The Bishops Daily Post Day 296 - January 29, Haggai 1-2; Psalm 105; Revelation 16 Thus says the Lord of hosts:These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house. Then 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? (Haggai 1:2-4 NRSV) The Babylonian Exile was over. The Jewish people returned home. One of the things which they embarked upon was the rebuilding of the Temple. The project stalled. They people gave up the task. They built homes for themselves (as one would expect). It became clear that they had no intention of going back to work on finishing the Temple. The prophet Haggai speaks the word of God to the people. He exhorts them to not delay any longer. The Temple must be rebuilt. God does not need it. The people need the Temple. When I was very much younger, I spent a summer in the midwest. It was hot and humid. Lacking a car, I borrowed a bicycle and used it to explore the area. I rode throughout the city becoming familiar with the neighborhoods. I would often bicycle in the early evening when the sun was lower in the sky. As in most any city, there was a wealthy side of town and a less prosperous side of town. The difference between them was easy to see. The condition of the homes, the lawns, the types of cars in the driveway or parked on the street, and the life of the neighborhood itself. In the early evening, after work and dinner, the wealthy side of town was abandoned, or seemingly so. There was not a soul to be seen sitting on a porch, chatting with a neighbor, working in a garden. There was no sound to be heard except the hum of air conditioners. The doors were all shut, the drapes drawn, and when the interior was visible all you could see was the flickering of a television. By contrast, the less wealthy side of town had children playing in the street, running through sprinklers. People sat on the porch, fanned themselves with paper fans, drank lemonade and beer. Men leaned up against cars, talked, laughed, smoked, and watched the children play. No house had an air conditioner, they could not afford one, or if they could, they did not buy one. Riding down the street, I came upon a church with gospel music sung by a choir blasting out the door. People inside were singing and clapping, others were walking down the sidewalk to come to the church. They waved at me as I rode on by. I thought that this neighborhood was wealthy in way that the rich neighborhood was not. The wealthier neighborhood seemed impoverished to my young eyes and heart. I did not see the challenges that the poorer neighborhood must have had. To this day, however, I remember the church, and all the people who came to it on a weekday evening. I remember the celebration and the people, dressed in Sunday clothes, on a Wednesday, walking happily to the worship. The church was a center for them. In that building, they sang and danced. They prayed and were prayed for. Not everyone in the neighborhood came to the service. A large number did, it brought them together, to be a people, they needed it. The danger for the returned exiles was that they would lose the sense of being a people. They had their paneled houses where they could easily live, shut away from others. After years of exile, they needed to relearn how to be a people. God did not need the Temple. They did. **Tomorrow - Day 297 - January 30, Zechariah 1-3; Psalm 106; Revelation 17**
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 12:56:38 +0000
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