzling.

But the future is cloudy. Once back in Judah, the way ahead is not clear. Eventually it becomes necessary to stop dreaming and get to work to figure out how to go forward. But moving forward is tricky, more difficult than looking back. The future is fuzzy. People trickled back into Judah after Cyrus released them. They “dabbled” at Temple rebuilding, for about 15 years or so. By 520 BCE, the foundation was in place and a few courses of stone had been laid, but interest had waned. People were more concerned about their own welfare. They focused on securing their homes and livelihood, wanting protection against the uncertainty of the times. The temple was not a priority for anyone. [ ] Returning from exile, the people of Judah understood, military power is fickle. Political instability was a constant in the Near East for generations. In addition, Samaria to the north was not keen about having the Temple rebuilt.

With a little imagination, we can identify with Judean troubles of 2500 years ago. We hear stories of when St. Andrew had over 200 members. Even a few years ago, we were doing pretty well, until Covid hit. Then it was like being in exile. Even now, many of us still feel shell shocked by the pandemic: the isolation and uncertainty we lived with for months, when even getting groceries was a challenge and so much of “normal life” came to a grinding halt. Finally, like ground hogs, we are poking our heads out to see how safe it is, but we must admit, the pandemic has changed us and we have not recovered. We can’t go back to before, but we are not sure what wheel we need to invent to help us move ahead. Hindsight is easy, but figuring out what is next is tough. The future is cloudy.

So, God reminds us that we have the divine presence. The Spirit abides among us. Haggai calls the people to “sense the Spirit,” because the Spirit abides among them. They are to be enthusiastically open to God’s next plan. They must be en- thused, coming from the Greek: en-theos, “God within.” People filled with God, are together empowered to build a Temple more beautiful than Solomon’s. They have what they need within the congregation to construct anything! Of course.

Haggai’s prophetic word from Yahweh is a reminder to St. Andrew also. God abides among us too, as God has through the millennia. Regardless of exile or not; crowds or no crowds; Temple or no Temple; Covid or no Covid. Always God’s presence is available among us. Haggai challenges us to consider who we are as a people together. What difference does it make to us as a community of faith that God abides within us?

God’s Spirit enables people to be Yahweh’s people, empowered with holy power. For our ancestors, it meant not only that they could rebuild the Temple, but that they could live out of their faith, act from generosity to neighbors, to be a community where those with more than enough shared with those in need.

So what does it mean in the 21st century to be a people where Yahweh is among us? In our situation, we might say, of course St. Andrew will keep worshipping Sunday after Sunday, in our lovely structure. But building or no building, we are the church, here and now. God is among us, creating us as church. Our work as a faith community makes a difference, for God is present in whatever ministry we share. Look at Haggai. His prophetic career lasted only 3 months, 2500 years ago. He shared a few divine messages and disappeared, yet his oracles are now sacred scripture. Quite an accomplishment!

Four people from the St. Andrew family cleared huge limbs and smaller debris from the memorial garden just a few days after the hurricane, and several other people worked throughout the property in the days that followed, which meant we only had to hire someone to take care of the downed tree and the electrical work. No one would have wanted to do all that work alone, but together it was fun. There was a great sense of accomplishment, and people were reminded of the holy community we are together.

Since God’s Spirit is among us, what else could we accomplish? Let’s think. We could learn to share our faith in Jesus Christ with other people as easily as we share a recipe or a sport score. Or we could start a weeknight pub theology neighborhood gathering at a local watering hole, inviting people who would never actually come into a church. Or we could create something else. If temple workers could hand hammer enough gold to overlay the entire Temple, we can do anything we set our minds to because God has promised us the most powerful force in all the universe. The Spirit abides among us.