Monday, November 4, 2022  

Today’s Scripture Reading
Haggai 1:15b–2:9

. . . on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month.

In the second year of King Darius, in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the 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, and say, Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, 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. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts. (NRSV)

Reflection

The people of Israel had been in exile for decades. Their haunting memory was the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. Now they have been freed from captivity by Cyrus the Great, who liberated the people from Babylon and who sent out a decree that the people should return to Jerusalem. And not only that, he encouraged this depleted community, having had the starch taken out of them while far from their homeland, to begin the construction project on building a new temple.

They come back to Jerusalem, and nothing is the same. Not only are they disoriented from the exile, but they can’t seem to muster the energy for the building project. They make a few failed efforts, and after many fits and starts on this project, it is the prophet Haggai who was principally responsible for getting the job done. God had a vision for this temple, and we can imagine the splendor, the prosperity, the beauty, the grace of it. Just imagine the bricks and mortar, the silver and gold, the detail. With God as the major donor, Haggai keeping the pressure on and the God-vision going, and I suspect, many contractors, ready hands, and grateful hearts, the temple was completed in 515 B.C.

So, what does this have to do with us? Is it any wonder that when the Great Chicago Fire happened in 1871 and the newly commissioned predecessor church building of Fourth Presbyterian Church burned to the ground that within days the depleted congregation, many of whom had lost everything, got together to plan the next building project? Out of the smoldering ashes, the cinders, the seeming end to the gilded age of those days, the central impulse—or, more likely, the power of God’s imagination—visited those church leaders. Today, we are privileged to be in the number that emerged from courage, perseverance, fortitude, and unflinching vision for life beyond tragedy.

Prayer

Thank you, God, for planting the vibrancy of faith in our forebearers. Thank you for a grand vision for your light to beam not only in temples and churches but in our lives! Yes, O God, thank you. Amen.

Written by Lucy Forster-Smith, Senior Associate Pastor for Leadership Development and Adult Education

Reflection and prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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