Thursday of the 25thWeek in Ordinary Time
Haggai 1: 1-8; Luke 9: 7-9
Dc. Larry Brockman
“And he kept trying to see him”. Such are Luke’s words about the tyrant Herod. But Herod didn’t try very hard, and he just never got around to it until the day Jesus was dragged in front of him. Herod missed a wonderful opportunity to experience Jesus in the midst of his ministry; to experience his presence, his authority, his sharp and penetrating message;.and above all to experience Jesus Love and compassion for all mankind. Herod missed an opportunity to embrace the gift of faith- faith in something else besides what the world had to offer. Herod was steeped in the things of this world; He was just too busy thinking of himself. He just never got around to it.
There’s a similar message in the first reading. The Jews are released from captivity by the Persian Emperor Darius. After decades of exile from Judea, they return to Israel, and enjoy a period of peace and prosperity. They have eaten and drank; built houses with paneled walls; clothed themselves comfortably and found work. But everything has been centered on their own comfort; they have done nothing to thank the Lord who delivered them from their exile. The temple at Jerusalem remains in rubble.
I am reading a very interesting book about the way things were during Biblical Times in the Holy Land. The book emphasized the importance of Jerusalem and the temple to all Jews. The geography of the place and the way the temple was fortified, made it virtually impregnable. Both times that the temple was destroyed, the sieges were long and bloody. When the Jews returned from exile, the area was peaceful, and no one had fortified the old site. For a devoted Jew It would have been unthinkable to let decades and decades go by without working on the Temple. Such was the message of the prophet Haggai. The temple was the center for the practice of their faith- it housed the ark of the Covenant, containing God’s direct communications with his people. It was more precious to them by far than Rome and the Vatican is to us Catholics. It was a disgrace that God’s people had ignored his house.
And so, the message in both readings is abundantly clear. God does not like to be ignored; and he does not like lip service. God craves our attention, our devotion, and constant efforts on our part to show our faith and seek His will.
I am in the middle of a Bible Study on the Book of Hebrews. A very interesting analogy was given last week about our faith relationship with God. The statement was made that our faith doesn’t just come from a one- time embrace of what we believe at Baptism or Confirmation or in an aha conversion experience. Rather, our faith is like breathing itself. We must constantly renew our faith and show it each and every day; like we renew our life force by breathing constantly. That’s what God wants us to do- to believe in him; his will for us; and to trust in him In real time way as we live every day of our lives.
Unlike Herod, we need to make the time and effort to stay in tune with God. God wants our constant attention. Unlike the Jews returning from exile, we need to devote some of our energy each day to building a suitable temple for the Holy Spirit in our own precious bodies because we owe everything to God. We do that by praying, increasing our knowledge of God, his law and His will for us, so that we are strong temples of the Holy Spirit.