Haggai 1:15b-2:9
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17
We live in uncertain times. Nuclear-armed Pakistan may be on the verge of losing its grip on Taliban extremists and is in the process of dismantling its democracy—a truly scary prospect if you think about it for more than 1 minute. And, if the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and all of the constant concerns about terrorism and national security weren’t enough, this week has brought fresh bad news about the economy. The price of oil has crept up close to the $100 a barrel mark, and we’re starting to see the fallout at the gas pumps. Some experts are predicting that gas prices of $4.00 per gallon may be on the way. A rise in home heating oil prices will be close behind, I’m sure. On Thursday, Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve told Congress that the economy was going to get worse before it gets better.
Wow. It’s enough to make you reach for the Xanax. To me, it seems like ever since 9/11, our nation has been suffering from a collective anxiety disorder, and this recent news won’t make it any better. I’m not listing this litany of woes to increase your anxiety, but simply to acknowledge the deep, collective as well as personal anxiety that many of us feel.
And in the middle of all this, here at Rock Spring, we are reaching the culmination of our Annual Giving Campaign. What great timing! And it’s not as if all the stress was coming from outside the church. Let’s be honest, we’re facing some stessors inside the church as well that may be raising our anxiety level. The date of Chuck’s retirement is creeping closer, and not only will Chuck and Anne be sorely missed after they leave next April, but the church faces a vacuum in leadership at the senior pastor level. Now the interim search committee is already getting to work, and that vacuum in leadership will hopefully be short, but nevertheless, it will be a real adjustment to lose Chuck’s guiding presence here at Rock Spring.
Secondly, given budget constraints and difficulties, questions are swirling around about whether the church can sustain its commitment to the expanded staff of three pastors and two administrative personnel that it voted on in 2005. The commitment to this staffing model is not just, or even primarily, about the persons filling these positions, but it’s about the expansion of church programs and ministry that the additional pastoral and administrative support has enabled. That’s why this year’s annual giving campaign committee chose the theme, “fulfilling our promises.” In a time of uncertainty and change, can we as a church keep on moving forward, and build on what we have accomplished since 2005, or will we choose to retrench, or retreat, or scale back? This is, in my opinion, the crux of the question that we face.
The prophet Haggai knew something about uncertainty and anxiety and economic distress, and he knew something about how hard it was to sustain forward momentum on big commitments. We don’t know a lot about Haggai as a person, but we do know a fair amount about the times in which he lived. Haggai lived in the Persian period, after the Persians had defeated the Babylonians and allowed the Jews to return to their homeland of Judah. So far so good. But the conditions that the returnees found upon arrival were appalling. Jerusalem was completely destroyed in 587 BCE, and very little rebuilding had been done between then and 520 BCE when Haggai is prophesying. Most devastating of all, the Temple remained in ruins. Times were hard. Most people were barely getting by, and the land was suffering from drought. Some people were getting rich at the expense of many others. The Persian overlords of Judah were preparing for war against Egypt. Into this scene of controlled chaos strides Haggai, and he has a message for the leaders and the people. “Take courage,” Haggai says to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah. “Take courage,” Haggai says to Joshua the high priest. “Take courage,” Haggai says to all of the people of the land. Take courage and work together. Take courage and rebuild. Take courage and invest in your community. Take courage, and do not fear, for God is with you.
Haggai, you see, had a vision. He had a vision of a flourishing community that was organized around a rebuilt temple, a cultural and religious center that would give glory to God, provide for the needs of the poor, be a place of learning, and restore the people’s shattered identity and sense of security. Haggai had a vision of shalom, for as we read in verse 9, “the latter splendor of this house will be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity…..” Now the Hebrew word translated prosperity here is actually shalom. And shalom means many things. It can mean prosperity, but it also means peace, and wholeness, and well-being. It doesn’t mean prosperity narrowly defined, like having a fat 401K or high-performing stocks. It does, however, have a pragmatic dimension that takes into account both the people’s material and spiritual needs. As one commentator on Haggai remarks, “God’s peace…is never disembodied. It always occurs in real space among real people. There is not only a spiritual side but also, of equal importance, a material side.”1
But Haggai not only had a vision; he also had a problem. There were people who didn’t believe that the temple could be rebuilt, or perhaps didn’t believe it was worth doing. There were people who were so fearful about the future that they didn’t want to take any risks, or make any new investments without a certain return. Haggai had to rally the people to move forward with the rebuilding even though the outcome was uncertain and the costs high. He urged them to keep working because he believed in the vision and he believed in God’s promises. He believed that coming together for a shared mission, even one that required some sacrifice during hard times, would strengthen, not weaken, the people. And he believed that the house of the Lord was worth building.
