Today's reading is populated by a cast of characters who might be unfamiliar so, in order of appearance, we have:
King Darius:
- The third king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, aka Darius the Great or Darius I
- Also mentioned in the biblical books of Zechariah, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel.
- A Zoroastrian who exercised religious tolerance and funded the restoration of the Israelite temple.
- a Jewish prophet.
- name derived from the Hebrew verbal root hgg, which means "to make a pilgrimage". (this is equivalent to the Arabic root hajj, which also means to make a pilgrimage).
- encouraged the Jewish community to work on rebuilding the temple and to understand why the temple was important now at this time in their history and life together as a community.
Zerubbabel
- Jewish Governor of the Persian province of Judah.
- led the first group of Jews who returned from the Babylonian captivity.
- laid the foundation for the second temple in Jerusalem.
- always associated with Joshua (see below).
Joshua
- Jewish high priest.
- worked in partnership with Zerubbabel.
The story so far:
- The first temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE; the Jewish people were in captivity in Babylon where they developed a new understanding of God; Cyrus, a Persian Emperor before Darius, allowed the Jewish people to return to Judah; some of the people did return to Judah.
- Haggai has stirred up the Jewish community in Judah - the governor (civil authority), high priest (religious authority), and all the people of the land - to work on rebuilding the temple.
- After about 28 days of working on the temple the people were discouraged. Haggai encourages the community to continue working.
How does Haggai encourage the community?
- Haggai reminds them of how God has acted in the past - bringing them out of slavery in Egypt and restoring them to the land of Judah - and assures them that God's presence is still here, God's spirit is still abiding in them bringing them to freedom!
- Haggai draws parallels between the building of the first temple by Solomon (e.g., treasures coming from around the world) and the rebuilding of the temple. However, Haggai emphasizes that it is God, in partnership with the community, who will rebuild the temple. And he reminds the people why this project is important - its about honouring God.
- Haggai urges the community to work together by sharing leadership and collaborating, and to "take courage" - translated by Tim Meadowcroft as "be strong and effective".
"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, . . . My spirit abides among you; do not fear".
So what?
- As I listen to this story in the midst of this Advent season I am challenged to reflect on my motivation for working or not working on various "projects". You may want to reflect on the various projects in which you are involved. Are they, in some way, about bringing honour to God? Might they help the world to see that God is still present and active in our world and longs to bring us to a place of freedom?
- How can we be "strong and effective" together - especially in the face of discouragement when a "project" seems too large - and what is the role of community and collaboration?
- Where do we need to hear a prophetic voice in the midst of our work and ministry? And are we listening to the words of en-couragement around us?
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