Is It a Time for You?

Is It a Time for You?

Haggai 1:1-11

February 24, 2019 • Mount Pleasant UMC

You may or may not be aware, but we have been having a baby boom of sorts here at Mount Pleasant. In just a short time last spring, we had four babies born, and babies have continued and are continuing to arrive. It’s a great challenge to have, and Ginger doesn’t mind at all having to get extra help in the nursery because it means we get to have celebrations like we’re having today. In the 10:30 service today, we are celebrating with seven of our families as they give their babies to the Lord, dedicating them to Christ. As I shared with the parents a week and a half ago, the Old Testament has a word for this, and it originally referred to the act of putting oil on a baby’s mouth before they nursed. Later, it took on the broader meaning of preparing them for life, pointing them in the right direction. It’s the word found in Proverbs 22:6, which I learned in the King James Version many years ago: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” It’s that “train up” or “point them in the right direction” that we want to help parents do well here at Mount Pleasant, through dedication, through baptism, through good teaching and strong community. It’s an exciting time, to say the least.

Cathy and I were always grateful for the community that surrounded us and our kids when they were small. But no matter how much those wonderful Christian people loved on our kids, no matter how much support we got from those who were grandparents and those who were parents just like us, there are just some things that happen, some ways your kids behave no matter how much you don’t want them to. Sooner or later, their basic selfishness will come out, and parents will witness their child grabbing a toy away from another child and yelling, “Mine!” I often said when my kids were little that if you have trouble believing in original sin, spend some time around a young child. Selfishness seems “baked in” to our DNA, but as we grow, as we spend time in a loving community, when we’re an emotionally healthy human being, our selfishness turns into selflessness.

But what if it doesn’t? What if our priorities get all out of whack and we fail to see what is really important? That’s the question the prophet Haggai is asking on behalf of God in the passage we read this morning. Today, we come to the end of our “Role Reversal” series. This isn’t the end of the questions God asks, to be sure, but it is the end (at least for now) of our exploration of them. So we come to one final question, and it’s a hard one (and a long one in the original text). In the face of competing priorities, God is asking his people which priority they will choose. The way it comes to the people through Haggai is this: “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?”

I went back through the nearly 1,000 sermons I have preached over 26 years, and I discovered that I have never preached from Haggai before. It’s just not a book we turn to very often! It’s a small book, historically set in the time following the exile. We’ve talked about the exile in recent weeks; it’s that time when the people were forcibly taken away from their homeland and resettled far away. They were mixed in with other cultures, and we see stories about that in books like Esther and Daniel. We also hear a lot about it in the prophets, because the prophets understood the whole exile to be a punishment from God. The people had been disobedient, and so God removed his protection from them and the Babylonians were able to conquer them. But now, the Persians (the new “big kid on the block”) have conquered the Babylonians, and the Persians had a different policy than the Babylonians. They didn’t believe exile was good for morale, and so King Cyrus allowed the Israelites to return home. More than that, he allowed them to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem and their Temple, their central place of worship. You can read about those things in the books of Nehemiah and Ezra. Of course, there was a problem. They had no money, and so when they began to rebuild the Temple, it was obvious it was not going to be as glorious or as beautiful as the original Temple. We’re told that when the foundation stones were laid for the new Temple, some were rejoicing and some were weeping. The younger ones who had never had a Temple were glad to finally have one, but the older ones who remembered how beautiful the original one had been were weeping. Ezra tells us that the noise was so loud you couldn’t tell one sound from the other, but it was heard far away (cf. Ezra 3:10-13).

When Haggai comes along, work on the Temple has stopped. Perhaps people became discouraged—sort of, “Maybe we should wait until we can make it as nice as the original one.” Maybe it’s a matter of resources or they’re waiting on supplies to come in (they couldn’t afford to pay the extra for Amazon Prime). There are a lot of reasons why they might have stopped working on the Temple. Haggai, however, believes that whatever the outward reason might have been, the lack of work on the Temple is really more of a heart issue. The people, Haggai says, have become distracted. They are more worried about their own homes than they are the house of God. “It is a time for you?” God asks through Haggai. To paraphrase the question: “Why are you living in a nice house when the house of God is a pile of rocks?”

This brings up a couple of questions, at least for me. First, what kind of houses were the people living in? Haggai describes them as “paneled” houses, which sort of brings up this idea that we’re dealing with the rich, that these were luxurious houses, but scholars and archaeologists tell us that isn’t necessarily so. The term “paneled” could refer to something like paneling that we think of, some kind of overlay on the walls, or it could also mean “covered or roofed.” Either way, it does refer to an added measure of comfort, to the fact that they had put the finishing touches on their homes, but they had not finished God’s house. While their houses weren’t necessarily extravagant, they were nice and comfortable, while the house of the Lord stands unfinished and neglected (cf. Larsen & Larsen, Questions God Asks, pg. 62; Goldingay, Daniel & The Twelve Prophets for Everyone, pg. 215; Alden, “Haggai,” Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, pg. 581).