And that brings us back to our annual giving campaign—but you knew that was coming! When we pledge to support Rock Spring, we do so because we believe that we have something here worth building, worth investing in, and even, hopefully, worth giving sacrificially for. I wanted to find a way to dramatize what our financial support for the church means, and building upon a creative parishioner’s idea for demonstrating the importance of pledging, Chuck and I came up with the idea of visualizing our church’s ministry as a series of candles…candles which give light to our lives, to our community, to our world. What would be lost if these candles went out? Let’s think about it.
The first candle represents the worship life of our church—and all that goes into this. To begin with, we need a space to worship in, and that requires routine maintenance of the building, heat, air conditioning, lights, new hand rails so people can get safely up and down, and maintaining the organ, for example. But as Hank told us last week in the children’s sermon, the church is not just the building, it’s the people! And so providing meaningful worship services requires people—in fact, it requires professionals. We need Ed to play the organ and the piano and help with the choirs. We need Elizabeth to direct our music programs and lead our wonderful choirs. And we need pastoral leadership—to plan the services, lead worship, and preach. And then there’s all the supplies we need—paper and ink for bulletins, the copy machine, hearing assist devices for the hard of hearing, our sound system, communion elements, friendship pads, etc. Our worship life, which is at the heart of our faith community, requires significant resources. What would happen to our rich worship life if those resources dried up? (Extinguish the first candle)
Now, to go from the sublime to the seemingly mundane—our church is required to keep up with the latest technology in order to function efficiently and communicate effectively. And so in recent years we added additional administrative staff to manage new needs created by new technologies…such as our revamped website, our growing database, our email communications, and so forth. And to function as a church we need computers, copiers, printers and all kinds of other supplies. And we need staff who can help manage our relations with the Rock Spring preschool, our property manager, and all the vendors and service providers that keep RS running smoothly. What if we couldn’t pay for administrative staff to handle all these functions, or for the equipment our office needs to function as a church of the 21st century? (Extinguish second candle).
Now let’s think about one of the great joys of our church life—our thriving and growing Christian education programs. Every Sunday when we see throngs of kids coming forward for the children’s sermon and streaming out to go to Sunday school, it brings a smile to my face. Our Sunday school programs are becoming more vibrant every day. The youth programs of the church are being revitalized, and an exciting new human sexuality curriculum is being developed. Adult education offerings are also becoming more robust. Dedicating one associate pastor position to our ministries for children, youth and families is enabling these programs to thrive more than ever before. But these programs also require resources, in terms of personnel costs, curriculum, supplies, maintaining the Christian Education building, and many other needs. Losing these vital Christian education programs and family and youth ministries would leave a huge hole in the life of our church (extinguish third candle).
And then, let’s not forget all of the significant pastoral care ministries of our church. A large part of a pastor’s work is found in this area: in offering pastoral counseling to those in crisis, in visiting the sick and the homebound, in offering premarital counseling, and performing weddings and memorial services, and in simply providing a caring presence and listening ear. At Rock Spring now, with the addition of the contract position of Pastor for Parish Life, our church has expanded the pastoral services it can offer, particularly to our large senior population, and we have been able to launch our vital caring ministry program. The caring ministry program has not only enriched the lives of seniors who get more attention now and feel more connected to our church, but it has also enriched the lives of volunteers, who find that in giving, they truly do receive. How would the heart of the church and our ability to be a caring community be affected if our pastoral care ministries were greatly reduced? (Extinguish fourth candle).
