Monday, November 11, 2013

Sermon by Pastor Cheryl Foulk (November 10) - "What Do You See?"


Sometimes on fall nights I like to look at the sky and enjoy the beauty of the heavens.
In 1996 astronomers at the Hubble Space Telescope picked a portion of the sky that seemed to be a dark patch. The focused the lens of the Hubble for 10 days on this area. Where they originally had seen nothing, now there were galaxies- more than 3000 of them. They continued to discover an endless array of galaxies as they looked even deeper into space.
The sky which had first looked empty was in fact full of heavenly objects. Their initial perception had been wrong. Our vision may need to be changed when evaluating the stars. Our vision may need to be changed  when looking at our everyday circumstances.
The Biblical character that we will study today is the prophet Haggai (6th century BCE)
The people of Israel had been taken captive to Babylon and were gone for 50 years. And now as refugees they have returned back home and are rebuilding their lives. They have been back for about 20 years constructing their houses, planting gardens, raising families. The community is coming back to life but there is very visible problem. Haggai asks some crucial questions . He says to them: “What do you see when you look at this place?” The settlement is there but there is no restored Temple.
Let's review the history: Many years before King Solomon had built a magnificent Temple with craftsmen and materials from throughout the middle east. It was the showplace of Jerusalem and it had been destroyed  in war with Babylon.
When the Israelites had come home, they had the intention of rebuilding the Temple. But it hadn't happened as expected. All that was there after 20 years were some foundation stones.
What was going on? What was preventing their progress?
People were focused on their own needs and were trying to make new lives for themselves.
There was also conflict and disagreement over the rebuilding of the Temple. Communities don't always agree on what should be built, or what is needed. We know that. Neighbors can have heated discussions about the building of schools, or half way houses, or low income housing. There was not a consensus in Jerusalem.
Haggai asks them: What do you see? A discouraging pile of building materials? An impossible job to replace such  the beautiful structure  of Solomon's temple? Or do you see a place where there will be praise and reminders of God's presence with us?               
There is a small  congregation outside Dallas, Texas called Church of Our Savior which is located in a struggling neighborhood. Members asked themselves the question, “If we didn't exist anymore, would it matter to our neighbors?” They came to the conclusion: probably not.
Some of them began to look around and saw that what they did have was 4 acres of land. Someone else saw that there were no nearby stores for people to get fresh produce. Why not plant a garden?
They began a community project; in the first year they raised over 1000 pounds of vegetables which were given to the neighborhood food bank. In the 8 years of this endeavor, they  estimate that over 20 tons of food have been grown.
 One of the members stated: “It is awesome to see what God can do with a little bit of nothing! ” Their neighbors have joined them in gardening.
They went from being the church that few know about to being a church that has affected the well being of their neighborhood as they shared  the love of Christ.
Haggai was not an engineer or an architect; he was not the governor or the high priest. He drew them all together. He was a person with good vision who encouraged others to look and imagine with him.
He invited them to stand back and see the whole picture.
Didn't God need to hold first place in their lives?
Didn't their community need a place to gather for prayer and for study and for worship?
They needed a place to get their bearings. How would their children know about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
It was time to rebuild the Temple and they could do it. God’s Spirit was with them.                    
We think about places that have experienced destruction and then work so hard to put their communities back together. We are grateful for those who go and help with the cleanup and the healing and the rebuilding. We are grateful for those who speak out with voices of courage, who can see beyond insurmountable odds, who believe that the future holds hope.
The congregation of Living Waters UMC, Centerton Arkansas experienced a crisis when their building was severely damaged by arson. For two years, they have met at a nearby school and tried to put the pieces back together. Their pastor Blake Lasater was in the Navy Reserve and had been deployed to Iraq . This war veteran faced a greater challenge when he had to lead his people back from the ashes. Insurance company wanted them to rehab the old building with all the damage.
They looked around at their community, and asked what was needed here. What do we see? Oldest member of the congregation Miss Anna encouraged them to go for a new building. Their old building had stairs and barriers to ministry. A new building held more possibilities  and they listened to her .
In September they celebrated the opening of their new space with a party for the community. Floor plans include a large room for their food pantry and a room for a medical clinic that will be staffed by two retired doctors. They believe that God continues to bring new life even in difficult situations.
Haggai's words to the Israelites may have seemed foolish, and impractical when he told them that God wanted them to build a Temple that would be even more glorious than Solomon's. They were starting with a pile of rocks and few resources, and little expectation. He also told them that God was with them and that they should not be afraid. God had brought them back home and they still were to be a light to the nations.
As they put stone upon stone their faith became visible.
When we hear those words in Scripture “ I am with you , do not be afraid” then be prepared ! There will be hard work and adventure and  difficulties!
These words are God’s code for some big plans ahead...
Spoiler alert: They did rebuild the Temple in about 5 years after Haggai's challenge and encouragement. This temple was dedicated in about 515 BCE.  
A place of worship continued in Jerusalem thru the centuries. King Herod of the early first century did a massive restoration of the temple. Jesus came there as a boy and as an adult with his disciples.             
And now centuries later, there are some remnants of a wall from the Temple which exist in Jerusalem today and people of many faiths and traditions come there to pray for peace. This reminds me of Isaiah’s prophesy: “these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house and it will be a house of prayer for all nations."
              What do we see when we look around us?
How do we show that God presence is here?
Have we gotten distracted by busyness and our own needs?
What needs to be rebuilt in our lives , in our home town?
What spiritual needs can we address? Whose lives are hurting?
Who will do something about it?
Whose voice will offer encouragement?
What do we see?
Are we able to trust that God is with us and will provide what is needed? 

Let us be builders- who help repair what is broken, who strengthen what is weak,  and who believe what ought to be -can be.

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