But that, then, begs another question: why does God need a house? As we talked about a couple of weeks ago, the Temple had been the most important part of the Hebrew faith. The Temple was considered to be the center of the earth, and when it was destroyed, many felt their faith had been destroyed as well. But even King Solomon, who was in charge of building the first Temple, knew that a house was unnecessary. In his prayer of dedication over the Temple, he had said this: “Will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27). If that’s the case, then what was the point of the Temple, this house of God? You might say the same thing about a church building today. There was a time when churches were more frequently referred to as “the house of God.” Not as much now, but what’s the point of such a building if God cannot be contained, and in reality, does not actually “live” there? The idea of a Temple, a house for God, began back with King David, the greatest king Israel had ever known, but he was stopped from actually building it himself because he was a man of war (cf. 1 Chronicles 22:8). God wanted the person who built his house to be a man of peace, so David’s son Solomon built the first temple. By the way, it took Solomon seven years to build the Temple, but he spent an additional thirteen years finishing his own palace, so even at the start, there was this tug of war between God’s house and our own houses (cf. 1 Kings 6:38; 9:10). The Temple, though, was to be a place that helped people connect with God. Out of all the places on earth, all the places in the kingdom, it was the one place where the focus was entirely on the creator of the universe. The symbolism was rich throughout; everything was a reminder of who God was. The Temple was to be the place that helped center the population, that helped them remember who was in control. Likewise, we come to this building to be reminded of what matters, of who is in charge, and of where our ultimate loyalty lies. This building is an outpost of the kingdom of God. It’s a mission station, from which we hope to reach the whole world for Jesus Christ. As we said all throughout the rebuild, this building is and was never the point, any more than the Temple was. The building is a tool, a resource, from which we are launched into the world so that we can make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

So here’s the point of the question in Haggai: the priorities of the people were out of whack. I’m not sure they had ever really been “in whack,” if that’s a thing, but certainly here they are misplaced. That’s what God is trying to tell these people: you have taken care of your own self, you have made sure your homes are all finished, but the place that is supposed to focus your faith, the place that is supposed to remind others about me, it’s in ruins. It’s a mess. You’ve neglected God for your own comfort. The point of the question is not really the Temple; the question is really about the priorities of the people…and ours as well.

Each and every one of us have a list of priorities in our lives, whether we have actually written it down or not. We have priorities and while the priority of certain activities may change throughout our lives, the basic principles that we have committed ourselves to usually do not. For instance, one of the priorities in our family has been to be supportive of our kids. That’s the basic principle, one I learned from my own family, my own parents. In earlier years in our family, it meant being a lot more flexible with my schedule so I could attend school events. It meant playing games on the floor and reading the same story over and over again. (Cathy can still recite Bob & Larry’s ABC’s from memory!) Over the last several years, it meant going to dance competitions and cheering Rachel on, and attending plays and concerts that Christopher was involved in. Now, as they’re both adults, it looks a lot different than it used to, but it’s still a priority for both Cathy and I. The basic principle doesn’t change, but the way we live it out does. What God through Haggai is getting at, the question we really should be asking, is this: what are the basic priorities in your life? What are the most important things in your life?

Haggai is pointing out that the people’s own comfort has become a higher priority for them than following God’s command, a higher priority than worshipping God, and I’m fairly certain he would look at our culture today and say the same thing. According to people who ask such things, the most important priorities for people today include health, good relationships, being (or feeling) safe, developing (and that’s a wide-ranging idea) and having fun. As a pastor, it strikes me that, unless you include it under “developing,” there’s nothing in that list about spiritual growth. There’s little value in our culture put on becoming a stronger disciple of Jesus, though there is a lot of emphasis put on making more money and being able to do whatever you want—having fun! What does it say about our culture that we pay teachers very little but professional athletes and entertainers make millions upon millions of dollars? What does that say about our priorities as a culture?

This morning, you heard an update about our current financial picture, and we also are celebrating the many families who have had babies in the last several months. We have said as a congregation we want to be in ministry—making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world—and that we want to continue to reach out to new families, to special needs, to those struggling with addictions and hurts, habits and hang-ups. We want to see the next generation educated and encouraged in their spiritual growth. After all, as we know, we all benefitted from someone who did that for us or we wouldn’t be here today. That’s all good; those are good priorities. But here’s the question: do our actions line up with our stated priorities? There are a lot of things we can do and a lot of ways we can transform our community, but unless we all get on board and stretch ourselves just a bit to support those ministries, it won’t happen. Is the work God is doing here in this place and in this time a priority for us? It is a time for you, or is it a time for God?