Last but definitely not least, we must consider our ministries of social action, community service and denominational leadership—that is, our witness to the wider church and society. Rock Spring has been a beacon of hope to many in our community and in our denomination through our strong commitment to be open and affirming and our recent affirmation of marriage equality. Our church has taken a prophetic stance against torture and for core Christian and American values by joining the National Religious Campaign Against Torture and by providing leadership to that organization. More recently, we have turned our attention to pressing ecological concerns and are aspiring to become a “green” congregation. And while we speak and act prophetically, we also reach out to meet concrete needs in our community. Through our support of AFAC, and AMEN, and FISH, and Meals on Wheels, and the Homeless Women’s Dinner program, and many other organizations, our church is a pillar in the community, as we live out Jesus’ words to care for the least of these.
Rock Spring also plays a vital leadership role in our denomination, and its financial contributions are key to the health of our Association and Conference, and to sustaining the Potomac Association’s support for the Shaw community ministry in DC. How would loss of support for the social action ministries, community service organizations, and the wider church impact all those who count on our support and our prophetic witness? (Extinguish fifth candle).
As I think about the gifts that Rock Spring has to offer, one of my favorite sayings of Jesus comes to mind. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus tells his disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to God in heaven.” We need to keep these candles lit, because each one of them represents a vital aspect of the ministry of our church. And so, in closing I want to mention four messages that I think we can glean from Haggai that can provide inspiration for Rock Spring.
First of all, I hear the message that the community of faith requires material resources and sacrificial commitment in order to sustain its spiritual mission in the world. I believe that Rock Spring understands the importance of keeping body and soul together, and so I light one candle.
Secondly, Haggai’s story teaches us that we build not for ourselves in the narrow sense but for our children, our community, our world, and most of all, for God. Rock Spring has always understood that the life of the church is meant to be spent in the service of the world, and so I light a second candle.
Thirdly, Haggai teaches that the vision and the mission are worth sustaining even in times of uncertainty and risk, and we are called to move out in faith, trusting in God’s promises to bless our efforts. The mark of the Christian community is not success but faithfulness. I believe we are a community of faithfulness with a capacity to trust God’s promises, and so I light a third candle.
Finally, we have something here that’s worth building, that’s worth risk and sacrifice, because of the unique contribution Rock Spring Church makes to building God’s reign on earth. As a progressive, non-dogmatic, and inclusive Christian community, we offer a spiritual oasis for many people who have been hurt by more narrow-minded forms of Christianity. And we offer a witness to the wider world that Christianity is not synonymous with intolerance, or homophobia, or indifference to social injustice or environmental concerns, or rigorous intellectual inquiry. We offer an alternative way of being Church that is desperately needed in our world today. That is one of the main reasons I came here, and I know it is the reason many of you are here. And so, I light the fourth candle.
Rock Spring really is a beacon of light in our community. The other day, I heard a story from one of our parishioners who was working at the polls, and she met another volunteer and struck up a conversation. This person said that he went to a Catholic church in Arlington. Not sure if he would be familiar with our church or not, our parishioner mentioned that she attended the Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ. “Oh, you go to Rock Spring?” the man said. “Of course I’ve heard of Rock Spring!” He went on to say that he was aware of how Rock Spring has supported many of Arlington’s community service organizations over the years. He knew of the importance of our church to the community. And so, I light the fifth candle.
The challenges we face are a little daunting. The future is a little uncertain. Our anxiety is real. The need for support and commitment from our members and friends is substantial. But with God, all things are possible. I would like to close with a very short song from two of my favorite songwriters, Pat Humphries and Sandy O. They have inspired countless souls who are committed to working for justice and shalom and for a better world. This is their song, and hopefully, it is our song as well….
“We’re gonna keep on moving forward, keep on moving forward, keep on moving forward, never turning back, never turning back.”
May it be so.!
1 W. Eugene March, “The Book of Haggai: Introduction, Commentary, Reflections,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 7 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 725.