Century Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)

1301 Tamarack Road, Owensboro, KY 42301, (270) 684-0286, Pastor:  Rev. Jim Westmoreland

How Does It Look To You?
Haggai 1:15b-2:9
by Jim Westmoreland

Now, this sounds like a pretty strong cure for half-hearted attention and commitment. Israel had been set free from their Babylonian captivity, but everything wasn't just right back in Jerusalem, and the work was hard, and they had trouble staying on task to do the one thing God had asked them to do, rebuild the Temple. When you look at Israel and all that God had done for them, How does it look to you? When we look at our own enthusiasm for ministry to others and level of commitment in giving our time, talents and finances, How does it look to you?

Our scripture reading this morning was from the prophet Haggai. We don't hear much from Haggai. In fact the book that bears his name and contains his sermons is only two chapters long covering a ministry of three months. He was one of the last prophets. The captives in Babylon began returning to Judah and Jerusalem in 538 BC following the decree of Cyrus, and the first of them arrived in Jerusalem in 536 BC. Sixteen years later, when Haggai first addressed the returned exiles, they had not yet begun rebuilding the temple. Why not? Could it be because rebuilding was hard and depressing work, and they had plenty to do at home first. Whenever we experience a set back in our lives--sickness, a death, the loss of a job, any personal set back or a defeat, it is hard to get right back up. But part of our healing is going back to work. Regardless of what we are experiencing or how we feel, we can be assured that "God isn't finished with us yet!"

Our text tells us, in the second year of King Darius, which would be 520 BC, in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to be prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. These internal time references let us match these events with the reigns of kings that we know dates of from archeology and other historical records, and, from the Jewish calendar, we can know that Haggai spoke to the people on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. At that time interest in their faith identity and their heritage would have been high. The work on the temple had started under the leadership of Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest. Haggai asked the people, How does it look to you? But when the people saw the foundations and imagined how the completed building would appear they were deeply discouraged. Have you ever build a house . . . and then stood on the foundation slab before any walls went up and felt, "this really looks small--have I made a mistake?"

The pre-exilic prophets challenged the people because of their over-reliance on the temple as a symbol of their security and the belief that they would not be defeated because God was in the temple and he would not allow anything to happen to the temple. It was inconceivable that the temple could be destroyed. The temple had become an idol, a false god promising feelings of false superiority and false security. That is true of all of our idols, whether they be our jobs, our status symbols, our net worth, they all offer a false security that can be quickly lost.

Haggai's message seems to be the opposite of Isaiah and Jeremiah. For Haggai the lost and dispirited children of Israel needed a rallying point to know that God was in their midst. So, the re-building of the temple becomes a part of their re-affirmation of faith. Whenever we are down, we show our faith by stepping up and going to work--seeing what needs to be done and volunteering to do it.

Haggai then begins to encourage the people. He tells them three times to "be strong" or to "take courage." God had told Joshua to be strong as he led Israel in the conquest of the promised land. David had told Solomon to be strong when he began to build the first temple, "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God, my God, will be with you.

Behind God's call to be strong is his promise, "for I am with you, says the Lord of Hosts, according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you; do not fear." We can be strong, not in our own strength, but in God's strength, because He is with us.

When you look at your life, your hopes and dreams, your needs, your relationships, the people you care about, your spouse, your children, your parents, your brothers and sisters, when you look at your job, your talents and rewards, when you look at your country, its strengths and weaknesses, how does it look to you?

To each of us that struggle with issues of trust, power, respect, selfishness and lack of discipline, God encourages us to be strong to do what we need to do. And, He assures us that He is with us. God says he is with us according to the promise that he made when Israel came out of Egypt. This promise is repeated almost 50 times in the Old and New Testaments. "I will be your God, You shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of you." For us to be God's people and for Him to be our God means there is a clear and strong identity. It is an identity that gives us priorities, purpose and values. It is an identity that affects the way I treat others, the way that I work for justice and show mercy and love to others in my daily life. The internal strength of my identity as a follower of Christ has an impact on my community and those around me. What kind of impact is your life having on others?

There is an Italian legend about a master and servant. It seems the servant was not very smart and the master used to get very exasperated with him. Finally, one day, in a fit of temper, the master said: "You really are the stupidest man I know. Here, I want you to carry this staff wherever you go. And if you ever meet a person more stupid than yourself, give them this staff."

So time went by, and often in the marketplace the servant would encounter some pretty stupid people, but he never found someone appropriate for the staff. Years later, he returned to his master's home. He was shown into his master's bedroom, for the man was quite sick and in bed. In the course of their conversation the master said: "I'm going on a journey soon."

"When will you return?", asked the servant.

"This is a journey from which I will not return." the master replied,

The servant asked: "Have you made all the necessary arrangements?"

"No, I guess I haven't."

"Well, could you have made all the arrangements?"

"Oh yes, I guess I've had time. I've had all my life. But I've been busy with other things."

The servant said: "Let me be sure about this. You're going on a journey, from which you will never return, and you've had all your life to make the arrangements, but you haven't."

The master said: "Yes, I guess that's right."

The servant replied: "Master, take this staff. For at last I have truly found a man more stupid than myself."

Just a story . . . perhaps. Or perhaps it is more. Perhaps it describes the way in which we live, many of us, refusing to live with thoughtful awareness the one journey that faces us all, refusing to really be centered in our identity as a faithful, disciple of Jesus.

How does it look to you? God has given each one of us a job to do, and we are part of His building plans for the kingdom. To God our part is exciting and important. He calls us to do His work. To follow Jesus in the way that we live is to prepare for the final journey. How does it look to you?

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