If you’ve been to a Pie with the Pastors recently, you’ve probably heard this before, but there are five things we ask you to do when you become a member of Mount Pleasant. We ask you to support the church with your prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. In your prayers, we ask you to remember the church and the staff in your prayers. This is more than just our local church, though. This includes, or should include, prayers for our worldwide church, especially this weekend as the General Conference meets in St. Louis. We pray for our larger church most every Sunday in the worship service. Prayers, then presence. This means showing up. Unless we’re sick or out of town, we make every effort to be in worship, to show up. The Bible knows nothing of solitary faith. This “Jesus and me” idea of faith is an American myth; the Scriptures constantly speak of community, of being connected to one another, of being a body. We need each other. I need you; you need me. And when you’re not here, you rob the rest of the body of Christ of what you have to offer.

Prayers, presence, then gifts. I say it every year, usually several times. It takes our financial support to operate the church. It’s not exciting to talk about the bills we have to pay, but the reality is we have them, just like you do. We all like heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. We prefer to have lights on, and our staff sort of likes to be able to buy groceries. But it’s also true that you and I need to give. Especially in a consumer-driven culture, money has a lot of control over us. Giving breaks that power; giving breaks money’s control over our lives, our thoughts and our families. The late Eugene Peterson, as he so often did, had a great word for the church today. Peterson said this once in a sermon: “I have heard people complain that they hear too much about money in church. I think I know what they mean, but the complaint is badly phrased, for that is one of the things I would like to hear less of outside the church and maybe a little more inside. Why? Because I want to be with people who take all of me seriously, not just my soul. I want to know that the nitty-gritty of my life is taken seriously by the gospel, not just the state of my soul. I don’t want a religion that consists of soupy verses on Hallmark cards. I don’t want a religion of neat little slogans about sunsets and heartthrobs. I want something practical that gets into the working parts of my life, into my wallet and pocketbook, and leaves evidence on my check stubs. And named persons who know my name. People I can serve and who will serve me when I am in need” (Peterson, As Kingfishers Catch Fire, pg. 303).

Prayers, presence, gifts, and then service. On his last night on earth, Jesus knelt down and washed the feet of his disciples. Everyone around that table knew that Jesus shouldn’t be doing that. In the order of the world, he was above such menial tasks. But Jesus told us that washing feet is exactly what he expects us to do. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” (John 13:15). Serve others, even if it’s something you don’t think you should have to do—or maybe even something you’re afraid to do. I’ve heard from so many people who were afraid or at least uncertain they would be able to serve at Night to Shine by being a buddy. I have to admit, it unsettles me, too. But then I think of Jesus, kneeling down and washing feet. And I put on my name tag and dove in, because serving, even if it’s uncomfortable, is what he would have me do. I’m not trying to say I’m anything special, because a whole bunch of you were out there on the dance floor and in the karaoke rooms and in the bathrooms and a lot of other places serving in uncomfortable but unforgettable ways. But a lot of us were not; and while that’s not the only place to serve, it begs the question then where are you planning to serve someone who cannot serve you back?

Prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. When we hear the word “witness” we often think of the person who stands on the street corner, bangs on the Bible and tells people to “turn or burn.” But actually a witness is someone who simply tells what they know. That person on the corner, by the way, is not acting out of love. They’ve living out of fear. They’re not witnessing in the way the Bible talks about it. Think about someone who is called to be a witness in a trial; they are asked questions about what they saw, what they experienced, what they know to be true. A witness for Jesus is someone who represents him, who tells what they know and lives their lives in such a way that others see Jesus in them. I’ve said it before: the best witness you can ever share is your own story, your own relationship with Jesus. People can argue with your doctrine or your theology, but they cannot argue with your story. Don’t get me wrong: it’s important to have good, sound doctrine and Biblical theology. That’s why we’re having these discipleship classes, to help us all learn to have a solid Biblical worldview. But it’s your story that will speak to people first. Be a witness.

So: prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. These are the expectations of a member here at Mount Pleasant, but not just members. Honestly, these are the things we expect of anyone who is a part of this church, whether you are officially a member or not. These are the qualities and the life we hope to see these children grow into. These really are the expectations of anyone who wants to follow Jesus, for whom the “house of God” and faith in Christ is our number one priority. It’s so easy today to be distracted. There are so many things calling for our attention, and it’s easy to let what we call the “tyranny of the urgent” take over the truly important.

But there’s another aspect to this question. What do our priorities communicate to those around us about what is important? When others, especially those who don’t yet know Jesus, look at us, what does our life, what do our priorities say about us and about Jesus’ importance to us? And, maybe even more sobering, what does it say to the next generation, to our kids and grandkids, nieces and nephews? They’re watching. They’re learning from us—from mom, dad, grandma or grandpa, uncle or aunt—what matters in life. I learned from watching my parents what was important and what mattered in life. They never did a lot of heavy-duty preaching to me or my brother, but by their actions—taking us to church, taking us to Sunday School and VBS, reading their Bibles and leading us in prayer and so many other things—they told us where their priorities in life lay. They still do that, and I pray that by my actions I have shown those same priorities to my children. It’s not about me; the most important thing in life is pointing others toward Jesus.

Is it a time for you? Or is it a time for God? Let’s pray.