A New Start
Yesterday left us with the question as to what Haggai was looking for. Today we get a hint. At first glance he seems to be saying that in the past everything was bad but now you have put your hand to the plough (ie laid the foundation stone — and that seems to be all they have done) everything is going to be different. The foundation stone is the sign and symbol of a change of heart and will, a fresh determination and a new commitment. All of us have heard it on the day after an election. Congregations have heard it on the opening of a new building or the arrival of a new minister. More hope than reality.
More thoughtful listeners however may have had other ideas. First, it is a call for a realistic appraisal of the past. It was never as bad as some liked to make out nor as good as other people liked to think it was, and when you read between the lines it is not clear whether the troubles of the past were the result of malpractices by a few, outside interference (other nations) or general failure to appreciate the way in which God had already ordered the universe and an unwillingness to cooperate with him. Realism and a willingness to learn is a better resource than soft words and hopeful utterances.
Second, it is a call for an appreciation of the present. Haggai’s sermon may be long on hope and short on evidence but v 19 at least suggests that things are on the mend and that is what we need to focus on. More detail from Haggai would mean little to us, but we can work some of it out for ourselves.
Even more important, thirdly, is to see the foundation stone as the beginning of a new community with an eye not on where they were or where they are but on where they want to be in (say) twenty-five years time.
For example, is Haggai’s horizon only the future for the religious community traditionally identified with the Temple or has he a wider vision? Is he thinking of people not content with human efforts whose divine perspective is not necessarily the same as that of yesteryear or even many of their contemporaries? And can such diverse divine perspectives work together, hand in hand with human effort, for the good of all?